TTC subway stations lack equal accessibility for all, critics say

After video surfaced this week of a man in an electric mobility scooter falling onto the subway tracks at College station, critics are renewingcallson the TTC to ensure everyone has equal access to public transit in the city.

The incident occurred Monday afternoon after the man reportedly realized there was no working elevator available to take him to street level. As he turned to board another train to get to a station with an elevator, he toppled over onto the tracks and seriously injured his leg.

• WATCH|Man topples onto subway tracks along with mobility scooter

Less than half of the TTC's 69 subway station stops are currently accessible to those that use wheelchairs or other mobility aids, and many say that alternate routes made available are time consuming or flat out inconvenient.

"I usually have to go half-hour out of my way just to go where I'm going," Paul Valilee told CBC News in an interview Tuesday.

The TTC has mandated that all subway stations have an elevator to street level by 2025, but so far only 15 stations have received funding to install them. Another 17 stations await the money to do so, TTC spokeswoman Susan Spirling said.

Accessibility advocate David Lepofsky said even among the stations with elevators, severalare not working or require frequent closure formaintenance. He said he hopes the problems will be fixed by the time the Pan Am Games kick off this summer.

For more on this story, check out the report from CBC's Charlsie Agro above.