Burnaby woman takes on cab industry after sister, who uses wheelchair, waits hour for taxi

NEWS 1130 (BURNABY) – A Burnaby woman is putting up a fight on behalf of her sister — who uses a wheelchair — after the woman found herself waiting an hour for a cab this week.

Julia Gil Silvestre says her sister Alisa Gil Silvestre ordered a cab following classes at Dougles College but when the cab still hadn’t arrived an hour later, she decided to take a bus. Alisa has muscular dystrophy and is the recipient of a 2018 Courage to Come Back award.

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“Her immune system is not very good, so that’s why she depends on taxi drivers to help her get from point A to point B, because she doesn’t have to go outside in the cold for very long,” she tells NEWS 1130.

It’s far from the first time, according to Julia, who says Alisa also gets no-show cabs or taxi drivers who seem annoyed to be driving a person with a physical disability.

“It’s happened on several locations…this time that I said enough is enough,” she said. “My sister already has enough battles as it is, so I’m gonna try and take this battle on.”

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Julia is sending letters to local politicians and groups to try to trigger change in a transportation system she says discriminates against people who are disabled.

“I just want there to be a priority system, I went there to be courtesy, I want there to be some sort of level of expectations that these people need to meet.” she said. “I don’t know, try to track where they’re going and track how much money they’re charging people, I think that would be ideal.”

Julia says the issue comes down to accessibility and independence.

“My sister, because of her tracheostomy, she needs to have 24 hour care, so her independence is extremely limited. I’m sure for other disabled people too, it’s so hard for them to go from point A to point B, so why do they have to plan ahead all the time?” she asked.

“An able-bodied person can just call someone, call the cab company or easily get on the public transportation system, but for somebody who’s disabled, they have to plan ahead for the handyDART, or they have to plan ahead for even the taxi in order for them to hopefully arrive on time.”

Certainly a problem: Disability Alliance B.C.

Tom McGregor with Disability Alliance B.C., who himself uses a wheelchair, says people with physical disabilities constantly experience difficulties getting a cab ride, saying it’s especially bad in the suburbs and during cruise-ship season.

“Anybody who does advocacy for people with disabilities have heard these types of stories for sure,” he told NEWS 1130.

RELATED: Passenger Transportation Board approves taxi fleet increases in anticipation of ride-hailing

“The worst situation is when they get picked up and then they get to where they’re going, their doctors appointment or whatever, and then they’re left for hours and hours.”

While he says some cab drivers are good, there have been problems with some drivers refusing to serve a passenger with a service dog, or starting the meter while they’re helping someone with a disability get on board — instead of when the ride actually starts.

“It’s another barrier that we have to face in our daily lives.”

McGregor says making all cabs equally accessible and boosting the number of licenses for accessible cabs would improve the situation for people with disabilities.

Hour-long wait unacceptable: B.C. Taxi Association

Mohan Kang, President of the B.C. Taxi Association, says an hour-long delay, regardless of who is waiting, is unacceptable.

“Do you think anybody would like to see that the people with disabilities are not served well? The answer is no, we want to make sure they’re served well, like anybody else,” he tells NEWS 1130.

“Is there any intentional delay? To my mind, that’s not true. Sometimes something falls through the crack, yes it can happen, do we address that? Absolutely,” he says.

Kang says rides requiring an accessible van always take priority, although the cab company called on Tuesday is not a part of his association.

He adds a bump in fleet sizes around the Metro Vancouver area means there will be more accessible taxi vans to serve people in the coming months.

“In Metro Vancouver, around 19% of total cabs will be accessible,” he said. “When all those vans are on the road, to my mind, the service will improve.”