For your convenience, the Reading Guide For The Initial Proposed Transportation Accessibility Standard is available in PDF, Word and HTML formats.
This Reading Guide is a roadmap that will guide your reading and understanding of the Transportation Standards Development Committee’s initial proposed transportation accessibility standard. Reading this guide may be a good place to start. In it you’ll find how the committee has organized the proposed standard and how you can participate in the review process.
It’s up to you whether you read the entire proposed standard or just parts of it. This Reading Guide will take you through the layout of the proposed standard, but you should refer to the document itself for more details.
The proposed standard opens with six introductory chapters that provide context and background:
- Table of Contents
- Preface
- Scope
- Classes
- Terms and Definitions
- Long-term Objectives
It then moves into seven major sections that set out requirements to remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities who use passenger transportation services in Ontario.
- Training Requirements
- Fixed Route Passenger Transportation Services – Conveyance Requirements
- Accessible Public Transit Services – Service Requirements
- Specific Requirements for On-demand Taxi Services
- Specific Requirements for Booked Services
- School Transportation Services
- Specific Requirements for Other Transportation Services
What’s inside the proposed standard
Following a Table of Contents, the Preface offers background on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA), the standards development process under this legislation and the role of the Minister.
The passenger transportation vehicles, services and organizations that are subject to the proposed standard are listed in Scope. In this chapter for example, urban transit buses are listed as vehicles that provide fixed route passenger transportation services. Tour buses provide Booked Vehicle Services. Hospitals and long-term care homes are among organizations that offer Other Transportation Services.
The passenger transportation vehicles – or conveyances – and services that are subject to the proposed standard are ordered and identified more formally in Classes. You’ll find that a fixed route commuter bus is identified as Class VIII (or Class 8); a subway car is Class III (or Class 3). You’ll come across these classifications often as you read through the proposed standard.
Terms and Definitions provides a quick reference.
Long-term Objectives outline the objectives for the proposed standard, which is to make passenger transportation vehicles and services accessible for persons with disabilities.
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 sets January 1, 2025 as the target for achieving accessibility for people with disabilities. The bulk of the proposed standard is devoted to the seven major sections that set out the requirements and timelines to meet that target in the area of passenger transportation.
Each section includes requirements. You’ll find a table below the requirement identifying the classes that must meet the requirement and a timeline to meet it.
Training Requirements (Section 4)
This section covers training requirements for employees and volunteers in all classes of organizations covered by the proposed standard. Their training must cover:
- AODA and this proposed standard;
- safe operation of accessibility equipment;
- securement systems for transportable mobility aids (e.g., wheelchairs);
- assistance with getting in and out of passenger transportation vehicles;
- storage and handling of assistive devices and mobility aids;
- methods of interacting with personal care attendants, service animals and assistive devices;
- emergency policies and procedures; and
- procedures and practices to deal with temporary barriers and if accessibility equipment fails.
All organizations covered by the proposed standard must comply with these training requirements within three years.
Fixed Route Passenger Transportation Services – Conveyance Requirements (Section 5)
Sections 5.1 through 5.10 outline the requirements for vehicles providing fixed schedules and pre-determined routes. These vehicles include:
- municipal public transit (e.g., urban transit buses, streetcars and subways), light rail cars and family of service vehicles, such as community buses;
- commuter railcars (i.e., GO trains) for local or short distance travel between a city and its suburbs;
- commuter buses (i.e., GO buses) for local or short distance travel between a city and its suburbs;
- inter-city passenger coaches such as vans and buses;
- inter-city passenger rail travel; and
- passenger ferries that travel within Ontario.
Requirements in the proposed standard apply in conjunction with government legislation, industry regulations and other codes of compliance.
Here’s a summary of section 5.10 on ferry vessels, for example:
Classified as a Class X mode of transportation, ferry vessels must conform to all applicable legislation and regulations and the Canadian Transportation Agency Code of Practice for Ferry Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (1999). After the proposed standard is adopted in regulation, all ferry vessels must comply with these requirements within three years.
Sections 5.11 through 5.39 cover:
- accessible and secure fare payment and ticket validation equipment;
- procedures and assistance for boarding and de-boarding as well as the use of lifting devices, ramps or portable plates and boarding/de-boarding assistance where such devices are used;
- display of international symbols of access, blindness and hearing loss on vehicles;
- legible displays for the route and destination;
- pre-boarding route or destination announcements;
- accessibility features for steps, grab bars, handholds, stanchions, floor surfaces;
- accessible aisles for persons using transportable mobility aids (e.g., wheelchairs);
- numbers and dimensions of allocated spaces for persons using transportable mobility aids;
- personal care attendant fares and the location of personal care attendants and service animals;
- storage of assistive devices;
- on-board announcement of stops and connections (manual and electronic; visually and audibly);
- accessible stop request controls;
- lift, ramp and kneeling indicators; door opening/closing indicators;
- emergency preparedness and response;
- notice of disruption of accessibility equipment;
- retrofits;
- lighting and colour contrasting features;
- maintenance;
- courtesy seating; and
- availability of accessibility equipment and features.
