I read with interest the headline “Disability advocate issues challenge to council” and I was struck by the ableism in the response from Will Steblyk, manager of St. Albert Transit.
“We keep abreast of trends in the transit industry through the transit community, and that provides us a good deal of information... We are confident we are meeting the accessibility standards of transit that exist across the country." I point out that this is an extreme example of ableism. Mr. Steblyk is making decisions for people with disabilities without consulting them. There are two people quoted in the article who give evidence of how difficult it is for disabled people to travel. The St. Albert Accessible Transit system was not mentioned, but, did you know that if you’re disabled, you only have transportation until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday? And it will only drop you off at a handful of places in Edmonton but there’s no regional transit so you’re not able to take an Edmonton DATS bus to transfer to where you actually need to go. Never mind that if you want to participate in the community by taking an evening class or going to the gym, you’re out of luck because accessible transit has no service after 6 p.m.
There’s no service on Sundays, which means that people with disabilities can’t attend their church of choice, can’t get groceries, can’t go and meet their family for dinner, and are basically housebound. I know of a married couple who, while waiting for housing aren’t even able to see each other because accessible transit will not go to that address in Edmonton.
The actual system of booking is very difficult for many people to understand, and it needs a revamp.
How do people with disabilities get involved and break down these barriers when the manager of St. Albert transit says that they are doing a good enough job?
I think that this manager should be embarrassed for speaking over people with disabilities. #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs.
Keri McEachern, St. Albert
on behalf of The Self Advocacy Federation
