Saint John rebrands accessible transit service, jettisons 'derogatory and degrading' name
Transit commission also adding a bus to accessible services, another to come next year
Saint John Transit is discarding the decades-old name for its accessible bus service.
Called the Handi-bus since 1994, it will now be known as Saint John Accessible Transit.
Marisa Hersey-Misner, chair of the city's ability advisory committee, advocated for the name change and said it was a longtime coming for an accessible service meant to serve everyone.
"I had first started to hear in the community about the name of Handi-bus and how derogatory and degrading the name sounded," she said, at Wednesday's announcement.
"I felt really sad to think that people that use that service felt that way … so I had immediately brought it to the Saint John ability advisory committee and said we need to change this name."
Although once very common, the term handicapped is now dated and considered offensive.
The service provides transportation for people with disabilities who are unable to use the city's fixed-route bus system.
"I am so happy with the new name … we believe that this name will be a long-lasting name," said Hersey-Misner, who is legally blind.
More than a third of New Brunswickers are living with a disability, according to Statistics Canada data released in 2023.
At 35.3 per cent, it's the second-highest rate in Canada, while the national average is 27 per cent.
New Brunswick's disability rate is also increasing faster than anywhere else in the country — rising by 8.6 percentage points between 2017 and 2022.
Transportation is the largest barrier for people with disabilities to overcome, without which many in the community would be housebound and isolated, said Hersey-Misner.
"We start to get depressed because we're isolated — we don't have those community connections."
Additional buses
The city is also gaining another bus for its accessible services, bringing the fleet to six. Another will be added in the coming year.
David Black, executive director of Independence Plus Inc., a non-profit group that runs the service for the city, said accessible transit is a lifeline for people.
"Last year we did around 24,000 trips in the city … The city really needs the service and many members in the community need access," he said.
"They need it for everything from dialysis treatment to going to Seadogs games, getting to work and going to church."
The additional bus will increase service hours, he said, and improve availability.
"And you got to realize, with a fleet of six, sometimes you have issues with buses. So if one or two go down, you have another bus to step in … another one next year will definitely help even more," he said.
Hersey-Misner wants to see the service improved with more availability, making it more on-demand.
"I'm hoping that we can reach that at some point because this service takes the passengers to their doctor's appointments, to work, to school, to do their groceries and social activities," she said.
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