When Access Calgary picks me up, I
can wait inside a lobby or building instead of a cold bus stop outside. They
have accessible buses that have no problem accommodating my wheelchair. On a regular bus I can only sit in the first
section but anyone with a stroller or walker also needs that section to sit. It
fills up quickly, especially in rush hour.
One day, my facilitator and I
needed to take public transit to an office party. After walking to the c-train
station, we needed to travel downtown and then transfer to a bus. We picked a bus stop that was quieter so it
would be easier to get on. The next
stop, there were three strollers waiting to get on! The bus driver had to turn
away the last stroller because there was no more room. There was one small stroller and a large
stroller with two seats.
Other passengers had a difficult
time getting past my wheelchair and two strollers as we were partially into the
aisle. I needed to get off a few stops later but couldn't leave the bus because
of how the strollers were placed. I
thought they would need to get off, let me leave, and then get back on the bus.
The mothers managed to rearrange their strollers with a lot of effort so that I
had just enough room to make it off the bus.
Access Calgary tries to provide
for all requested trips so sometimes I share my ride with other passengers; the
driver drops off and picks people up along the way. The rides aren't always
well put together: the driver may pick someone up who is near my destination
and then drop them off farther away before returning to the same area to drop
me off. They could have just dropped me
off in the first place and not have to drive around so much!
When the bus is early and the
driver is mad at me for not being ready, it can be frustrating. If you have a twenty- minute window of time
when the bus will arrive, the rational plan is to be ready for that time. I
don't plan to be ready ten minutes early in case the bus shows up unexpectedly.
On the other hand, the bus can sometimes
be really late and then they expect me to wait for them… with tolerance and a
side of patience.
If the driver is going to be early
or late, it would be nice if Access Calgary could call and let people know. Not
to belabour the point, but one time my ride never showed up at all. It was a winter evening, I was done my shift
at a bookstore in a downtown mall, and was waiting for my bus at the mall exit.
I waited and waited and finally went
back upstairs to the bookstore and had someone phone the bus company. They
said, "Be there in fifteen minutes."
Well, twenty-five minutes later,
the mall closed. There was no one I could ask to call Access Calgary for me. I
went downstairs to a pub and called again. They said, "Oh, it's on its
way."
"You said that last
time," I was thinking with significant doubt. I went upstairs and there was a cab waiting
outside. I asked him, "Are you here for me?"
"No, I'm here for someone
else but I can't find her."
"Can you give me a ride home?
It's late and my bus isn't coming."
The cab driver was very nice and
said, "Hop in."
I was lucky that it was a van that
could accommodate my wheelchair but I had to pay twenty dollars for a ride that
should have been free. During that moment, I didn't care because I just wanted
to go home. It is hard enough getting around in a wheelchair, imagine how much
harder it is to communicate your needs to people when you have cerebral palsy.
The point is, it’s hard to meet up
with friends (or go anywhere, for that matter) when you rely on someone else to take you.
