Wheelchair used as carryall displaces bus-riding seniors

Question: I was a passenger on a city bus (Bus No. 872, No. 1) July 17 at 10:57 a.m., headed toward Kaiser on Pensacola. The bus was crowded. There were several elderly people, I would say between the ages of 70 and 80, riding in the front seats, including one woman appearing about 80 and requiring the use of a cane for stability. At a stop on Punchbowl, a homeless woman boarded the bus, pushing a wheelchair loaded with boxes, clothing and other items piled into the wheelchair. The driver flippantly told those elderly folks they needed to vacate the seats, including the 80-year-old woman with the cane, who could barely walk, so this homeless woman could secure her wheelchair and belongings. The wheelchair took up four spaces, and she had the audacity to take a seat across the other side of her secured wheelchair. The 80-year-old woman was very unstable, and another passenger gave her her seat. The other elderly passengers walked toward the center of the bus so they could hold onto the bars.

I am stunned that TheBus would allow homeless folks to board the bus, pushing wheelchairs loaded with personal belongings/boxes/junk and force elderly people to stand so the wheelchair can “have a place to sit.” There is also a homeless woman in Nanakuli who occasionally rides the Route 93 in the morning, pushing a wheelchair with her two dogs occupying the wheelchair. Four riders have to stand so this woman’s dogs can sit.

I have no complaint with disabled people needing to use the seats. My complaint is with homeless people using wheelchairs to push personal items/boxes/junk or dogs. I pay $70 per month for a bus pass; these same people get a disability pass, which costs $70 for two years.

The bus company needs to put an immediate stop to folks boarding the city bus with wheelchairs filled with boxes/personal items/junk and animals, while truly disabled people have to stand.

Answer: Your complaints are the tip of the iceberg at Kokua Line, which hears frequently from elderly riders who rely on TheBus to maintain their independence and say they feel less safe or welcome doing so.

We forwarded your query to Oahu Transit Services Inc., a private, not-for-profit firm that operates TheBus under contract with the city’s Department of Transportation Services.

Michelle Kennedy, OTS’ vice president for customer services, cited the Federal Transit Administration’s guidance on the Americans With Disabilities Act in responding to your complaints:

“We understand and appreciate your concern for our elderly riders.

“Our bus operators are trained to follow the FTA ADA Guidelines, which treats wheelchairs as a mobility device. There are individuals with mobility impairments that use their wheelchair to balance themselves and case precedent has resolved these issues in their favor. The ADA does not scrutinize the need for the conventional use of the wheelchair or require the rider to justify their need for the mobility device.

“The wheelchair, even those used as a walker, affords it all the privileges that apply to a wheelchair and therefore the user is provided the priority seating area.

“We hope that other riders, who are able, would extend their aloha and provide their seats to our senior riders.”

Your question reminds us of the proliferation of fake service dogs, when people who wanted to take their pets everywhere exploited a law meant to assist disabled people. Given that the situation you describe seems likely to displace wheelchair-bound bus passengers — because the space they need is occupied by people pushing wheelchairs full of stuff — we’ll follow up with disability rights organizations to see whether anything can be done.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.