OC Transpo drivers will remain the ultimate judges of disputes between strollers and wheelchairs over space at the front of the bus, after the city’s transit committee voted against giving them more direction.
The committee rejected a recommendation that “maximum tolerance” be given by drivers to bending the rules in favour of letting passengers on, unless safety was compromised.
“I see the operator as being the captain of a ship here,” said Coun. Rainer Bloess. “He or she has a responsibility to manage the space on it, to try to manage the passengers.”
OC Transpo GM Alain Mercier recommended relying on driver discretion, but admitted it makes rider experiences unpredictable: “What may be practical for a customer one day with one operator may be quite different the next day with the same customer with a different operator, and that is the reality we live with.”
