Kamloops council is planning to divert spending with BC Transit to bring in a custom transit bus for people with disabilities within two years.

That’s after a motion was passed that was brought forward by councillor Sadie Hunter, who says the city is investing a lot of money to provide transit for people with mobility issues but aren’t getting enough back.

And one councillor would like to see the city take another step further.

Bill Sarai said on the NL Morning News, while there are taxis that can accommodate physically challenged people, often just getting a cab can be a challenge in itself.

“Sometimes, and I’ve talked to the cab companies, not every taxi driver willingly signs up for that vehicle to do the wheelchair run,” he said. “At night time, they might not even have a driver so the van just stays parked.”

He says he does, however, see a solution to the issue.

“Either we’ve got to form some kind of transportation commission in town to not only talk about this service but taxi service in general especially with the new ride hailing coming into town,” he added, noting its important that the city deal with the concerns instead of, as he puts it, “waiting for Victoria to tell us what we can and can’t do to help Kamloopsians get around when transit isn’t available.”

Sarai notes that a lack of service in the city can put vulnerable people in a tough spot.

“Say you’ve got a senior citizen that wants to go to a hockey game or to a restaurant or to a movie and their only choice is to call a taxi and it’s not available,” Sarai noted. “So, what if they’ve bought tickets previously or made a date with someone to go see them and now they’re stuck at home.”

“I think that’s unacceptable.”