WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: ISSUES AND OPTIONS FOR THE 2000'S

This paper describes for wheelchair access on urban buses and paratransit is getting more complicated every year. Service providers are faced with accommodating more passengers with an ever-increasing diversity of mobility aids. Some of the problems facing transit systems and customers are: (1) larger and less maneuverable wheelchairs are becoming increasingly common; (2) larger and more varied types of non-wheelchair mobility aids are being carried on transit; (3) new, less-experienced, and more frail customers with mobility aids on fixed route transit; (4) securement is often time consuming, physically challenging, and intrusive to passengers; (5) Wheelchair designs that are difficult to tie down are becoming increasingly common; (6) the rationale for US securement rules (i.e.ADA), are not clearly connected with existing safety data; (7) Adequate standards or recommended practices do not exist for the installation and use of securement equipment (tie down straps, lap/shoulder belts) in many types of transit vehicles; and (8) transit customers and service providers, as well as sectors involved with health care and wheelchair issues, are not aware of the need for promoting the use of wheelchairs equipped with tie-down attachment points conforming to recently developed standards.