Voting has started! The BC provincial election platforms are out, and only one mentions HandyDART. The 129 page BC Liberal platform mentions ‘wine’ fifteen times, but does NOT mention HandyDART even once.
BC NDP Platform promises increased funding for HandyDART
This is what the BC NDP says about HandyDART in their platform:
“The BC Liberals made a mess of Metro Vancouver’s transportation governance, by undermining the mayors, giving power to Liberal appointees over elected officials, passing the buck when convenient and being completely inconsistent and unpredictable on funding models. They’ve announced billion dollar projects that Metro mayors didn’t even want and made it impossible for mayors to plan. . . .
HandyDART has also been severely underserviced by the BC Liberals. Every day in British Columbia, seniors and people with disabilities are denied HandyDART service, and are left stuck without the ride they desperately need, resulting in missed medical appointments and social isolation. HandyDART service hours were frozen by Christy Clark and the BC Liberals in 2009, and as a result, trip denials went up over 600 per cent. Service quality has also deteriorated, with riders routinely forced to wait for hours.
›› We will work with TransLink and BC Transit to find long and lasting solutions to improve HandyDART service, reduce trip denials, and ensure that seniors and people with disabilities get the rides they need.”
The Green Party’s platform does not mention HandyDART, but does pledge more support for public transit.
Vote in advance – and urge your friends and family to do the same
Elections are decided as much by the people who don’t vote as those who do. The wealthy always vote, and staying at home lets them pick the government.
People often intend to vote on voting day, but then get sick or something comes up. Advance voting is the way to be sure you get a chance to vote. It will also be much easier to get a HandyDART ride to advance polls than on May 9 (election day). You can also ask the candidate you plan to vote for for a ride to the voting place.
Advance voting is available throughout the province on May 3, 4, 5 and 6. Advance voting is open to all eligible voters, and all advance voting locations are wheelchair accessible. Advance polling times and locations are posted at http://elections.bc.ca/2017-general-election/where-to-vote/
Information on the identification you should take with you is at http://elections.bc.ca/2017-general-election/voter-id/ Voters who don’t have ID can have their identity vouched for by another person. Elections BC has more information at http://elections.bc.ca/2017-general-election/ or call 1-800-661-8683
