The Transit Commission is the governing body at City Hall with jurisdiction over Para Transpo and OC Transpo operations. If we want our demands for better Para Transpo, and truly accessible public transit, to be met, this is the place to voice them. 

On September 18th, the Transit Commission will meet, and supporters of the #ParaParity campaign will attend. 

We are calling on supporters of the #ParaParity campaign to do two things:

1. Wear a T-shirt with the #ParaParity message on it.
2. Come to the transit commission on Wednesday, September 18th to advocate for online booking. Signs and banners are not permitted in the meeting space, so we will wear our message. RSVP as soon as possible, so that we can organize getting everyone a t-shirt that reads #ParaParity. If you are able, please consider making a donation to help cover the costs of the shirts. 

Transit Commission meeting

Wear your #ParaParity t-shirt to the transit commission meeting to show your support for online booking. You can also request an opportunity to speak; you will be given five minutes. Please call or email Christopher Zwierzchowski:

• 613-580-2424 x21359
• Christopher.Zwierzchowski@ottawa.ca 

The #ParaParity campaign demands are:

• That staff present a report about same-day online booking for Para Transpo, including a draft plan for implementation to be ready for the Transit Commission meeting in September 2019;
• That the same-day online booking system be fully functioning and operational for Para Transpo customers no later than end of 2020; and
• That 50% of seats be saved for people using the online booking application and 50% for those who use the phone service, so as to allow for everyone to access these services. This number would be reviewed quarterly and adjusted as needed.

As part of the trillium seed grant, we aimed to create teams in low income neighbourhoods in Ottawa who would identify priorities for transportation system improvements in their area, strategies possible actions to take, and ultimately take action to ensure that those improvements were made, with the support of the Healthy Transportation Coalition. In Vanier, so far, we have: 

• Generated a list of transportation issues; 
• Voted on our top priorities, which were eliminating beg buttons on Montreal Road, and eliminating double decker buses from the #12 route;
• Brainstormed action ideas; 
• Voted on our favourite action ideas, including writing a letter to Councillor Fleury explaining the group and our top priorities, hosting an e-mail your representative tool about beg buttons on the HTC Website, and compiling an Organizational chart of key decision makers at OC Transpo;
• And team members have volunteered to take on leadership roles and responsibilities related to those actions, including drafting the campaign emails and group letter, meeting with Councillor Fleury personally, and researching the organizational structure of OC Transpo. 

Please support our team by emailing Councillor Fleury with our email tools! We have one about increasing pedestrian safety with automatic walk signals, rather than beg buttons on Montreal road!

Please also email the Councillor about increasing rider safety on the #12 bus route by banning double deckers from this route, where there are frequent stops, and many people with balance or mobility challenges whose safety is at risk. 

At this meeting we hope to prepare and sign a letter from the group listing our priorities, to present directly to Councillor Fleury.