Yes! We ARE Accessible
Many disabilities are visible, but many are invisible. It is very easy to figure out that you need to kneel the bus and/or deploy the ramp for a passenger who uses a cane, a walker, or a wheeled mobility device. It's obvious that the person using a wheelchair needs the ramp, but what about a new rider who has a new prosthetic leg? Are you required to kneel the bus and/or deploy the ramp? The answer is - it depends. If the rider asks you to kneel the bus and deploy the ramp, you are REQUIRED to do so. Operators are not allowed to presume what an individual can or cannot do. If the rider does not ask, then you have no way of knowing and are not required to kneel the bus.
Here are some more tips and information
- Yes, passengers may board the bus separately from their wheelchair. They are not required to be sitting in it and may use it to carry personal belongings while it serves as a mobility aid similar to a wheeled walker.
- Please wait for individuals with disabilities, pregnant women, and parents with small children to be seated or hold on to a seat or rail before moving the bus.
- If a passenger appears to need assistance boarding the bus (elderly, uses cane or walker) then at least kneel the bus for them.
- If a passenger asks you to announce stops for them, you are required to do. To help you remember, ask the passenger to please sit near the front of the bus.