Healthy Transportation Coalition - Coalition pour les transports sains

Email John Manconi to Support #Paraparity

It is not acceptable that people who use Para Transpo are routinely forced to wait on hold for 30, 45, minutes, and sometimes over 2 hours just to book a trip. It is 2019, and long past time for on-linebooking.

After the Para Transpo Strike in 2001, many users hoped to see better service, those hopes were sorely disappointed. Wait times to book rides were excessive, so Sally started recording her wait times, and shared the results with the City Councillors, City Staff, and the Public. Even with this growing body of evidence, and the powerful stories that Sally has shared at Transit Commission and the Transportation Committee, the demands for change were not taken seriously.

Sally Thomas and other activists have met with John Manconi, the General Manager of Transportation, including OC Transpo, about the need for improvements to Para Transpo. Over 100 people have emailed Mayor Watson and their City Councillors, but they haven’t been listening.

However, we refuse to be ignored any longer. We need to come together, support each other, and speak with one voice to put pressure on decision makers and push for change.

On-line booking for Para Transpo - John Manconi

112

Goal: 200

We are fighting for equity with the Para Transpo booking system which currently requires users to book their rides a day in advance and cancel a minimum of 3 hours in advance or incur penalties. People often find themselves waiting on hold for 2+ hours, and have no other option. We have asked the city to expedite the creation of a smartphone application and website that will help clear up the phone lines.

We've been fighting for on-line booking for more than two years, and we are tired of being ignored! On August 29th, on-line booking for Paratranspo will be discussed at the Transit Commission meeting, and we need to make sure it doesn't get pushed aside any longer.

Help us put pressure on our City to take action now!

We're targeting a different decision maker at the city every day this week. Today we're targeting General Manager of Transportation, John Manconi to demand better for Paratranspo users.

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John Manconi (General Manager of Transportation ), City of Ottawa

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Dear [recipient name will go here],

It is unacceptable that people who use Para Transpo are forced to wait on hold for upwards of two hours, in some cases, to book a trip. It is also unacceptable that people are told they can only reserve four casual bookings per day. It is 2019, and long past time for online booking for Para Transpo. This service isn’t just for medical reasons, it should reflect its users’ needs and at this time it does not.

I write to you today to ask you to demand the following from City Council and OC Transpo:

- A report about online booking for Para Transpo, including a draft plan for implementation and the key components of an online booking system, be presented by OC Transpo staff to the Transit Commission at its meeting in September 2019;

- The online booking system be fully functioning and operational for Para Transpo customers not later than end of 2020; and

- Fifty per cent of seats available to be booked on Para should 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. To be changed accordingly, reviewed quarterly.

I would appreciate a prompt and full response as to what actions you will be taking to ensure the requests above are met. 
        
Sincerely,
[your name will go here]
[your email address will go here] [your location will go here]

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