I feel I did everything
right—as right as a 68-year-old man somewhat befuddled in general
can do something right. But I thought I cover the main points the
biggest of which is I use a wheelchair, a big wheelchair with a motor
on it for mobility. It's not a big deal but you think it would be
something crucial for mobility company to be aware of. In the post
yesterday I a somewhat briefly went over the fact that I was going to
try the new Via, right on demand, system that Utah transit Authority
is testing in the South and the Valley. Salt Lake. Now I'm going to
go out of my way not to paint this as me being the martyr but I want
to report a factual account.
The day is not half bad,
the sun was shining but it was cold so I dressed accordingly. A warm
jacket and a flannel blanket wrapped around my legs and a hat. I
timed the buses from the schedule so I didn't have to wait too long
and the elements. I tried to leave early but as things go I left
about an hour and 10 minutes before my appointment. I caught my bus
southbound And made it to the transit station in fairly good time
still I didn't know how long it would take to catch the via vehicle
once I got to the end of my route to 18 ride at about 11400 South
Redwood Road. So I decided I would just drive my chair into the shop.
After it finished by
business at the wheelchair shop I contacted Via, not bear in mind I
went to the steps of not only contacting the organization/company but
going through the process of registering and downloading the app for
the program. I figure that pretty much touched all the bases.
Actually the apps system is kind of cool if it really works. Took me
a bit to understand. Since you registered with the organization it
knows who you are and where you're at. You start your trip by
confirming where your pickup point is, and of course they have that
data because they've got you located by your cell phone coordinates,
then you have to put new destination and what you've done that and
the computer or whatever has everything set up you push the button
that says confirm and it books here ride and charges your checking
account/bank account or however you have it set up. It gives you the
time expected which is about 3 ½ minutes which I was totally
shocked. The computer also alerts your cell phone when you write is
outside. That was the first red flag the ride was not outside it was
way across the street which is a Big St., Redwood Road, the driver
had the wrong address for some reason. I noticed this when I hit the
confirm button and I thought it was just a computer glitch – –
obviously it was – – I got counted as a no-show. I did flag the
driver down and finally he saw me waving my arms frantically in my
red jacket. He came over the shocked that I was in the power chair he
said he didn't have means the transport me. So of course I'm on the
phone talking to Via control who informs me that somehow the
information that I was in a power chair was not entered into the
system. The person then did enter in that information in three
minutes later another vehicle shows up. It's another Mercedes-Benz
type vehicle. It's probably an SUV, smaller than a van that big. The
vehicle has no left it has a back and that the driver has to take the
rear end sort of a part which opens up an area where you drive chair
in and he locks you down, ties you up good. My driver had only five
or six words of English down. “Hello Sir, goodbye Sir, how are you
sir, I don't know sir,Other than that we are operating on hand
gestures. He spoke no English. He seemed like a nice enough guy he
was just unfamiliar with transporting a person with a disability. I
am writing this off initially as learning curve. The organizations do
the concept I guess is new and the bugs are being worked out. Once
the driver figured out how to use the system and get me in and out of
the back of the vehicle we were good to go. Forget the fact among the
end of this variable large vehicle. There's no communication but I
get to the place a one to go and that's what it's all about. I'll
give the experience and 85% grade. I wish I had more reasons to go to
the south end of the valley to try this system out some more. I do
think it has potential and I do wish it was being implemented valley
wide. The service can really make a difference. The cost of my ride
was a dollar each way which is a deal she asked me. At my meeting
today you talk Assistive Technology Program I brought up my
experience that everyone was interested. They suggested I might
contact the authority and volunteer to help them make the system
better. I don't know how much I would want to volunteer but it
certainly be open to looking at some form of consultation. I mean why
not?…
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