The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) is a law set in place to help make Canada barrier-free by 2040. Under the ACA, federally regulated employers are required to develop and adopt a plan that outlines how they will be more accessible. As a Federally regulated employer, Ayr Coach Lines is required to have an accessibility plan.

Ayr Coach Lines is committed to building a culture of inclusivity and accessibility. Not only is this part of our company culture, but opening access to all is imperative to our continued growth as an employer in the motor coach industry. We will contribute a barrier-free Canada for all, by building an accessibility plan that will support employees and the customers we serve. Ayr Coach Lines is dedicated to identification, removal, and prevention of barriers.

Ayr Coach Lines has developed an initial plan to identify, remove, and prevent barriers in our company policies, practices, and services.

A summary of initial opportunities include:

• Develop and initiate a consultation process
• Facility audit to identify areas for improvement
• Improve the attraction of persons with disabilities to jobs within our company
• Providing information in accessible format when requested
• Initiate processes whereby a review is performed through an accessibility lens when engaging in new policies, procedures, company programs, and ongoing services.

We plan to make Ayr Coach Lines more accessible be doing the following:

• Collecting feedback about accessibility
• Providing clear information about the feedback process
• Assessing our current policies, procedures, and training
• Establishing a clear process for employment applicants to request accommodations
• Increasing awareness among employees about accessibility features
• Encouraging new employees to identify accessibility needs prior to their first day of work
• Continue with ongoing outreach with the community and with our employees
• Engage in open discussions with our employees on how Ayr Coach Lines can be more accessible

Your Input and Feedback

Ayr Coach Lines welcomes feedback on our Accessibility Plan from both the public and our employees. This feedback is valuable to us as it help us break down the barriers to accessibility and build on our commitment to inclusion. If you have an inquiry or feedback, please use of the contact methods below:

Contact: Caroline at Ayr Coach Lines

Mailing Address: 3081 Old Beverly Road, Cambridge ON N1R 5S7

Email: caroline@ayrcoach.com

Telephone: 1-888-338-8279 (Toll-Free)

Website: https://www.ayrcoach.com/contact/

Statement of Commitment

At Ayr Coach Lines   we are committed to giving all clients equal opportunities to access our services and allow them the same benefits provided, in the same place and in a similar manner. Ayr Coach Lines will always strive to provide its services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of all persons, including those with disabilities. All Canadians have the right to benefit from our services equally and our employees have the right to perform their job free of obstacles.

Reporting Our Plan

As required by the Accessible Canada Act, we will publish a status report every January that measures our progress against our commitments. We will also review and update our Accessibility Plan every three years via electronic filings. Progress reports and updates to our Accessibility Plan will be shaped by consultation with persons with disabilities.

Employment

Ensure that candidates and employees with disabilities and those who experience barriers are supported throughout the employment lifecycle. Ayr Coach Lines is committed to creating and maintaining an inclusive workplace that enables employees to succeed and to work free from barriers. We will continue to provide reasonable accommodation with job applicants. We are committed to engaging with our team on ways to for persons with disabilities to obtain positions with Ayr Coach Lines while adhering to our safety guidelines.

Goals:

• Identify and remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities
• Identify workplace training for managers on disability and workplace accommodations
• Revise the employee onboarding process to include a directive that employees identify their known access needs prior to their start date to ensure that Ayr Coach Lines can fulfill its duty to accommodate

Built Environment

Accessibility of the built environment has significant impacts on whether people with disabilities can have full access and use the space without limitations.

Ayr Coach Lines has three operating facilities in Ontario with the following site-specific accessibility features:

• Dedicated parking for persons with disability permits
• Sidewalk / walkway ramps
• Accessible toilets

Ayr Coach Lines will consult with employees and the community living with disabilities in any future built environment plans.

Information & Communication Technologies (ICT)

Ayr Coach Lines is committed to ensuring that the way that we share information is accessible. The information needs to be understood by everyone that works for or interacts with Ayr Coach Lines and must meet the diverse needs of our employees and our customers. Ayr Coach Lines will assess our systems to ensure that they are accessible and barrier free.

Goals:

• Enhance our accessible features to our communication and IT systems
• Review our web applications to ensure that they meet accessible standards
• Ensure that any procurement of IT is purchased with accessibility in mind

Communication, Other than ICT

Ayr Coach Lines recognizes the importance of ensuring that communication is accessible. All people who work for and interact with Ayr Coach Lines need to be able to understand information that is shared with them. Documents need to be easy to understand and meet the needs of people with disabilities.

Goals:

• Ayr Coach Lines will assess alternative forms of information available online
• Review pre-existing documents and update high priority ones to ensure that they are accessible
• When asked, we commit to providing alternate formats as soon as possible and within time frames

Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Ayr Coach Lines will ensure that when designing and delivering the Company’s internal and external programs and services, accessibility considerations must be part of the process.

Goals:

• Develop and promote guidelines on how to apply the accessibility lens when reviewing company policies, programs, and services.
• Continue to ensure that those who interact with the public receive sufficient training
• Provide training on the Accessible Canada Act and Accessible Canada Regulations for those whose role it is to develop programs, processes, and procedures.

Transportation

Ayr Coach Lines takes the safe and accessible transport of our customers very seriously. Currently, all employees have access to barrier free parking at our facilities. There is parking spaces available for people with disabilities at the front office of our head office. We currently have an accessible highway coach in our fleet in order to accommodate requests for accessible transportation.

Goals:

• Ayr Coach Lines will continue to assess the accessibility of our fleet and the usage of the accessible coach. Future procurement of coaches will take this into consideration based on client need.
• Ayr Coach Lines will continue to access the accessibility of our owned facilities and offices to ensure that they are accessible.

Conclusion

To align with Ayr Coach Lines commitment to make our workplace environment accessible to all, we will develop our accessibility plan in consultation with our employees, including those with disabilities.

We will gather feedback and input from our team members and external organizations in several ways:

• Companywide survey
• One on one interviews with employees with disabilities so they can share ideas
• Engage with external organizations supporting persons with disabilities to understand and seek recommendations for improving accessibility to the Company’s building space and yards and our programs and services.