Calls to bring HandyDART in-house

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, along with Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward, are advocating for HandyDART to be brought in-house under government control.

Seven other mayors and city councils from across Metro Vancouver have joined Sim and Woodward.

Currently, HandyDART is contracted by a foreign corporation.

HandyDART is a door-to-door shared transit service for people who are not able to use conventional public transit, such as seniors or people with disabilities.

“Sometimes the private sector operator doesn’t have the proper training for some of them, and they are suffering in their ability to get to doctors’ appointments and really basic life things they need to deal with,” Mayor Woodward told The Leader Spirit.

TransLink currently contracts the service to the French company Transdev, but the contract expires soon.

Stephen von Sychoski, spokesperson with the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), says that it is time to make good on old promises.

“The NDP did promise in their 2024 election campaign to bring HandyDART service in-house across the province,” he told The Leader Spirit.

“So far, we haven’t seen that; we’re continuing to work with TransLink to ensure the promise is kept.”

The nine mayors showing their support for the cause represent 73 per cent of the region’s population.

“They [the NDP government] committed to do it within the last election – so many of us are calling on them to make good on their campaign promises,” Woodward said.

The ATU says the calls for change come amid ongoing concerns over service quality – including deteriorating performance and rising taxi usage.

“We have echoed requests of a number of residents in our community that have highlighted concerns about operating HandyDART through the private sector, and really wanting to see it provided by the government with a minimum level of quality and service to go along with that,” Woodward added.

Mayor Sim wrote a letter to the Minister of Transportation, Mike Farnworth, saying that insourcing HandyDART “would strengthen oversight, improve accountability to riders, and ensure decisions about service delivery are guided by public interest.”

ATU criticizes review consultation

In a statement to The Leader Spirit, the Ministry of Transportation and Transit said that: “they will continue working with BC Transit and TransLink to ensure HandyDART services are meeting the needs of the people who rely on it.”

TransLink also provided a statement sharing that “they are conducting a HandyDART delivery model review by engaging with HandyDART users, caregivers, staff, and community partners. This delivery model review is looking at how HandyDART should operate long-term.”

However, ATU spokesperson von Sychoski says that this review lacks meaningful input from the public.

“We do not think that is a real public consultation when the report is already written, the recommendations are already in the hands of the board, and the decision is on the verge of being made.”

TransLink says the results and recommendations of the review will be brought to the TransLink board of directors for approval at a future public board meeting.
The next scheduled meeting is set for December 3.