Jan 18, 1985, Denver, Colo
Rocky Mountain News

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[Image caption] After Bob Conrad's 450-pound wheelchair would not fit In the storage area of a Continental Traltwayrest he was told he would have to get off. A group of wheelchair-bound people are trying to convince bus lines to provide a way to keep their wheelchairs with them. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS STAFF PHOTO BY KEN PAPALEO

[Headline] 'This isn't cargo; this is my legs' By KEVIN FLYNN
Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

A group of wheelchair-bound people tried Thursday to`convince Continental Trailways and Greyhound bus lines to give them a lift, a power lift that would allow them to travel by bus without leaving their wheelchairs behind.
"This isn't cargo," said Mike Auberger of Denver, looking, down to the, electric-powered wheelchair he used to get to an afternoon protest at the Denver Bus Center 49th and Arapahoe streets.

"This Is my legs."

Bob Conrad, Auberger's companion, had just been helped off a Trailways bus after bug line personnel couldn't fit his wheelchair into the cargo bay. Conrad, who'd bought a ticket to Colorado Springs, had to give up the trip, which he confided was only symbolic. Had he successfully boarded the bus, chair and all, he probably would have gotten off iti Littleton, he said.

The protesters want Trailways and Greyhound, each of which has a bus-building subsidiary to begin buildable seats to accommodate handicapped passengers.

Instead, they said, Greyhound has fought a Canadian requirement [or such lifts.

The group also plans to fight a request from Greyhound for a rate increase by Friday at the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Wade Blank of Atlantis Community, an advocacy group for the handicapped, said the group would oppose any rate increases until the bus companies agree to begin building accessible buses.

"If they can't serve all the public, why should they get a rate hike?" said Conrad.

A Trailways spokesman said the line frequently takes wheelchair-bound passengers. But Conrad's wheelchair is battery powered and wouldn't fold up or store on its side because the battery acid would have spilled, creating a hazard, he said.

"Handicapped with wheelchairs, we take them all the time," said Frank Meggitt, city manager for Trailways and building manager for the joint depot.

The protest was organized by American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit, a national group fighting for the rights of handicapped people to ride on regular public transit vehicles.

Created on

Wednesday 24 July 2013

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Wednesday 9 October 2019

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