The other major issue that the disability community, through the Mobility Advisory Council (MAC) and elsewhere, is that the ramp call strip on the bottom of the fold-up seats is inaccessible for most wheelchair users. As seen in the photo below, the yellow call strip is blocked by the grab bar. For some wheelchair users, the height of their chair makes reaching the strip difficult or impossible, and for wheelchair users with motion or dexterity limitations, it is impossible.
The purpose of the call strip is to request that the ramp be deployed at the next station. SacRT staff’s solution is that the rider should just move to and press the door button before the stop, so that the ramp deploys. This means that the rider would be moving to the door while the train is still in motion, which is not safe for the wheelchair user, or anyone else on the train. If the rider waits until the train comes to a complete halt, there is a likelihood of not triggering ramp deployment early enough and missing the stop. SacRT has claimed that no other system that uses S700 cars is having a problem with this, so there is no problem. Again, it is an attitude of ‘we are listening to what you say, but we aren’t going to do anything about it’.
Helen O’Connell, a member of the SacRT MAC and a number of other disability rights and transit advocacy groups, raised this issue on the initial visit of the MAC to the Siemens plant, and again at the MAC demo at 7th/Richards station on April 17, and again at the general demo at 7th/Richards station on June 12, and probably other events and opportunities. Helen’s request is that the strip be moved to above the grab bar so that it can be reached by more riders. SacRT has stated that it will not be moved.
SacRT, despite burning-in and testing the new light rail cars for months, has never thought to operate a car in motion with disabled people aboard. The first chance that disabled people will have to use the system in motion is September 1, when the first S700s will be in service. SacRT is also hosting another event on September 3 at 7th/Richards, but those cars will not be in motion. And if it turns out that the design doesn’t work or causes safety issues for wheelchairs users? Well, the typical agency response to any concerns is “It’s too early to address that. Now it’s too late to address that.”
STAR believes that the new low-floor cars will be an immense improvement over the existing cars, especially since the old cars fail on a regular basis. Low-floor is better than steep stairs. The ability for wheelchair users to board each car at two locations, and not just the single mini-high ramp for the entire train is great. But the new system could have been better if SacRT had been willing to listen to the disability and transit advocacy community.
Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) 