The rebate will offer partial subsidies to eligible owner-operators for the added maintenance costs involved with operating a wheelchair-accessible taxi.
The B.C. government is providing about $3 million in rebates to taxi owner-operators in a bid to increase the number of accessible taxis available for people with disabilities.
The rebates will help offset maintenance costs for wheelchair-accessible taxi owner-operators — the first of four funding streams launched under the province’s new passenger transportation accessibility program (PTAP), said the transportation ministry in a statement on Wednesday
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The maintenance rebate will offer partial subsidies to eligible owner-operators for the added maintenance costs involved with operating a wheelchair accessible taxi compared to operating a non-accessible taxi.
Over the next two years, the provincial government will launch three more programs that will focus on reducing the cost of operating, purchasing and converting wheelchair-accessible taxis and providing better training to drivers to support passengers with disabilities.
According to 2020 data from the Passenger Transportation Board, about 14 per cent of taxis in the province are accessible, and about 19 per cent in Metro Vancouver, although passengers who need them often experience longer wait times or lack of service.
News of the rebate was welcomed by the industry.
The program would help the B.C. Taxi Association increase the number of accessible taxis on the road, said president Mohan Kang in a statement. “The funding will help our members with important retrofitting and maintenance costs so they can provide the important accessibility services people across the province depend on.”
Neil Belanger, CEO of the B.C. Aboriginal Network of Disability Services, said the program will improve services available to Indigenous people in B.C., who experience higher rates of disability.
“Service improvements that increase equity for all people requiring transportation accommodations not only makes our communities a better place to live, but British Columbia a more welcoming and accessible province,” he said.
Funding for the program will come from revenue collected from a new per-trip fee levied by the province in September 2019.
The per-trip fee was created in part to help support accessibility following the introduction of ride-hailing operations — which do not have a requirement to reserve a portion of their fleet for accessible vehicles — in the province.
Applications for the maintenance rebate program opened last week. The province plans to start issuing rebates for this program by March 31.
chchan@postmedia.com
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