Wheel-Trans is a

paratransit Paratransit is the term used in North America, also known by other names such as community transport ( UK) for transportation services that supplement fixed-route mass transit by providing individualized rides without fixed routes or timetables. ...

system in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Ontario, Canada, provided by the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the public transport agency that operates bus, subway, streetcar, and paratransit services in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, some of which run into the Peel Region and York Region. It is the oldest and larges ...

(TTC). It provides specialized door-to-door accessible transit services for persons with physical disabilities using its fleet of accessible

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, ...

es or contracted accessible

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

s. Users must register with the TTC who will typically grant access to those with permanent disabilities or show difficulty in traveling short distances. Wheel-Trans only provides service within the city of Toronto and accepts regular TTC fare.

History

Wheel-Trans was born out of an initiative by the Trans-Action Coalition, a group led by Beryl Potter lobbying for transit accessibility in Toronto. The paratransit system was officially created in 1975 as a two-year pilot project contracted to Wheelchair Mobile and operated on behalf of

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

and the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

until 1976. Only individuals using wheelchairs were accepted as the original 46 users of the pilot project, and rode at no cost. In 1977 the service was contracted to All-Way Transportation Corporation of Toronto before being taken over by the TTC in 1985.

Operations

Service provision

Service is provided by accessible buses and contracted accessible taxi mini-vans. Wheel-Trans is a door-to-door service. Rides can be reserved up to one week in advance by calling the reservation line, by using the automated Ride-Line touch-tone phone service or by using the recently launched Wheel-Trans Online Trip Booking website.

Fleet

Wheel-Trans buses operates as part of the main TTC fleet but do not include wheelchair assessable buses from the regular fleet.

Contracts

Most of Wheel-Trans operations are provided by the TTC, but some of the services are contracted out to private operators.

Able Atlantic Taxi

Bee Line Taxi

Beck Taxi

Royal Taxi

Scarboro City Cab

Toronto Para Transit

Wheelchair Taxi

Assessibility outside of Wheel-Trans

As for 2017, all 1,869 buses are low floor to allow for easy accessible by mobility devices. While all subway trains are accessible, only 35 of the 69 stations have elevators. The SRT cars are not accessible. On the Toronto streetcar network, the

Flexity Outlook The Bombardier Flexity Outlook is a series of low-floored, articulated light-rail trams manufactured by Bombardier Transportation. Part of the larger Bombardier Flexity product line (many of which are not low-floor), Flexity Outlook vehicles are ...

streetcars are fully accessible. However, not all stops are easily accessible for customers in wheelchairs, particularly in winter.

References

External links

TTC Wheel-Trans
{{TTC Toronto Transit Commission Paratransit services in Canada