In Yekaterinburg, wheelchair users conducted training for public transport drivers

In Yekaterinburg, wheelchair users conducted training for bus drivers. This is reported by e1.ru.

The meeting for wheelchair users was organized after complaints about public transport drivers.

“We are terribly afraid that the drivers will turn around and drive away. That when we are standing, they won’t drive up or open the ramp. There were cases when I even organized rallies at a bus stop, they tried to carry me in their arms, but I insisted on opening the ramp. Because of this, conflicts arose. There was a case when the driver did not have a lever to open the ramp,” wheelchair user Olga Nebesnaya told the publication.

A year ago, new low-floor buses with ramps entered routes in Yekaterinburg. However, they were rarely used.

Disabled people also pointed out that there are no seat belts in buses that they must use while driving. Then drivers and wheelchair users drove together through the most inaccessible stops for people with disabilities.

“The meeting was fruitful. The director and the entire park met us halfway. In addition, the drivers taught me how to park on the bus correctly,” concluded Nebesnaya.

The publication notes that Nebesnaya has already tested Ekaterinburg public transport for accessibility. She found out that a wheelchair user can get into low-floor buses and trams. However, they could not lift her onto the Lastochka high-speed train due to the lack of lifts.

Earlier, students of the Siberian Federal University made a lift for a Krasnoyarsk wheelchair user.

In the spring, in Krasnoyarsk, a wheelchair user broke a curb that was preventing him from getting to the hospital, since the city leadership had refused to install a ramp for three years.