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There are many questions about HandyDART service after Global News reported about a Surrey man who was denied the service after 28 years.
Tom Cretain has been isolated inside his home since HandyDART stopped giving him a ride.
“It’s shut my life down,” he said.
“I haven’t been out for two months, except in the neighbourhood.”
Cretain is living with spinal muscular atrophy and requires a special wheelchair.
Both TransLink and HandyDART operator Transdev say they cannot safely accommodate Cretain anymore because of the size of his mobility device.
Mark Beeching, a retired HandyDART trainer and driver, had assessed Cretain’s case in 2010.
“When we did a previous assessment, we found it did fit,” he told Global News.
TransLink says a recent detailed assessment found it can no longer safely accommodate Cretain.
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“The manufacturer’s specs for HandyDART vehicle lifts state that a mobility device can’t exceed 48 inches by 37 inches, and the combined weight of the customer and device also can’t exceed 800 pounds, so these are not arbitrary limits,” Anita Bathe, a TransLink spokesperson, said.
Beeching said the measurements need to be done from wheel to wheel.
“They’ve managed to transport me for 30 years safely,” Cretain said.
“It’s never been an accident, never an accident.”
Critics are blaming the government, but B.C.’s Transportation Minister says he has now directed staff to fix the problem.
“I am like most people — like most people, frustrated when I see the story going, you know, what’s going on here?” Mike Farnworth said.
Cretain just wants to get back on the road.
“If I don’t fix this, I don’t have much of a life left,” he said.
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