Wheelchair user Tracy Hurlbert doesn’t want to be forced to turn backwards when riding city buses.
Thunder Bay Transit has three buses in its 49-vehicle fleet that offer handicapped seating, but requires wheelchair users to turn and face the back. The new buses also offers more space for passengers.
Hurlbert, who has multiple sclerosis and a weak neck, experiences a lot of pain while riding the bus. It became so unbearable that she needed to go to the emergency room.
“My neck is still kind of numb,” she said. “My doctor looked at me and said ‘are you nuts going backwards on a bus?’ I’m hard of hearing so I can’t hear anything behind me. They say you can listen to the bus announcements. I don’t hear it. Whereas riding on the forward facing buses, I can read the driver’s lips and see the driver moving.”
One time when Hurlbert exited the bus, she said she vomited because she felt sick and dizzy. She said if the city implements the backwards seating on all the buses then she may have be forced to switch to HAGI Transit, which is bogged down with high demand.
Hurlbert believes that relatively healthy transit riders would probably prefer facing forwards.
“I would like to have the choice of either going forwards or backwards,” she said. “Then if you want to go backwards and you’re not feeling well then it is your own fault. I’m going to keep bringing up this issue until they allow us to go either forwards or backwards.”
Brad Loroff, manager of the city's transit division, said the rear facing wheelchair seating addresses a safety issue. Forward facing seating for wheelchairs aren’t as secure compared to the rear facing seats because the chair needs to be hooked up with hooks and straps.
Loroff explained the new seating design resolves that issue by lock the chair in place and not allowing it to move forward when the bus applies its brakes.
“It really is a way to increase their independence,” Loroff said. “It’s an industry standard design that meets all the legislative requirements. It’s a design that you will find has been commonly adopted by many transit systems across Canada. It’s definitely the trend that the industry has adopted.”
Loroff received a few complaints about the new seating design with the biggest issue raised being motion sickness.
He added keeping riders safe is bigger priority.
“We’re at a trial and evaluation phase with these new units,” he said. “It’s very promising.”
(Thunder Bay Television)
