Handi-Transit is a non-profit organization, which provides transportation for people who, due to a disability, which affects their mobility, are unable to use Conventional Transit and has provided the City of Windsor with specialized transit services for more than 40 years. The City provides funding to Handi-Transit through an annual budget submission and review process.
As a federal employer, Transit Windsor is specifically exempt from the AODA; however, the City of Windsor and Handi-Transit are not. Transit Windsor follows the guidelines within the AODA wherever possible using these guidelines as a best practice while recognizing that the federal government passed into law in 2019, the Accessible Canada Act with limited guidelines for public transit.
In 2011, a comprehensive service delivery review from the Manager of the Office of Continuous Improvement considered five (5) scenarios with respect to the relationship between Transit Windsor and Handi-Transit:
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Continue with status quo (contracted service);
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Shared services between the two transit services but not on the same site;
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Shared services with Handi-Transit moving to Transit Windsor location;
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Total integration of Handi-Transit with Transit Windsor but no wage parity;
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Total integration of Handi-Transit with Transit Windsor but with full wage parity.
The findings of the report in 2011 (#15448) found that the required capital outlay and (eventual) wage parity eliminated any projected efficiencies which may have been realized through sharing services on the same site or total integration. As these conditions (capital outlay, wage parity) continue to remain, the current report does not re-visit those scenarios.
Discussion:
For many years, Handi-Transit has provided specialized transportation services to individuals in our community who are unable to use conventional transit due to a disability affecting their mobility. The first formal agreement for transit service delivery by Handi - Transit achieved in conjunction with Transit Windsor was in October 2011 for the term of January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2016. The agreement, by mutual consent between the parties, has continued to the present date.
The most recent agreement has worked well for both parties. Transit Windsor is very pleased with the service that Handi-Transit provides. There is frequent dialogue between the two organizations regarding the provision of service. However, in most large municipalities, the accessible transit service is not provided by a not for profit, it is a city run service.
There is no intent with this report to integrate Handi-Transit with Transit Windsor but rather to amend the existing agreement, subject to updating of organizational structure and other housekeeping matters. For example, the existing agreement recognizes greater involvement between the Handi-Transit Board of Director and the Transit Windsor Board of Directors. A member of the Handi-Transit Board was designated to sit on the Transit Windsor Board as a non-voting member. As well, the Handi-Transit