Dear Mayor Tory,

I write to you as a concerned citizen of Ward 6 Etobicoke-Lakeshore, and the City of Toronto, to request your support to continue with some accessible buses on the 501 streetcar line and other streetcar lines, and for shuttle bus service for major elevator disruptions, and that these items be reflected in the City’s budget for 2018.

Since January 2017, accessible replacement buses have been running across the 501 streetcar route during track reconstruction, this route is scheduled to return to inaccessible this month. Because the replacement buses are accessible and the streetcars are not, this construction has greatly improved my quality of life and that of many other TTC passengers.

Having accessibility on this line allows me to access my closest grocery store, rather than one much further away. It also made it possible for me to take a spontaneous trip to High Park with my young nephews. It made my trips from downtown shorter by half; a particularly safer option for a young woman such as myself when travelling at night to visit friends. I’ve also seen seniors have a much easier time getting to St. Joseph’s Hospital because of the accessibility on that line.

I’m not suggesting we stop having streetcars. Streetcars transport more people than buses, and that’s important. I also know that even if the TTC had all of the new accessible streetcars it ordered from Bombardier, we would still have old streetcars on that line, not enough streetcars were ordered to fully replace them. In short, there is no plan in place to return accessibility on the 501 route to levels experienced in 2017. If the 511 streetcar route can have buses due to a lack of accessible streetcars, the same can be done for the 501, and other routes.

Earlier this year, the elevator was down at Yonge and Bloor station, denying me and many others access to the Bloor line from that station for over a week. At Kennedy Station, that elevator has been down since October and is not scheduled to come back in service until January. The next closest accessible station is Victoria Park. There’s no shuttle service set up between stations either. It’s understandable that sometimes elevators break down, but passengers who use the elevators deserve shuttle buses just as they would have during any other service disruption.

In a world class city like Toronto, we know that people with disabilities deserve equitable service, on the TTC, and that starts with giving passengers with disabilities equitable dignity, respect, and consideration.  The budget for the TTC should reflect that as well.