Customer Comments and Staff Responses

Comments

“Could the Wheel-Trans customer service hours be increased from the current times, especially on Mondays? Customer service is also not available on weekends.”

“Please extend Wheel-Trans phone line hours.”

"Why, after three years of promising, are Wheel-Trans customers still treated like second-class when it comes to customer service? Our hours are not 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. like with the conventional side."

“Why is it that the chat feature on the website is only available during business hours? It is not fair that people who are legally deaf-blind do not have the same access to Wheel-Trans service as other customers.”

Responses

Wheel-Trans customer service currently does not operate under the same hours as conventional customer service. That is being looked at. Wheel-Trans has a request in for 2025 to extend the hours. Currently, Reservations is open 365 days, 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the Priority Line is open every day 24 hours for any urgent customer needs.

Right now, customer service employees respond to the chat. If customer service hours can be extended to become more equitable, the hours of the chat will be extended as well.

Comments

“Wheel-Trans wait times on phone for customer service.”

Response

Five new Customer Service agents were added in 2024, to help reduce the wait times for Customer Service.

Comments

“Wheel-Trans booking staff have hung up on the customer.”

Response

Customers should never have to experience this. If this happens again, please advise Wheel-Trans Customer Service and it will be investigated and actioned appropriately.

Comments

“Why is Wheel-Trans starting to contract out of country for booking system for the drivers?”

Response

All TTC staff, as well as contracted overflow staff that assist Reservations, operate within Canada.

Comments

“When you are booking Wheel-Trans and on vehicles, some customers have been threatened. I want that dealt with, please.”

Response

That is certainly not something that should ever be happening. Wheel-Trans apologizes for that. Please provide specific details so the situation can be investigated.

Comments

“What happens if I have a seizure on Wheel-Trans going home? Can the bus driver call for help on my behalf?”

Response

Yes, drivers are able to reach Dispatch at any time, who can then call 911.

Comments

“I had a situation where I was dropped off, but did not get picked up. Who can help me in that situation?”

Response

Please call Wheel-Trans Customer Service and they will investigate what happened to the return trip. 

Comments

“The application appeals process needs to be reviewed. I am a new user as of the last year and half. And I applied. I had to have an assessment done. When the provisional approval was over, they cancelled my eligibility completely with Wheel-Trans. So when I called to book my next trip I wasn't even a Wheel-Trans customer any more. They did very cordially reinstate it. Now I was mailed out an application form. So I had to go back to my doctor, had to refill that, get it back on the radar and then now I have to also send in an appeal because I have Family of Services. And it is proving to be very difficult for a number of reasons. And some of the management called me back from the call centre agreeing that there is not very good communication around that and forewarning when your eligibility will just go away for that matter.”

Response

Wheel-Trans is sorry this happened. Occasionally, temporary eligibility is issued to sort out an appeal issue. Temporary eligibility may also be determined if the customer’s condition or disability may change in the near future. This allows the customer to travel with a temporary account, and Wheel-Trans is better equipped to determine a permanent eligibility when the customer re-applies. Occasionally, Wheel-Trans may have to go through functional assessments or an appeal to make sure everything is correct and updated. If a customer needs anything going forward with the application process, please let Wheel-Trans know. 

Comments

“Why does a person who is blind and never getting their vision back have to re-apply for Wheel-Trans? Nothing changed. This is offensive and totally inappropriate. Some cannot use the Family of Services program. It is nothing short of an attempt to save money on the backs of people with disabilities. Why are people being denied the service they clearly qualified for in the past? Does the TTC acknowledge that if a previous registered Wheel-Trans customer is harmed or injured it must bear responsibility?”

Response

Wheel-Trans understands it can be frustrating when a customer’s disability has not changed and they are asked to re-register. The issue is anyone that applied for Wheel-Trans prior to 2017 did not have an eligibility. AODA requirements dictated that Wheel-Trans must have a defined eligibility (conditional, unconditional, temporary) for all customers. Wheel-Trans needed to come up with an equitable and fair way to do that. It was not equitable to make all legacy customers unconditional customers. Wheel-Trans had to come up with this process whereby legacy customers who registered prior to 2017 would go through the same process as all of the customers who registered since 2017, in order to ensure that customers are assessed using the same eligibility criteria.

Comments

“If you have services in another city such as Hamilton, how does it work when you apply to Wheel-Trans? Do you lose your previous services?”

Response

A customer may ask their home specialized transit agency to forward their information to Wheel-Trans. Wheel-Trans will provide the same eligibility that the customer has with their home agency.