Bob Brown used to squint down the road, scanning each bus for a yellow accessibility rail that would indicate whether he would make it to his destination on time.

But now those days are in the past.

As of July 12, the city’s bus fleet is “100 per cent accessible,” according to transit commission chairwoman Diane Deans, councillor for Gloucester-Southgate.

The city rolled out one of 89 remaining high-floor buses for the very last time to announce that the final remaining inaccessible OC Transpo buses were being retired. Twenty Nova model buses – the first generation of low-floor buses – have also been phased out because they were aging and difficult for wheelchairs and scooters to manoeuvre inside.

That means people in wheelchairs, like Brown, and those who have mobility concerns will now have barrier-free access on all bus routes.

“Now, it’s not a worry,” said Brown, a local accessibility advocate and the former chair of the city’s accessibility advisory committee.

A complete fleet of low-floor buses will also be a boon for people with strollers and those trying to board a bus with luggage, said Mayor Jim Watson, who was also at the city hall event.

The old buses were purchased by the former regional municipality and the city phased them out three years ahead of schedule, Deans said. The move also makes bus maintenance easier by reducing the number of different styles of buses (there are now five models in the fleet).

Combine that with the audio system that calls out stops, and OC Transpo is one of, if not the most, accessible transit system in Canada, the mayor touted.

The changes are also aimed at reducing pressure on the more costly Para Transpo system by making it easier for anyone to ride the main transit system.

Other accessibility considerations include daily checks of elevators at transit stations, upgrades to transit-station access and ongoing training for bus operators on how to address service animals such as seeing-eye dogs.

OC Transpo driver André Bastien, who has been operating buses for almost 40 years, said drivers would not be sad to see the old vehicles go to “bus Heaven,” as the mayor joked.

Bastien had the honour of driving the last high-floor bus to its final resting place, and said he will be happy to never turn away another passenger due to a lack of accessibility.