HandyDART users frustrated, say it's getting harder to book rides in Victoria
CBC
People who use handyDART in Greater Victoria say they are struggling to book rides they used to be able to get easily.
HandyDART is a door-to-door bus service available to people in B.C. who cannot use conventional public transit because of disabilities.
In Greater Victoria, registered handyDART users must make a phone call to book a ride — there's no online booking system — and need to do so two weeks in advance.
But lately, users have said it is taking even longer to get through on the phone, and they are being told more often that the time they need is not available.
While some have said they're worried it's because of service cuts, the operator said that was not the case, though they did acknowledged that there are fewer hours available now.
Marilyn Wolovick is a senior who uses the service to get to medical appointments, exercise classes and social events.
She, like other users, said she has been unable to book standing rides for regular events — i.e. her choir practice which happens at the same time every week.
So, instead, she uses a spreadsheet to track her activities and appointments, and calls every day to try to arrange the rides she needs two weeks ahead of time.
But starting a few weeks ago, she said she's had no luck booking rides for times that have always been available in the past — often after waiting 30 minutes on hold just to speak to a dispatcher.
"It's just overwhelming," she said. "And every day I have to go through this."
She contacted CBC News because she said she was told she couldn't get a booking due to the number of rides being limited.
She was not the only one who said the same.
Nancy Dombay, whose teenaged son Isaac uses handyDART to get to school, said she has to phone every morning to book his ride to and from school for a date two weeks in the future.
Some days, she said she's told there are no rides. She told CBC News she has heard from operators recently that this is because service was being cut.
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