Danny Hunt uses a wheelchair, and has been living on the North Shore for the last 23 years.

In an interview with CTV News he claimed there are regularly "no wheelchair cabs available" in his area and he went on to say, "if you take an hour trip they want nothing to do with us in wheelchairs.”

"It’s downright discrimination," he said.

Hunt described an instance just last week when a taxi did arrive and he went outside to meet the driver and once his chair was locked in he noticed the metre was running.

"It was already up to almost $7," he said. "So I asked, you know did you know your metre was on and maybe you want to turn it off?”

Hunt said the driver responded, "No, no, you took too long to come out so that's why and I'm working."

According to the Taxi Association, there are 21 accessible vehicles on the North Shore between the two taxi companies operating there.

But problems arise when vehicles are parked due to driver shortage or mechanical repairs, explained Carolyn Bauer, the association's spokesperson.

"It is only going to get worse," she said.

"Ride-hailing companies do not have to put accessible transportation on the road when they launch, and as mentioned in previous interviews we expect that some of our drivers will transfer over to ride hail, leaving a real gap in the accessible transportation."

Bauer said the biggest problem is the van taxis are too expensive to put on the road.

"To put an accessible vehicle on the road is approximately $60,000," she said, "Half that for a Prius."

So drivers prefer not to use them.

"Seventeen per cent of all taxi fleets have to be accessible," Bauer explained. But when asked if they are required to be on the road she responded, "there's no requirement."

Companies do try to give drivers incentives to take the accessible vehicles out however. Bauer said, "every company that I'm aware of does incentify by giving a lower dispatch fee and also by putting the drivers in what we call a first position."

If money is the problem, Hunt suggested subsidizing drivers.

"I know for a fact that a lot of times [cab drivers] will just wait in Horseshoe Bay for a trip and then bring it to the airport. It’s a good trip of course they’ve got to make a living, but that’s a wheelchair van."

Hunt went on to say the government should step up.

"I've got an extra wheelchair there any time one of the mayors wants to take a ride in it with me and try it in a wheelchair with me they’re welcome," he proposed.

CTV News has reached out to Uber and Lyft, both of which have announced they will be coming to B.C. in the coming months.

An Uber spokesperson told CTV News at the beginning that might be true, as it will be people driving their own cars, so drivers may only be able to accommodate people with wheelchairs that fold up and can fit in trunks.

However, Uber has a system called WAV, which stands for wheelchair-accessible vehicles. Where the service is available, customers with motorized wheelchairs or scooters can "request a ride in a wheelchair-accessible vehicle."

That means the driver is "certified by a third party in safe driving with assisting people with disabilities."

The program is operating in Toronto and is said to be a "comparable" price to UberX, which is the basic ride option. However, in an updated statement to CTV News Michael van Hemmen, head of Western Canada, Uber, said the company "does not anticipate offering fully accessible vehicles at launch in Vancouver, because drivers will be using their own vehicles."

The program is operating in Toronto and is said to be a "comparable" price to UberX, which is the basic ride option.

Lyft has something similar operating in Toronto called Access Mode, which is a setting in the app. It allows passengers who need a vehicle to accommodate a wheelchair or scooter to request one that is "specifically outfitted to accommodate wheelchairs."

According to its website, if those vehicles are not available, "information regarding local services will be sent directly to the passenger via text message when a ride is requested."

In a statement to CTV News, a Lyft spokesperson said the company requires "that drivers make every reasonable effort to transport passengers and their wheelchairs. If a driver refuses to provide a ride to a passenger whose wheelchair could be reasonably accommodated, Lyft will conduct an investigation."

The Province of B.C. has also put a $0.30 fee for every trip in a non-accessible vehicle to raise funds to expand accessible options.