To the editor:
Thunder Bay Transit bought three new buses this year. As happy as I am that the old Orion buses are off our roads, I am horrified that the new buses require people in wheelchairs to ride backwards.
There are no tie downs, so many people require someone to hold their chair in position, because riding backwards means that your chair is constantly being pushed forward.
When riding forwards, your chair was also always being pushed, but then it was being pushed to stay against the wall behind the wheelchair stall.
Many people get motion sickness and I’ve heard several complaints about that. One lady I know threw up on the bus twice. Good.
I wish the people responsible for the decision to make us ride backwards had to clean it up. I get sick going backwards.
I can’t see where I’m going, and because I’m hard-of-hearing, I can’t hear the announcements telling me where we are.
I have to close my eyes while riding backwards, or I, too, will throw up. I’ve told drivers where I’m going and asked them to let me off. Twice the driver forgot and I wound up having to take another bus to get to my destination.
I don’t blame the drivers. They didn’t forget on purpose. They have a lot of things to concentrate on and remember.
I got very dizzy on the bus recently and my neck and back went numb. When I told the doctor what happened, he said “You rode backward? Are you nuts? You should never, ever ride backwards with a neck injury or with a neuromuscular disability.”
Many people who use wheelchairs and powerchairs can ride the forward-facing buses.
The people I’ve spoken to have all said they can’t or they feel sick or their chair doesn’t fit or they need someone to hold them in place. The public headrest that most can’t use is a big hit, too. Gross.
I’ve heard seniors complaining that they have to get up every time someone in a wheelchair gets on, because people on both sides of the bus have to move, especially if there already is a chair on.
Then everyone on both sides from the front of the bus to the back doors has to move. Why take a design that works for most of us and is relatively accessible and change it to one that works for almost none of us?
To make room for strollers, apparently. I know they are necessary, but a wheelchair is even more so. It is not a choice. A stroller is.
I asked if I could ride forwards on the new buses. No. They said it is against the law. I’ve been researching this and haven’t found such a law yet. People are being told to book HAGI Transit rides if this is a problem. HAGI Transit is already overworked.
One has to book rides a week in advance and if one doesn’t call right at 9, there is almost no chance of getting it! Now they want more of us taking it?
Next time grandma can’t get to her doctor’s appointment or grandpa has to pay $70 for a taxi to the hospital for a test, remember Thunder Bay Transit wants more of us booking those rides. Many of us could use forward-facing buses, but not rear-facing.
I would like to invite Thunder Bay Transit officials and city council members to come ride the bus in a wheelchair facing backwards.
I invite anyone else who is interested to join us. Perhaps physical/occupational therapists/therapy students would be interested.
As soon as I hear from council and Transit officials, I can write in with the date and time we can do this. I have a spare manual chair they can use. I’ll see if I can find a spare powerchair they can try. It’s hard to back into those narrow spots.
Tracy Lynn Hurlbert,
Thunder?Bay
