Starting New Year’s Day, Tuesday, January 1, 2013, Burlington Transit will establish one fare-payment system for both conventional buses and Handi-van vehicles.

New regulations in the provincial Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) require transit agencies to make sure that all fare options that they offer on regular buses — such as cash, tickets and monthly passes — are also available on their specialized (or “accessible”) services, by January 1. As a result, Burlington City Council approved changes to Burlington Transit fares, especially for those who use the accessible Handi-van service.

Starting New Year’s Day, Handi-van riders can:

• Use the PRESTO fare payment card; (Burlington Transit is equipping all Handi-van vehicles with PRESTO card readers).
• Buy strips of tickets and monthly passes through Burlington Transit ticket agents;
• Have a two hours to transfer from one transit vehicle to another;
• Take advantage of GO Transit’s fare-integration policy which allows transit users to pay just 65 cent for their trip when riding Burlington Transit or Handi-van vehicles to transfer to a GO train or bus;
• Pay less for their transportation; and
• Travel on both Handi-van and conventional buses with a registered support person.

Also starting New Year’s Day, Handi-van clients can no longer:

• Buy fares from Handi-van operators;
• Get change from Handi-van operators for cash payments;
• Mail in a cheque to buy fares; and
• Buy tickets specifically for Handi-van.

Burlington City Council directed transit staff to abandon a plan to start charging blind passengers regular transit fares as part of its efforts to establish fare parity in Burlington.