APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Transportation officials in Appleton say “the way of the future” is already here for some of their transit buses.
The Quantum device is starting to pop-up throughout the Fox Valley.
It’s an automatic rear-facing system that safely secures wheelchairs in buses.
10 Valley Transit buses will have the system by Labor Day.
“We will outfit our entire system by probably over the next 5 years,” says Ron McDonald, with Valley Transit. “We’ll like to eventually have our entire fleet outfitted like this.”
He says each Quantum device costs $2,000, but despite the cost, they open up opportunities for disabled riders.
“For me it’s freedom, it’s freedom to come and go as I please,” says Joe Martin, an alderman for the City of Appleton.
Martin uses a wheelchair and is able to use public transportation with a sense of independence, thanks to the device.
“And I did it all by myself and no help from the driver,” Martin explains.
Michael Laidlaw, the senior regional manager of Q’Straint, explains how the technology adjusts to the bus braking.
“The backboard’s actually our deceleration,” explains Laidlaw. “It’s a big winner for all passengers.
Not only is the system convenient for the rider, but it benefits everyone on board.
“It speeds up the ability to board and de-board so, we’re not waiting for a person in a mobility device to board the bus and having that operator invade the persons space,” he says.
The technology will serve to eliminate forced close encounters between disabled riders and bus drivers.
“In the past, the other devices with the four-point system, the bus driver, they had no other way to do it, would have to get close to an individual in awkward positions,” says John Meissner from Options for Independent Living.
The hope is that some disabled individuals that have previously avoided public transportation will now be more open to the opportunity.
“For those that don’t ride today, they can ride tomorrow,” Martin says.
Valley Transit is reporting that their new bus with the service will be in service for the first time on Friday.
The bus will cover an area from downtown Appleton to Kaukauna as it operates along route 20.
The Quantum system is already installed on some Green Bay Metro Transit buses.
