Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (SOR/2019-244)

Marginal note:Persons not independently mobile

37 If a person with a disability who is in a wheelchair, a boarding chair or any other device in which the person is not independently mobile is waiting at a terminal for departure after check-in or in order to transfer to another segment of their trip, the carrier must ensure that members of personnel

• (a) provide the person with a place to wait that is close to members of personnel who are available to provide assistance to the person; and

• (b) periodically inquire about the person’s needs and attend to those needs if the services requested by the person are services that are required by this Part.

Marginal note:Request for assistance

38 Unless a person with a disability is able to request assistance from members of personnel by means of a call button, the carrier must ensure that members of personnel periodically inquire about the person’s needs and attend to those needs if the services requested by the person are services that are required by this Part.

Marginal note:Personal electronic device

39 A carrier that is subject to the requirements set out in section 81, 117, 164 or 205 must, on the request of a person with a disability, provide to the person, for their use while on board, a personal electronic device that is referred to in that section.

Transportation of Mobility Aids and Other Assistive Devices

Marginal note:Priority baggage

• 40 (1) Subject to sections 44 to 47, a carrier must, on the request of a person with a disability who needs a mobility aid during travel, accept the mobility aid for transport as priority baggage.

• Marginal note:Option to retain

  (2) The carrier must permit the person to retain their mobility aid until it becomes necessary to store it.

Marginal note:Services

• 41 (1) A carrier must provide the following services to a person with a disability who uses a mobility aid:

  • (a) if it is necessary in order to make room for the storage of that mobility aid, removing any cargo and other baggage from storage;

  • (b) if the mobility aid needs to be disassembled and packaged in order to store it, disassembling and packaging the mobility aid and, on arrival at the person’s destination, unpackaging and reassembling it; and

  • (c) returning the mobility aid to the person on arrival at the destination without delay.

• Marginal note:Disassembly and reassembly

  (2) A carrier may require a person who requests the service referred to in paragraph (1)(b) to do any of the following:

  • (a) provide the carrier with written instructions for the disassembly and reassembly of the mobility aid; and

  • (b) check in or arrive at the boarding area before the scheduled time for check-in or boarding.

Marginal note:On-board storage — trains or ferries

42 A rail or marine carrier must permit a person with a disability who uses a mobility aid to store their mobility aid on board the train or ferry.

Marginal note:On-board storage — aircraft or buses

43 An air or bus carrier must make every reasonable effort to permit a person with a disability who uses a walker or manual folding wheelchair to store it on board the aircraft or bus.

Marginal note:Refused transportation — aircraft

44 An air carrier may refuse to transport a person’s mobility aid if

• (a) the size of the door to the aircraft’s baggage compartment or the size of the aircraft’s baggage compartment is not large enough to accommodate the mobility aid;

• (b) it would jeopardize aircraft airworthiness; or

• (c) the weight or size of the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the lift or ramp.

Marginal note:Refused transportation — trains

45 A rail carrier may refuse to transport a person’s mobility aid if

• (a) the doorways and turning radii of every passenger rail car and the doors of every baggage car are not large enough to accommodate the mobility aid;

• (b) the weight or size of the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the lift or ramp; or

• (c) the person must remain in the mobility aid in order to board the train and the combined weight of the person and the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the lift or ramp.

Marginal note:Refused transportation — ferries

46 A marine carrier may refuse to transport a person’s mobility aid if

• (a) the weight or size of the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the gangway or ramp; or

• (b) the person must remain in the mobility aid in order to board the ferry and the combined weight of the person and the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the gangway or ramp.

Marginal note:Refused transportation — buses

47 A bus carrier may refuse to transport a person’s mobility aid if

• (a) the size of the door to the bus’s baggage compartment or the size of the bus’s baggage compartment is not large enough to accommodate the mobility aid;

• (b) the weight or size of the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the baggage compartment or of the lift, ramp or bridge plate; or

• (c) the person must remain in the mobility aid in order to board the bus and the combined weight of the person and the mobility aid exceeds the capacity of the lift, ramp or bridge plate.

Marginal note:Explanation of refusal and alternatives

48 If a carrier refuses to transport the mobility aid of a person with a disability, the carrier must

• (a) at the time of the refusal, inform the person of the carrier’s reasons for refusal and, not later than 10 days after the day of the refusal, provide the person with a written notice setting out the reasons for the refusal; and

• (b) advise the person of the availability of alternative trips that are provided by the carrier to the same destination and on which the mobility aid will not be refused for transport, and offer to book any such alternative trip for the person at the lesser of the fare for the original trip and the fare for the alternative trip.

