SUMMERSIDE - A local taxicab company hopes to provide around the clock transportation services for disabled people.
Dave Bradshaw owner/operator of Team Taxi is working toward purchasing a wheel chair lift van to accommodate the needs of disabled people any time of the day or night.
Bradshaw said the main obstacle he's facing right now is the van. The vehicle runs about $40,000 and he needs to show the service is needed.
"I went a Council for the Disabled when I bought the taxi stand to get this on the go, to see if there's something there," he said. "I've always wanted a wheelchair van to run 24 hours, seven days a week. The Council for the Disabled has been helping me out."
The agency, however, can't give out personal information of people who might benefit from the service, due to privacy restrictions.
Bradshaw currently transports disabled people in the company's vehicles but this involves lifting and some inconvenience for the customer. He said a suitably equipped van would make the pick-up and delivery of disabled people more efficient and comfortable for the passenger.
There is a service available locally, but it ends at 5 p.m.
Bradshaw said when he lived in Guelph, Ont., there was a fleet of government-sponsored wheelchair-accessible vans to serve the public.
"When I came home, I did an investigation and found that P.E.I. has the most handicapped people per population, so this is what got me digging into trying to get a handicapped van," he said.
Bradshaw says the Council for the Disabled found a program that has funded other similar endeavours.
"So, with this program I need people to call," he said. "The council told me to get people to call me and present a huge list of people who would use this wheelchair transportation service."
Bradshaw said in the evening if a disabled person needs to go to a hospital their only means of transportation would be an ambulance, which is costly. With a wheelchair-accessible van on call 24/7 there would be another option.
"They can go to a movie theatre at night, they can go to a bingo, they can got to a benefit. It gives them more freedom."
Anyone interested in the service can call Bradshaw at 439-6846 or email him at teamtaxi@bellaliant.com.
Cab company hopes to launch 24-hour service for disabled
Dave Bradshaw
- Published on Febuary 16th, 2010
- Published on June 20th, 2010
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Mike Carson
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Comments
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- Shawn
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:05:49
Your right on Mr. Bradshaw. Out here in Vancouver and most likely in other cities there are vehicles that transport the people in wheelchair's. Out here in Vancouver, the service is call '' HandyDart ''. There needs to be a vehicle for the disabled 24/7 on the island. I speak as a islander living and working out west. I have friends in P.E.I who do are in wheelchair's. When the council of the Disabled has to start paying for all the rides to the hospital in the ambulance, they will soon change their minds.
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- George
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:05:02
Here in Edmonton the disabled use the system known as D.A.T.S or Disabled Adults Transportation System, which is an excellent concept but a failure in its operations. One must book ahead a day or two and users must be ready to go two hours before their schedualed pick up, but could end up waiting two hours after this time..return trips have taken four or more hours for pick up leaving the users stranded..all this and there have also been reports of physical and sexual abuse by the drivers when they end up with only one passenger, therefore many disabled avoid this system and use public transportation but even then there is alot of discrimination towards them because they are slower and everybody else is in such a darn hurry. I guess what I am saying is...please make this work for you folks, our disabled citizens deserve to have more understanding and superior services to allow them to live as normal of lives as they can considering their circumstances.
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- Costas
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:03:07
Good Call
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- mike
- - June 21st, 2010 at 19:02:38
I think this is a great idea i have a relative in a wheel chair and i know she
could use this service
