DARTS could make getting groceries easier, says Hamilton man who’s taking his complaint to tribunal

When Anthony Frisina goes shopping, he'd like to bring his bundle buggy.

He uses a wheelchair and can pack his groceries into the cart in one go.

The buggy allows him to avoid multiple trips to and from his west Mountain home, and hauling heavy shopping bags.

He has tried that. And it's a struggle."

But DARTS, Hamilton's door-to-door transit service for people with disabilities, won't help its passengers load or unload bundle buggies.

Frisina says he has tried unsuccessfully to convince the non-profit under contract with the city and municipal staffers to change this policy.

So, the 40-year-old advocate for the rights of people with disabilities has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.

I've exhausted all options," he said. It comes down to dignity and respect, and independence."

Frisina isn't asking for not special treatment, says his lawyer, Nick Papageorge, an associate with Hamilton firm Ross & McBride.

It's really is about being on equal footing with people who don't live with disabilities."

That means being able to take one trip to the store to get all of his groceries, just like people without disabilities, he said.

In its initial response to the tribunal, DARTS (Disabled and Aged Regional Transportation System) rejects that it has discriminated against Frisina.

At best," he discloses general allegations of unfairness with no connection to the Ontario Human Rights Code," lawyer Jane M. Gooding writes.

Mark Mindorff, executive director of the service, declined to comment on Frisina's complaint Monday.

An email to Debbie Dalle Vedove, Hamilton's transit director, was fielded by a city spokesperson, who also declined to comment, citing the ongoing tribunal matter.

In its response to Frisina's application, DARTS argues helping with bundle buggies would amount to significant costs" and pose increased health and safety risks" for its drivers.

DARTS is simply not obligated to put its drivers at risk to provide a preferred service to (Frisina) and other clients," the organization contends.

Papageorge argues that rings hollow," pointing out drivers already help riders manoeuvre heavier wheelchairs up and down ramps.

It's not a huge leap forward or something really onerous that Anthony is seeking here."

The city has asked the tribunal for party status to respond to Frisina's application.

DARTS, which was founded in 1975, has seen a steady increase in ridership, with annual spikes averaging about 10 per cent a year since 2013, a city staff report noted last year.

At that time, roughly 17,000 people were signed up for the service, whose cost overruns in recent years have drawn scrutiny from city officials.

Dalle Vedove has attributed DARTS's rise in ridership to a combination of factors, including an aging population and expanded eligibility criteria for paratransit services in 2012.

Frisina, who has used DARTS since 2017, says some drivers have chosen to help him with the buggy despite the rules.

But recently, it has become more of an issue, he says.

I've had one driver refuse the bundle buggy and drive off on me ... This was at my residence."

But Frisina doesn't blame drivers; it's the policy, he says.

Persons with disabilities all have different needs, and have different strengths and different accommodations, so it's something that seems to be overlooked as a specialized service' that DARTS calls themselves."

Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com