Marginal note:Small assistive devices

49 A carrier must permit a person with a disability to bring on board and to retain any small assistive device that the person needs during travel, including a cane, crutches, a communication device, an orthotic positioning device or a portable oxygen concentrator.

Transportation of Support Persons

Marginal note:Duty to transport

• 50 (1) A carrier must, on the request of a person with a disability, accept a support person for transport if, because of the nature of their disability, the person, after departure and before arrival, needs

  • (a) assistance with eating meals, taking medication, using the washroom;

  • (b) assistance with transferring to and from a passenger seat;

  • (c) assistance with orientation or communication; or

  • (d) physical assistance in the event of an emergency, including in the case of an evacuation or decompression.

• Marginal note:Adjacent passenger seat

  (2) The carrier must provide a passenger seat for the support person that is adjacent to the passenger seat of the person with a disability.

Transportation of Service Dogs

Marginal note:Duty to transport

• 51 (1) A carrier must, on the request of a person with a disability who needs to travel with a service dog, accept the service dog for transport and permit the animal to accompany the person on board, subject to subsection (2).

• Marginal note:Requirements

  (2) A carrier may require a person with a disability who requests to travel with a service dog to control the dog with a leash, tether or harness during travel and to provide

  • (a) at the time that the person with a disability makes the reservation with the carrier, a declaration attesting that the service dog has been individually trained by an organization or person specializing in service dog training to perform a task to assist the person with a disability with a need related to their disability; and

  • (b) before departure, an identification card or other document that is issued by an organization or person specializing in service dog training that identifies the person with a disability and attests that the service dog has been individually trained by the organization or person to perform a task to assist the person with a disability with a need related to their disability.

• Marginal note:Electronic copy

  (3) The condition in paragraph (2)(b) is met if the person has provided the card or other document referred to in that paragraph to the carrier for the purpose of a previous request for a service and the carrier has retained an electronic copy of it.

• Marginal note:Additional space for service dog

  (4) If, because of the size of the service dog, the passenger seat of the person with a disability does not provide sufficient floor space for the service dog to lie down at the person’s feet in a manner that ensures the safety and well-being of the dog and the person, the carrier must provide to the person any passenger seat adjacent to their passenger seat that is needed to provide sufficient floor space for the service dog.

Additional Passenger Seat

Marginal note:Duty to provide additional seating space

52 On the request of a person with a disability who needs more than one passenger seat because of the nature of their disability, the carrier must provide to the person any passenger seat adjacent to their passenger seat that is needed by the person.

Allergy Buffer Zone

Marginal note:Duty to establish buffer zone

• 53 (1) On the request of a person who has a disability due to a severe allergy, a carrier must ensure that a buffer zone is established around the passenger seat of the person to assist them in avoiding the risk of exposure to the allergen by taking the following measures:

  • (a) providing the person with a passenger seat that is in a bank of seats other than the bank of seats in which the source of the allergen is located and other than the bank of seats facing that bank of seats; and

  • (b) notifying the passengers who are sitting in the same bank of seats as the person that a passenger with a severe allergy is present and informing them of the allergen.

• Marginal note:Definition of bank of seats

  (2) In this section, bank of seats means passenger seats that are immediately adjacent to each other and does not include passenger seats that are across the aisle.

Communication of Information

Marginal note:Reservations — identification of needs

• 54 (1) If a person with a disability identifies the nature of their disability when making a reservation with a carrier, the carrier must engage in a dialogue with the person for the purpose of identifying their needs in relation to their disability and the services offered by the carrier in relation to those needs.

• Marginal note:Reservations — bus

  (2) If a person with a disability identifies the nature of their disability when making a reservation with a bus carrier, the bus carrier must

  • (a) provide information about any stops and transfer points; and

  • (b) advise the person in advance if the route does not have a regularly scheduled stop at a rest stop that has a washroom that accommodates a person using a mobility aid and any support person and offer the person their choice of alternative rest stops on the route.

Marginal note:Accessible seats or cabins

55 If a person with a disability identifies the nature of their disability when making a reservation with a carrier, the carrier must

• (a) before assigning a passenger seat or cabin to a person with a disability, inform the person of the passenger seats and cabins that are available in the class of service that the person has requested and that have equipment and facilities that best meet the accessibility needs of that person, such as a wheelchair-accessible washroom or a passenger seat that has additional leg room, a larger seat pitch or movable armrests; and

• (b) in assigning a passenger seat or cabin to a person with a disability, take into account the person’s opinion with respect to which seats or cabins would best meet the accessibility needs of that person.