Petition to end the use of taxis to fill HandyDART service, and bring operations in house!

Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and Dan Coulter, Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit

HandyDART is a crucial transit service that brings thousands of Metro Vancouver residents to daily medical appointments, adult daycare centres, and other essential services.

Despite its critical importance, for more than a decade demand has far eclipsed HandyDART service levels--and instead of addressing their severe staffing shortage, TransLink just increasingly relies on under-trained taxis instead of professional HandyDART drivers. Last year, 23% of HandyDART trips were performed by taxis, despite TransLink committing to limit taxis to 7% of trips by 2021.

For years, riders and workers alike have pushed to insource HandyDART, to improve the operation's fiscal accountability, promote transparency, and ensure that safety standards are being met. Riders and workers refuse to allow this service to continue to be contracted out to the lowest bidder. Our public tax money should be used to operate and improve this service, not to line the pockets of corporate executives.

The TransLink Board has ignored this call for too long. We are calling on the Province to take its role as senior partner at TransLink seriously, and to step in and address this spiralling crisis.

We, the undersigned, call on you to immediately direct the TransLink Board to:

  1. Fulfill TransLink’s original pledge to limit the percentage of taxi trips to 7% or lower of total HandyDART trips.
  2. Develop and conduct an unbiased Public Sector Comparator (PSC) with a multiple accounts evaluation containing rider and worker input, to compare insourcing to continued outsourcing while taking into account safety and service quality.
  3. Develop and implement a plan to bring HandyDART in-house as a subsidiary of TransLink, including providing provincial and federal funds for permanent facilities for an expanded and electric HandyDART fleet.
Sponsored by
Atu_canada_logo_en_pantone_(outlines)__official-01
ATU Canada

To: Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and Dan Coulter, Minister of State for Infrastructure and Transit
From: [Your Name]

We are calling on the Province to address the crisis at HandyDART because TransLink receives provincial funding, has a legislated responsibility to consider provincial policy priorities, and has had its decision-making structure shaped by provincial legislation.

We will no longer accept broken commitments and finger-pointing among various levels of government. Ultimately, the buck stops at the Provincial government, which is why we are asking you to support this initiative to bring HandyDART in-house.

We call on you to take your role as senior partner seriously, and immediately direct the TransLink Board to:

1. Fulfill TransLink’s original pledge to limit the percentage of taxi trips to 7% or lower of total HandyDART trips.

2. Develop and conduct an unbiased Public Sector Comparator (PSC) with a multiple accounts evaluation containing rider and worker input, to compare insourcing to continued outsourcing while taking into account safety and service quality.

3. Develop and implement a plan to bring HandyDART in-house as a subsidiary of TransLink, including providing provincial and federal funds for permanent facilities for an expanded and electric HandyDART fleet.