The Missing Middle Podcast Why Canadian Transit is Failing Families (and How to Fix It)
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Feb 13, 2026 Reece Martin, international transit commentator and creator of RM Transit who speaks from experience as a parent and accessibility advocate. He and the hosts unpack why Canadian transit often leaves families stranded, from broken elevators and narrow doors to stroller struggles and unreliable buses. They also discuss practical fixes like design changes and free fares for kids to make transit usable for parents.
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Elevator Outage Left Parent Stranded
- Cara Stern was trapped with a stroller when an elevator outage forced a long detour that she could not take with a baby.
- She asked strangers for help and eventually got assistance, but said the system should not rely on ad-hoc rescues.
Stroller Experience Echoes Wheelchair Struggles
- Cara Stern describes feeling like she had a window into what living with a wheelchair in Toronto is like after being trapped with a stroller.
- She contrasted being able to ask strangers to help with a stroller versus the impossibility of asking the same for someone in a wheelchair.
Accessibility Exists Only When Elevators Work
- Canadian big-city transit systems generally have level boarding and are decent by international standards, but elevator reliability and step-free access remain inconsistent.
- Systems are only accessible insofar as elevators work, so outages create de-facto inaccessibility.