City got new buses and the WC access is really great

[Jay_x]

To the intercity buses that I (and many more people) use they hold the wheelchair to the floor.
4 berths; one for wheel.

> https://es.made-in-china.com/co_czxinde ... shueg.html
* Similar, but not the same.

If placed correctly the fastening is 100%.
If the bus overturned the wheelechair would stay in the same position.

In addition, an (approved) belt attached to the wheelchair is mandatory.
Some vehicles have their own seat belts for wheelchair users.



P.S. Practice is usually different from theory.

Yes that is the system we had before. Its slow and cumbersome. the Driver has to get up and strap you in, then get back in and drive, then get out and unstrap you at the destination. The whole thing is really slow and inefficient.

the new system is very fast and does not require the driver to get up. MUCH easier for me and everyone involved.

[Jay_x]

The usefulness of this system is minimal.
It's just another way of throwing away public money.

what? Its awesome. I don't have to wait for the driver to strap me in, and then unstrap me out, its way faster and its much more convenient for everyone.

Do you use a manual wheelchair?

Is it urban or intercity transport?

I use a power chair. The bus I ride is for travel within the city, 15 - 20 minutes to get to the grocery store and what not.

[Jay_x]

Yes. On a bus with NO tie down or any system, thats exactly what we do. But just like that, it only helps if the bus brakes hard. Or hits something in its direction of travel.

But accidents happen in all 4 directions, hit by a heavy vehicle from the rear, the side, and if its hard the chair will just jump out of it or over it and you have a 180kg chair flying around in the bus.

I dont see how an arm pressing quite gently on a wheel would stop any of that. I doubt it would perform much different to having no restraint system at all.

It works fine. I have been riding the buses in this city for over 20 years and have never had any kind of accident or things flying around. I don't see how you can say a chair just sitting there completely unrestrained in a bus in the UK is fine but this system is somehow terrible? it makes no sense at all.

[ex-Gooserider]

I avoid mass transit when I can, but it is sometimes easier / cheaper for me to use it... W/ the HP tag on my van, I can park free w/ no time limit in most street parking... The garage at the hospital I get most of my care at is $11-20... I can park near a transit stop and use my HP discount "Charlie Card" to get the subway to the hospital, round trip under $5, and only 30-40 minutes longer... At least in decent weather seems worth it. On the subway there is no securement, and you sit whatever way works (some cars have WC parking areas, some don't, and you might or might not be able to get to them if it's crowded) I find my chair lurches back and forth a bit on the drive slop, but doesn't move, however the speed changes are pretty slow.

On the buses (which I try REALLY hard to avoid because of the extra hassle of getting strapped down) we have the 4 straps tiedown w/ driver assist, and that keeps the chair from moving. However when I've carried my chair empty in my van it will slide all over the place if not tied down, same thing on the few times I've tried riding in a vehicle w/o being tied down, or when carrying someone else... It seems to me that a road vehicle does fast enough starts and stops that some sort of securing is essential.

I suspect that this Quantum system is going to be adequate for keeping you held in place during normal riding conditions... In case of an accident you might be but odds of that are fairly low... In addition busses are big enough that most car hits aren't really going to bounce you around that much... I remember a guy centerpunching my big yellow schoolbus when I was in High School, (he didn't see it ) We barely felt the hit, his car had major damage, the bus had sheet metal and a broken brake line... Another time in front of the place I was living, an MBTA (Mass. Bay Transit Authority, our city bus system) bus hit a car that tried to make an oncoming left in front of it... Car looked like a total, bus had a rip in the rubber strip on the bumper...

So I'd be pretty much OK with this setup as a reasonable solution to the challenge of having wheelers use a bus w/o slowing the bus travel down to much....

ex-Gooserider

[Jay_x]

I don't have a car/van so I NEED the buses, they get me to the grocery store, doctor's appnt, bars, etc.

[Burgerman]

It works fine. I have been riding the buses in this city for over 20 years and have never had any kind of accident or things flying around. I don't see how you can say a chair just sitting there completely unrestrained in a bus in the UK is fine but this system is somehow terrible? it makes no sense at all.

Because having 50lb pressing agains a wheel is basically the same as no restraint. Just like the bus I dont use here.

It wont add any sort of "hold" on a rehab chair weighing 400lb plus chair + 200? occupant. Its much the same as someone sat on the floor leaning against it. Same forces. See how that works out in a crash...
So realistically it adds almost nothing useful. If it was 4x that, it still isnt enough. In an accident it would make no difference at all. Thats why.
Now the BUS mounted seat belt if it is designed well adds something. We have those too. Up to a user if they choose to use it. The real issue is that theres nothing to tie the chair down. Or to stop it rolling forwards. Or jumping/tipping so Its 95% ornament.

[Burgerman]

In addition busses are big enough that most car hits aren't really going to bounce you around that much...

Most more serious bus crashes tend to be roll over or hit something like a barrier and end up on the opposite carriagway or something.

Quick search "bus crash" shows why a simple 50lb clamp against a tyre wont do much good!
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=bus+cr ... iax=images

[Burgerman]

What they aught to do is fit some sort of "frying pan" or cake tin shaped things to those arms. So that it cups the tyres and then it would hold the chairs more securely. But then it would not work on manual chairs with big wheels.

And manual chairs come with flimsy wheels and sometimes flexi plastic ones. Which is why it only clamps at 50lb (just 3.5 stone) to begin with I suppose. Thats around the weight of a single MK gel 74Ah battery.

[Flagmax]

This is a case when a human can not be replaced.