Staff Report #1
November 11, 2025
To All Members of the Accessible Public Transit Service Advisory Committee
Re: Draft Accessibility Plan (2026-2030)
Recommendation
That the report be RECEIVED for information
Background
Consistent with the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) regulations, the Commission’s Accessibility Plan is scheduled for update. There are a number of specific requirements set out in the AODA regulations regarding Accessibility Plans, those which apply to the Commission are set out below.
Excerpts from Regulation 191 – Integrated Accessibility Regulation
Accessibility plans
4. (1) The Government of Ontario, Legislative Assembly, designated public sector organizations and large organizations shall,
(a) establish, implement, maintain and document a multi-year accessibility plan, which outlines the organization’s strategy to prevent and remove barriers and meet its requirements under this Regulation;
(b) post the accessibility plan on their website, if any, and provide the plan in an accessible format upon request; and
(c) review and update the accessibility plan at least once every five years. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 4 (1).
(2) The Government of Ontario, Legislative Assembly and designated public sector organizations shall establish, review and update their accessibility plans in consultation with persons with disabilities and if they have established an accessibility advisory committee, they shall consult with the committee. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 4 (2).
(3) The Government of Ontario, Legislative Assembly and designated public sector organizations shall,
(a) prepare an annual status report on the progress of measures taken to implement the strategy referenced in clause (1) (a), including steps taken to comply with this Regulation; and
(b) post the status report on their website, if any, and provide the report in an accessible format upon request. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 4 (3); O. Reg. 413/12, s. 3 (1).
(3.1) An upper-tier municipality and any lower-tier municipalities that form part of it for municipal purposes may prepare a joint accessibility plan and a joint annual status report. O. Reg. 413/12, s. 3 (2).
(3.2) A joint accessibility plan and a joint annual status report prepared in accordance with subsection (3.1) are deemed to be the accessibility plan and annual status report of each municipality to which they apply and subsections (2) and (3) apply, with necessary modifications, where municipalities prepare a joint accessibility plan and a joint annual status report. O. Reg. 413/12, s. 3 (2).
Accessibility plans, conventional transportation services
41. (1) In addition to the accessibility plan requirements set out in section 4, in their accessibility plan, conventional transportation service providers shall identify the process for managing, evaluating and taking action on customer feedback. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 41 (1).
(2) Every conventional transportation service provider shall annually hold at least one public meeting involving persons with disabilities to ensure that they have an opportunity to participate in a review of the accessibility plan and that they are given the opportunity to provide feedback on the accessibility plan. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 41 (2).
(3) If the provider of conventional transportation services also provides specialized transportation services, the transportation service provider shall address both types of transportation services in its accessibility plan. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 41 (3).
Accessibility plans, specialized transportation services
42. (1) Specialized transportation service providers shall, in their accessibility plans,
(a) identify the process for estimating the demand for specialized transportation services; and
(b) develop steps to reduce wait times for specialized transportation services. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 42 (1).
Accessibility plans, conventional and specialized transportation services
43. (1) Conventional transportation service providers and specialized transportation service providers shall, in their accessibility plans, describe their procedures for dealing with accessibility equipment failures on their respective types of vehicles. O. Reg. 191/11, s. 43 (1).
The following provides a brief overview of the initiatives that were included in the previous plan and the status of each, noting that status updates were also provided to the Commission and posted on the corporate website annually in compliance with the AODA regulations.
2020-2025 Accessibility Plan Initiatives
| Initiative | Status |
| General | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Include section in Plan on removal and prevention of barriers | Complete |
| Information & Communications | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Create an Accessibility section on corporate website | Complete |
| Consult with Advisory Committee on communication initiatives | Ongoing |
| Customer Service | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Consider additional communication methods for policies | Complete |
| Consult public regarding communication of temporary disruptions | Complete |
| Employment | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Public Transit Service General | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Conventional Transit Service | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Provide City with list of bus stops requiring sidewalk access | Ongoing |
| Communications campaign on priority seating and service animals | Complete |
| Assessment of ride hailing options | Ongoing |
| Specialized Transit Service | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Implementation of Smart Card readers on specialized service | Complete |
| Reallocation of service hours to match conventional service | Complete |
| Assessment of booking window options | Deferred |
| Assessment of trip booking options | Complete |
| Utilize non-accommodate trip data to plan for service growth | Complete |
| Consult advisory committee on service integration | Deferred |
| Public Spaces | |
| Ensure compliance with AODA | Ongoing |
| Ensure major retrofits include removal of barriers | Ongoing |
A review of the initiatives included in the previous plan is the first step in the creation of the next plan, noting that any initiatives that were deferred or not completed will be carried forward into the next plan. As set out in the table above, only two initiatives from the previous Accessibility Plan remain outstanding, both of which will be included on the next Accessibility Plan covering the period 2026-2030.
In addition to the review of the previous Plan, stakeholder engagement sessions for the 2024-2027 Business Plan included discussion around the accessibility of the conventional and specialized services, and a number of recommendations for initiatives for the next Accessibility Plan were identified. Additionally, the public was asked to provide feedback through drop-in sessions on November 6 and an online survey. A summary of the feedback gathered during public consultation and survey is set out in the following table.
Summary of Feedback from Public Consultation
| Standard Section | % Satisfied | Recommendations from Respondents |
| General | 78% |
|
| Information & Communication | 77% |
|
| Customer Service | 74% |
|
| Employment | 88% |
|
| Transportation | 84% |
|
| Conventional Transit | 78% |
|
| Specialized Transit | 85% |
|
| Public Spaces | 88% |
|
The recommendations that were included through the survey and drop in sessions have been incorporated into the recommended initiatives included in the 2026-2030 Accessibility Plan where applicable. In addition to feedback directly relating to each of the areas of the AODA Standards, respondents were asked to identify the draft initiatives that were their highest priority. This feedback was utilized to schedule the various initiatives over the five year horizon of the Plan.
The Draft 2026-2030 Accessibility Plan is set out in Enclosure I, noting any feedback collected from APTSAC will be incorporated into the final recommended plan which will be presented to the Commission at the November 17, 2025 meeting.
Enclosure
I – Draft 2026-2030 Accessibility Plan
Recommended by:
Katie Burns, Director of Planning
Shawn Wilson, Director of Operations
Joanne Galloway, Director of Human Resources
Concurred in by:
Kelly S. Paleczny, General Manager