Apology coming to Para Transpo client asked to share taxi

Para Transpo taxis shouldn't be transporting two customers at once and Transpo management will be apologizing to a woman who was told another customer would be riding with her in a sedan last week, transit boss John Manconi said Wednesday.

Manconi told the transit commission that he would call Michele Proulx to apologize.

“That should not have occurred,” Manconi said, addressing a column in Wednesday's Citizen at the start of a transit commission meeting.

Proulx, 64, who uses a wheelchair, told columnist Kelly Egan about her experience with a Para Transpo ride last Friday.

She said the Para Transpo taxi driver told her there was another passenger to pick up, causing her concern about being at close quarters with a stranger during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Proulx said she got out of the car at the stop for the second passenger on Donald Street, refusing to share the ride. She said she had a sudden asthma attack. Para Transpo dispatched a minibus to take Proulx to her destination in Kanata.

Manconi said Ottawa Public Health's guidance has allowed Para Transpo taxis to transport two customers at once, but he put a stop to that practice Wednesday morning. Customers can still request that their attendants come on a trip in a Para Transpo taxi.

“The customers didn't do anything wrong. This is on us,” Manconi said.

Para Transpo minibuses will continue to transport multiple customers, he said, because there's enough room for physical distancing.