Toronto Transit Commission Offers "Buttons" For The Disabled -- BC TransLink To Follow Suit

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/translink-considering-disability-buttons-1.4656231

[...]

Sometimes disabilities, pregnancies, or even age aren't obvious. So the Toronto Transit Commission has launched a program to make communicating less-visible disabilities easier for people — and now TransLink is considering following suit.

The program simply provides buttons reading "please offer me a seat" for people to wear if they want others to be aware of their need. The blue buttons also have a small wheelchair symbol.

[...]

Sam Turcott, director of the advocacy access program at Disability Alliance B.C., said the program sounds like a good idea.

"It can be incredibly alienating to have to continue reminding people about the support that they need, and frankly, very frustrating for people with disabilities," said Turcott.

"Anytime people with disabilities have more options for communicating their needs, I think it's a good step."

But Turcott cautioned that there could be a downside to the buttons.

"I do worry about creating a climate where there's an expectation that people who don't want to transmit information about their disabilities feel pressured to do that," he said.

TTC's program is entirely voluntary, and the commission said people shouldn't assume someone sitting in a courtesy seat without a button or obvious disability isn't in need of the seat.

The program's premise is that, if you're physically vulnerable in some way, you can don a button somewhere on your clothing/gear and it would indicate to others that you need a seat. This would remove the stigma of asking others to sacrifice their seat directly and dealing with the judgment that comes along with that if you're not obviously impaired.

Do you think this is a good idea, or potentially problematic?

Would you want to see something like this implemented in your city if it has public transit?
 
I'd be totally fine with it, though I don't really see how it works as a stigma-avoiding mechanism.
 
The same dwads that ignore a pregnant woman can now ignore button people.
 
I'd be totally fine with it, though I don't really see how it works as a stigma-avoiding mechanism.

In its current iteration I'm not sure that it would. No proof is required to get the button in Toronto. :think:
 
Do you think this is a good idea, or potentially problematic?
Well, i think the article is making fair points on both downsides and upsides.
The whole idea of having disabled people "marked" certainly has a bit of a taste.
Would you want to see something like this implemented in your city if it has public transit?
My city primarily has buses, which are rarely all that full.
Trams... let me remember living in Bremen... actually the downsides begin to gain weight. Then again i lived in a somewhat rowdy part of town.

What i would consider a great idea would be to do the reverse.
Have buttons saying: "Ask me for my seat, i'm happy to help."
 
I’ve heard they already have this in New York for pregnant women but I’ve never personally seen it.
 
You just think they're pregnant.
 
My city primarily has buses, which are rarely all that full.

That's worth considering. Toronto and Vancouver have some fairly congested bus routes, especially Vancouver. The bus route I would need to take to get to the doctor and hospital is technically the most congested in North America. I can't take the bus even on a good day because it's simply too crowded for me to be a safe passenger if I'm standing and I look too much the part of an able-bodied male to reasonably ask others to sacrifice their seat.

http://dailyhive.com/vancouver/41st-avenue-b-line-rapid-bus-translink

It has the second highest ridership in the city behind our 99 line, which is the busiest route in North America. Biggest difference is that the 41 has, thus far, been restricted to single buses (77 capacity, 31 seats) and 8-15 minute cycles while the 99 gets to use the articulated buses (120 capacity, 44 seats) and their cycle is more around 2-5 minutes. The 41 is getting revamped next year to more closely resemble the 99. :D
 
The way it works here is that if you can physically move out of the seat, you're expected to give way to people in wheelchairs and women with gigantic baby "strollers" that are the size of a shopping cart and usually hold everything except the kid. So yeah, even though I was using canes when I took buses, I was still told to move on occasion.
 
Where I live people are generally good about giving up their seats to people who visibly need a seat, i.e. pregnant women, the elderly, somebody with crutches, etc.

As a frequent user of public transit, I readily give my seat to one of the above mentioned groups. If I'm sitting down and an old man comes on, I get up. So I would not mind at all if people were wearing official buttons of some sort like that, alerting me that they also have a need for a seat. I have never even really thought about it, but it seems that sometimes it's just not apparent.

If they are comfortable wearing that button, then I have no problem with it, and would give up my seat to people who wear that button. I have no idea if it's a good idea or not, though, although the article seems to mention more positives than negatives
 
Where I live people are generally good about giving up their seats to people who visibly need a seat, i.e. pregnant women, the elderly, somebody with crutches, etc.

As a frequent user of public transit, I readily give my seat to one of the above mentioned groups. If I'm sitting down and an old man comes on, I get up. So I would not mind at all if people were wearing official buttons of some sort like that, alerting me that they also have a need for a seat. I have never even really thought about it, but it seems that sometimes it's just not apparent.

If they are comfortable wearing that button, then I have no problem with it, and would give up my seat to people who wear that button. I have no idea if it's a good idea or not, though, although the article seems to mention more positives than negatives
Some people don't like to be labeled since there is a segment of society that will always mock the disabled, claiming we're faking it or are just "lazy." But there are an awful lot of people whose disabilities are not readily apparent. I've seen a few on the handi-bus and wondered why they were on there instead of regular transit, since they don't look disabled and don't appear to have any cognitive problems.

But since it's not easy to get on that program (it requires a doctor to sign off on it, which they won't do without an exam), I just assume they have the right to be there. In my own case, of course, people might wonder why I need the walker and if they ask very politely I might tell them. I've never taken the walker on the regular bus, though, since it's a crapshoot if there would be any room anyway. There really should be some sensible limits to how large those "stroller/shopping carts" can be. Whatever happened to a normal sized stroller and a diaper bag? Some of those kids are old enough to walk on their own.
 
Some people don't like to be labeled since there is a segment of society that will always mock the disabled, claiming we're faking it or are just "lazy."

It should never be mandatory or anything like that. It should only be worn if the person wearing it is comfortable doing that, and has not been coerced into the decision in some sort of way (financial, peer pressure, etc.)

If it helps people who have anxiety and are too shy to ask for a seat, or whatever, I can see a use in those cases.. and probably cases I can't even think of. If the transit authority realises official things, and people choose to wear them, then I would look at them and be nice to those people who choose to wear them, and give them my seat, and not make a big deal of it.

I use public transit almost every day and over the last 10 years.. I think the general trend is that people will give up their seats if an old man comes on, or a pregnant woman, or somebody with crutches, or a woman with a small child.. There's no set standards really, and I see people not stand up in borderline cases, but overall I can only remember one direct bigoted mockery of somebody.. and that was a NYE bus.

The cities I'm familiar with in terms of public transit (Toronto, London ont) don't of course represent all of Canada, and my experiences are of course anecdotal, but I think such a program would work here
 
Can't they just pay a subscription for a seat or get a disability pass guaranteeing them a seat? I'd pay for to have a seat during rush hour transit.
 
Most embarrassing thing I ever did as a boss. There was a woman that worked for me and while I was chatting with her I asked her when she was due only to be informed that she had delivered in the previous month. DOH. In my feeble defense, I did have over 100 people working for me at the time so it was difficult to be familiar with every personal detail of their lives. (but yeah, pretty pathetic on my part)
Out of all the dumb things I've done, that one still always stands out to me.
 
Can't they just pay a subscription for a seat or get a disability pass guaranteeing them a seat? I'd pay for to have a seat during rush hour transit.
Some municipalities offer special passes for disabled or senior riders. Some don't. A lot depends on how clueless the city council is toward the idea that they're supposed to represent all the people, not just the able-bodied drivers.
 
Nothing against the idea but not sure it would help much either. At the end of the day we need people to be decent, that's all.
 
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