DARTS says accessible fleet is safe; accuses Hamilton of manufacturing a ‘crisis’ with sudden audit

Hamilton's beleaguered accessible transit provider is accusing the city of trying to manufacture a crisis" with a safety audit that led to dozens of wheelchair vans being ordered off the road.

The city called a surprise news conference May 19 to announce a demand" that DARTS pull 36 vehicles off the road for safety inspections as a result of widespread repair problems found during an audit.

DARTS is a non-profit, specialized transit service contracted by the city to offer pre-booked, shared rides to residents with disabilities or those unable to use conventional HSR buses. The city said an anonymous complaint spurred an audit that found problems ranging from malfunctioning lights to suspension woes in 17 vehicles initially inspected.

DARTS head Mark Mindorff earlier told The Spectator he was surprised" by the move given the agency has fielded no customer complaints about vehicle maintenance, but also stressed he was in complete agreement" with the city's precautionary decision.

That's no longer the case, judging by a letter sent to council and forwarded to The Spectator Monday that makes public long-standing disagreements between the city and the board of the non-profit agency.

In a letter to Mayor Fred Eisenberger, board chair Paula Kilburn writes to express her deep disappointment" and a request to meet to discuss the city's recent treatment of DARTS," stressing the agency has had zero incidents attributable to the mechanical state of any if its vehicles."

To be blunt, we question the motive for this audit," said Kilburn, a legally blind resident who uses DARTS. We are particularly concerned that this may be an attempt to manufacture a crisis by inflating vehicle failure rates and to create a false narrative regarding the state of DARTS services and its vehicle fleet."

The city previously said the decision to pull the vehicles for precautionary inspections was unavoidable."

But Kilburn argued in her letter the city did not tell DARTS about the anonymous complaint it received for six months and has not shared the specifics to this day.

The letter suggests the city safety audit was designed to ensure failure" and force vehicles to park over minuscule" deficiencies that pose no safety concern whatsoever and does not otherwise render the vehicle unroadworthy."

The Spectator has reached out to the city for comment and an update on the ongoing inspection process.

The city is also working on a report on the future of accessible transit - a service council has repeatedly mulled bringing in-house over the past decade.

More to come ...

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com