Section 5 requirements apply to Class I (or Class 1) through to Class X (or Class 10) conveyances and services. The timelines for meeting the accessibility requirements in Section 5 range from one year to 18 years.
Accessible Public Transit Services – Service Requirements (Section 6)
This section applies to public transit operators that provide fixed route public transit services. Section 6 does not apply to GO Transit and Ontario Northland.
Accessible public transit services include transit services specifically for people with disabilities. Accessible public transit services are defined in Terms and Definitions of the proposed standard as “various accessible service options, generally referred to as a family of services, developed and implemented to address the transportation requirements for people with disabilities that are delivered by public transit. Accessible public transit services include, but are not limited to, to-the-door transit, workshop shuttles, medical shuttles, community bus, accessible fixed route services, travel training and trip planning.”
In section 6.2, public transit providers must:
- establish, implement and maintain an annual accessible public transportation plan;
- consult people with disabilities in developing the plan; and
- report to the public on gaps between actual performance and performance benchmarks.
Transit providers must also report on performance measures including:
- scheduled pick up times versus requested pick up times;
- actual pick up times versus scheduled times;
- trip denials;
- missed or cancelled trips;
- trip lengths;
- eligibility determination time; and
- numbers and types of customer feedback.
Transit providers must meet these policy and planning requirements within three years.
Sections 6.3 through 6.8 deal with service performance. Accessible public transit services must be comparable with conventional fixed route services regarding hours and days of service, fares and area of service. The requirements for reservations, pick-up times, and trips restrictions are also identified here.
Section 6 closes with the requirements on:
- eligibility and appeal criteria and processes;
- visitor service;
- transportation between adjacent municipalities; and
- companions.
The range of timelines for meeting the various requirements in this section is three to 13 years.
Specific Requirements for On-demand Taxi Services (Section 7)
A taxi hailed on the street or booked less than one hour before service delivery provides on-demand taxi service.
Section 7.2 establishes the policies, procedures and practices for equivalent on-demand taxi services. These requirements are to be met within five years for taxi brokerage and dispatch services and within 10 years for independent operators.
Section 7.3 deals with fares. On-demand taxi services must not charge a higher fare to people with disabilities. Compliance is immediate.
Section 7.4 requires taxi registration information to be available in Braille and in large print formats and placed in easily accessible locations inside the vehicle. It also requires registration numbers to be of a minimum size and in high colour contrast. Providers have three years to comply. Providers must also ensure emergency preparedness and response requirements are met within three years.
This section requires immediate compliance with such general responsibilities as assisting passengers with disabilities in boarding and de-boarding the vehicle and in the use of a wheelchair accessible vehicle and its related equipment, upon request.
Specific Requirements for Booked Services (Section 8)
Booked services for taxis, limousines, shuttles, tour buses or community agency transportation vehicles are those that are reserved or booked at least one hour prior to service delivery.
This section requires providers to make accessible vehicles available when needed – upon request. Charging equivalent fares to passengers, with or without a disability, is an immediate requirement. The section allows providers to sub-contract or make arrangements with other providers for accessible vehicles. Compliance is immediate.
Providers of booked services will have three years to comply with the requirements regarding emergency preparedness and response policy and procedures.
School Transportation Services (Section 9)
Section 9 sets out the requirements for organizations that transport students to and from schools. These providers must ensure that accessible transportation is available for students with disabilities. Where accessible school transportation services are not possible, due to the nature of the disability or safety concerns, alternative accessible transportation is to be provided.
Organizations covered under this section of the proposed standard must comply within three years.
Providers of school transportation services will have three years to comply with requirements regarding emergency preparedness and response policy and procedures. Compliance within three years also applies to a number of general responsibilities that relate to providing services to students with disabilities. These include ensuring adequate time for safe boarding.
Specific Requirements for Other Transportation Services (Section 10)
The final section of the proposed standard requires organizations not primarily in the business of transportation – religious organizations, hospitals, amusement parks and employers, for example – to provide accessible transportation upon request.
Similar to the requirements regarding booked services, providers must make accessible vehicles available when needed and upon request. Providers may contract or make arrangements with other providers of accessible vehicles and have up to 13 years to comply.
Passengers with disabilities cannot be charged a higher fare than passengers without a disability. This requirement must be met within three years.
Transportation providers will also have three years to comply with requirements regarding emergency preparedness and response policy and procedures, and to comply with a number of general responsibilities associated with providing services to passengers with disabilities.
The initial proposed standard is the result of many months of discussion and analysis by Transportation Standards Development Committee. The committee is interested in hearing your comments, suggestions and feedback on their work-to-date. There are several ways to provide your comments on the proposed standard. Please see:
http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/mcss/english/pillars/accessibilityOntario
/accesson/business/transportation/standard/index
Your participation in the review process is important to realizing Ontario’s potential as a leader in accessibility and in creating systems and services to meet the transportation needs of the now more than 1.5 million people with disabilities who live and work here.
The need for improved accessibility is obvious. The demand for change is growing and it’s heard in communities that are as diverse as the people who live in them. The government’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 provides the framework for everyone to move ahead and to build on the foundations and achievements that are already in place.