By Phil Heidenreich Global News
Posted January 6, 2023
A woman says she is filing a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission against a taxi company, saying its drivers denied multiple rides to her and her service dog in Leduc, Alta., last month.
“It feels like I’m being discriminated against because I have a disability and I have a service dog,” Karen Almond told Global News on Friday. “It feels like a slap in the face.
“It feels awful. It feels like you’re no longer a human being.”
Airline provided $300 and loaner wheelchair, but family says transferring man in and out of chair not safe Tyler Cheese, CBC News
Posted: Jan 18, 2023
A Brantford, Ont., man has been stranded in Chile without his custom wheelchair after his stepdaughter says Air Canada lost it.
Jim Hamilton and his wife Kathie embarked on a trip to Santiago, the Chilean capital, with Air Canada on Sunday. It’s the first trip they’ve taken since Hamilton, 63, suffered a stroke that left him using a wheelchair in 2021.
But when they arrived, they say they were told the wheelchair hadn’t made the trip with them.
By Alison Xiao
Posted Jan. 16, 2023
All of Australia’s train and tram stations should have been fully compliant with accessibility standards by the end of 2022
Only 50 per cent of the country’s network is accessible, according to Sterling Infrastructure’s Susie Pascoe
Sarah-Jane Staszak’s public transport experience is filled with small tricks and workarounds.
One trick is using the footplates of her wheelchair to prop open train doors – a strategy she now always employs, after a guard forgot to help her get off the train a few years ago.
“When you have a disability, you get quite creative and you come up with your own little workarounds,” Ms Staszak told 7.30.
Kenneth Chan
Jan 9 2023
Metro Vancouver’s public transit authority is looking to further improve the accessibility and usability of the network for people with sight loss.
TransLink is set to test the new use of NaviLens, a smartphone app-based tool, for providing passengers with navigational audio and sensory cues to identify their bus stop and the exact point of pick-up. As well, the app provides real-time bus arrival times and service alerts and identifies relevant facilities at a location, such as elevators.
NaviLens is a proven accessibility tool used on other public transit systems in various capacities, such as in New York City, Liverpool, and Madrid.
Mitchell Consky
CTVNews.ca Writer
Published Jan. 5, 2023
New research suggests that better transportation infrastructure can lead to better health for citizens.
The study, conducted by researchers with University College London in England, found that people who frequently travel about 24 kilometres or more outside of their neighbourhood report feeling healthier than those who remain closer to their home base.
The most significant reason, the study concludes, comes down to socialization.
“Those who travel to a wider variety of places are more likely to see friends and family,” a press release explained. “This increase in social participation is then linked to better [general] health.”
NEWS PROVIDED BY Transport Canada
Dec 22, 2022
OTTAWA , ON, Dec. 22, 2022 /CNW/ – Protecting all Canadians is a priority for the Government of Canada, and quiet motors can sometimes pose a safety risk when it comes to hybrid and electrical vehicles. That’s why we are taking steps to increase the safety of all road users.
Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced that the Government of Canada is amending the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations to mandate minimum levels of noise from hybrid and electric vehicles.
Alison MacKinnon
CTV News Edmonton
Updated Dec. 28, 2022
Marla Smith and her service dog Kuno like to spend time doing things around the city, so she’s not very happy about being left at Rogers Place last Friday with no ride.
“I booked for a 6 p.m. cab to get us for the 7 p.m. game and I booked for a 10:15 p.m. pickup and they did advise it could be up to 40 minutes after that,” she explained.
Despite being a few minutes late to the game, the drop-off worked out well. But the pick up proved disastrous.
City says it’s working develop an accessible transit service and is implementing enhancements Katarina Szulc, CBC News
Posted: Dec 06, 2022
A new report says Edmonton needs to do more to improve accessibility on the city’s transit system.
The report is the result of a collaboration between the University of Alberta, disability rights advocates Radical Inclusion and the John Humphrey Centre For Peace and Human Rights.
Between March and July this year, researchers facilitated focus groups to understand the challenges people with disabilities and mobility issues face when using public transit.
Some key issues the report notes include steep ramps, lack of sensitivity, disregard for accommodations for people with disabilities and a lack of bus shelters.
02 DEC 2022
BY ANGUS DRUMMOND
“Progress – good progress – is being made on accessible travel, but why do us disabled people have to fight so hard for it?”, writes Limitless Travel founder and chief executive Angus Drummond for TTG ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December).
Drummond: ‘I’m confident that over the next five years we’ll see more change
Since we launched Limitless Travel in 2017, it’s been our mission to make the world of travel accessible to everyone and anyone. As a disabled person myself, I’ve experienced first-hand the difficulties of travelling with a disability – and how rarely the travel industry used to consider disabled tourists.
Indiana innovation steers autonomous vehicle design toward inclusiveness for people with disabilities Business Announcement
PURDUE UNIVERSITY
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – When Brad Duerstock was 18, a spinal cord injury paralyzed his arms and legs, requiring him to use what control he had left in his hands to operate a power wheelchair.
Throughout the more than 30 years since, Duerstock has seen smartphones, tablets and other types of technology get developed but not become usable for him or others with disabilities until years later.
“It’s always been a retroactive accommodation,” he said.
