A Kelowna, B.C., wheelchair user is raising concerns about the safety of bus users with diverse abilities after a recent bus ride that made him feel ‘uncomfortable.’
For the last year, Kelowna resident Randy Millis has been reliant on his wheelchair, getting him where he needs to go including the bus stop.
However, sometimes when Millis gets on the bus he says the ride is far from smooth. On Friday he boarded the bus, rolled his chair into the appropriate spot and asked the driver to properly secure him.
“There was no response and then two other passengers including the patron across from me asked if he could secure me please and he never did anything,” said Millis.
Millis says he sat unsecured for the entire seven- to 10-minute long bus ride around Kelowna.
“Partway through the trip the driver applied the brakes fairly firmly and I actually rolled ahead and crashed into another wheelchair patron not seriously, not hard, but it was kind of upsetting that I almost injured him,” said Millis.
BC Transit says it is aware of the concern and is in contact with the customer.
“We value customer feedback and are currently investigating the matter with BC Transit’s contracted operating partner, Transdev Canada, who delivers Transit services in the Kelowna region,” the company said in a statement to Global News.
“Safety is our top priority, and our goal is to ensure that all commuters are able to access public transit, regardless of their accessibility needs.”
However this situation wasn’t a one-off, Millis says, saying he’s had trouble with drivers refusing to put down the ramp, putting him at risk of rolling into the gap between the bus and the curb.
“There is a significant gap and on this older wheelchair my casters are quite small so it would be very easy to drop into the void and fall forward or sideways and injure myself,” said Millis.
Millis is now questioning how many other people this could be happening to.
“It just worries me that someday someone is going to be seriously injured, whether a wheelchair user themselves are going to be hurt or another mobility device user or a passenger,” said Millis.