A wheelchair-bound San Diego man is taking on the city’s transit system, saying they stripped him of his freedom, after his transit pass from taken from him because he did not have proper proof of his disability.
31-year-old Joey Canales recorded a video Friday as a Metropolitan Transit System officer took his discounted transit card because he did not have proof of his disability.
“It’s his job to confiscate my card because I don’t have sufficient proof I’m disabled,” Canaldes said in the video, posted to Facebook. “Obviously I am. I’ve been disabled since I was three days old.”
Canales said he rides the trolley to work but will not be able to do that now because his pass has been taken by an MTS security guard.
MTS policy says that being in a wheelchair is not proof enough that a person is disabled.
In a statement, spokesman Robb Schupp said they require “all people with discounted fares to carry proof of eligibility.” The MTS said medicare cards and disabled plaquard receipts can also be used as proof of disability. The ID that the MTS requires costs $7.
Canales, however, disagrees and said the MTS is stripping him of his freedom.
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“I have an obvious disability,” he said in an interview. “I’m not trying to scam you. My disability is not hidden.”
He said he loves the freedom the trolley provides for him, but thinks the policy is ridiculous.
You can watch the full video here.
