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Access denied
Just how bad is it? Less than half (40 per cent) of subway stations are wheelchair-accessible. Only 27 of 69 have elevators – and that’s when they’re working. Some are out of service for weeks at a time.
A streetcar named disaster
None of our fleet of 248 circa-1970s streetcars have lifts or ramps.
On the buses
Riding the buses is a bit better for those in wheelchairs. Some 60 per cent in the 1,500-bus TTC fleet have low floors or ramps to make them wheelchair-accessible.
Asleep at the wheel
Relief is on the way, but not soon enough for disabilities activists. According to the TTC, buses will be fully accessible by 2010, subways by 2020 and streetcars by 2025.
Cheap it ain’t either
The $2.75 it costs per adult ticket is a stretch for those living on disability benefits and one of the highest fares in North America: it costs $1.70 to ride public transit in Boston, $1.75 in Chicago, $1.50 in San Francisco and $2 in New York and Philadelphia.
