The Municipality of Chatham-Kent is making it easier for residents with disabilities to ride the bus.
The municipality has launched a Support Person Assistance Card for Ride CK public transit services.
The photo ID card allows a rider who requires assistance while travelling, due to a disability, to bring a support person with them at no additional charge on any Ride CK service.
“In 2021 we received more applications for Chatham Accessible than ever before. Demand for specialized transit is rising as our population ages so it can be difficult to book a ride on that service when you want it,” said Manager of Transit & Capital Asset Management Ann-Marie Millson.
Conventional transit services already have several features that accommodate riders with disabilities including low floors, ramps and audio and visual stop announcements. However, according to Millson, a process for fare-free support persons was previously only available for Chatham and Wallaceburg accessible specialized transit services.
“We hope this new Support Person Assistance Card will allow some of these riders to effectively migrate back to conventional service and encourage new riders with disabilities to discover public transit,” she said.
Riders approved for specialized transit in Chatham or Wallaceburg who have a mandatory support person attached to their profile are not required to apply for the new Support Person Assistance Card unless they intend to also use conventional transit with a support person.
Applications can be picked up at a Municipal Centre or downloaded online at www.rideck.ca.