Barb - Airport Shuttle Discrimination with Manual Chair

[Guest guest]

Hi again Barb,

Sorry... I didn't make myself clear here... I was actually thinking

of going with a manual one. But of course you couldn't know that. I

have chosen not to bring my power chair to the US, because of what

happened at the Tampa conference. It was shocking. More people had

their chairs destroyed, than not. Also, I can't afford using

accessible transport while there, including renting an accessible

van, which I would have been forced to do to be able to really get

around.

Had I had a power chair, they would never have been able to take me.

Then it would have been unfair of me to ask them to transport me. But

I travelled with a neat little light weight Panthera chair, weighs

7.6 kg's altogether with wheels. The chair itself is only 4.7 kg's,

as I remember. You can see it to the right on the picture here

http://www.panthera.se/ . When I take off the wheels and put down

the back, it really takes no space at all.

So I travelled with that, and my luggage, which was luggage within

the airline limits. I had a real nightmare, I did mention that? I

almost lost my flight home to Norway, as the driver refused to take

me and actually left me three times. He filled the bus with other

people and just left, and I was sitting there. I begged him and later

argued with him. The clerk at the desk yelled at him, told him that

it was really unfair, that I had been waiting for hours, that he

could not refuse taking me because I was a wheelchair user etc. But

he just left. And I couldn't just go after him, I had a trolley with

my luggage on, and could not handle it, I had been promised that the

driver would take it out for me. The clerk then called the boss after

he had left for the third time, and he was forced to turn around and

come back. But he still tried to leave again. But it was then it

finally resolved. Not because of him, but because of the toughest

elderly lady I have ever seen. She just suddenly said " I have had

it " , " come on " . She grabbed her own suitcase, put it on top of mine

and ran after the driver. When we came to the bus, he still refused.

Then she got really mad. She downright hijacked the bus. I am not

kidding!!! Mutany (sp?) a more correct word though. She turned all

the other passengers against him, and he had nothing to say. They

just took charge, and a few of the men opened the back doors,

re-organized the luggage and got my luggage as well as the wheelchair

into the bus/van. We had to take the wheelchair inside the bus

though, and I had to sit at the edge of one of the seats, quite

uncomfy, but that was just because he had taken on another passenger

instead of me, so we were really one too many by then.

The reason why I asked about this, is that I have to do the same trip

again. I had hoped to be able not to, but I can't get around it. I

could not get a good price going to Newark. So I tried then getting a

ticket from JFK to Buffalo, then from Buffalo to Newark, since I am

going back after the conference with , to stay with her for a

week. But the travel agent could not pull that off without it being

really expensive, since it then would be two one way tickets etc. I

did mail them to ask if they could make sure that it would be OK this

time, and found a really nice, helpful man there. Even if it was two

years ago, he wanted to know the exact time when it happened, seemed

like he wanted to go back to find out who was driving then etc. -

which was of course not what I was after. I only wanted to make sure

that it would be OK this time. But then he referred me to his

manager who he promised would take care of everything. He asked me to

tell him the whole story etc., so since he did that, I did what he

asked me. But all I got back, was a list of departure times for the

shuttle for next weekend. That doesn't mean a thing, except for

knowing that there actually is a bus going then. He did not mention

with one word what I did ask about originally, which I emphasized in

my mail to him also.

I am arriving at JFK at 21:15 (9 p.m.) July 2. I meant to go to

Newark then, grab a taxi and go to a hotel nearby to spend the night.

There are no flights to Buffalo late at night, so I could not get

anywhere that night, have to spend the night. But now I am about to

book a hotel room near by JFK instead, because I am afraid that I can

end out not getting there. My flight to Buffalo leaves at 13:35, I

think, Saturday July 3. So I need to get there in good time before

that. I am afraid that I will end up going to JFK airport around 7

a.m. to be sure that I have enough time, in case I end up with a huge

struggle again. If it happens, I really need to have a lot of time to

be sure that I get there on time. I just can't take that kind of

stress again, it was awful. And it would be such a bad start on my

wonderful time in the US too... I wish I had another option, but I

can't afford taking a cab that far or something like that. It is just

too expensive. I don't have any people that I know near by JFK

either, who maybe could have assisted me in driving me. So I end up

stuck with that awful shuttle bus service which I dread having to use

again, without having got reassurance that it will not happen again...

Oh well....

If you do have or know about some rules you can refer me to, which I

could print and bring, it would at least make me feel a bit better

about things, as I can have it as a last resort, show the driver the

rule/law or whatever, and tell him that there'll be an afterplay if

he doesn't do the right thing... He-he... Baaad me, thinking about

threatening a driver with suing him, reporting him to his manager

etc. But I really will if I have to. I won't let this happen again,

it was awful!!!!

Thanks a lot for any light you can shed on this!!!!

hugs,

Aase Marit

> > Do you know if there are such rules, as the below one you gave the

>> link to, against discrimination when you use transport as an airport

>> shuttle from one airport to another?

>

>Not too familiar with this as I have really only traveled with my manual

>chair as I had heard too many horror stories from other EDSers about

>traveling with a power chair.

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>To learn more about EDS, visit our website: http://www.ehlersdanlos.ca

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Aase,

> Sorry... I didn't make myself clear here... I was actually thinking of

> going with a manual one. But of course you couldn't know that.

Well, that makes a difference. I did travel with a manual chair. It

folds up and it fit in the trunk of the taxi. We didn't have any problems

with it anywhere in Florida.

What you experienced with the bus driver is illegal. If the bus was

accessible, he had no right to refuse you service. But the only way to

fight that is to sue him, and that wouldn't work since you don't live

here.

I have some resources saved somewhere on accessible travel, but I will

have to find them after I finish my coffee and wake up this morning. (I

was photographing a wedding all afternoon yesterday and downloading photos

to my computer last night.)

-Barb

[Guest guest]

That sounds wonderful, Barb! But if you don't have time, just forget

about it. It will just have to work somehow...

The van or bus was an ordinary one, but then again I stepped out of

the wheelchair, it was folded and I walked into the bus myself. So it

should not make any difference, it was just a piece of luggage for

him, nothing else. I needed no other assistance than him pushing the

luggage cart to the bus, which was no problem, I was told, since he

came in to the terminal to shout out which numbers were up for the

next ride before he went out to the bus again with all the

passengers...

Aase Marit

>Hi Aase,

>

>> Sorry... I didn't make myself clear here... I was actually thinking of

>> going with a manual one. But of course you couldn't know that.

>

>Well, that makes a difference. I did travel with a manual chair. It

>folds up and it fit in the trunk of the taxi. We didn't have any problems

>with it anywhere in Florida.

>

>What you experienced with the bus driver is illegal. If the bus was

>accessible, he had no right to refuse you service. But the only way to

>fight that is to sue him, and that wouldn't work since you don't live

>here.

>

>I have some resources saved somewhere on accessible travel, but I will

>have to find them after I finish my coffee and wake up this morning. (I

>was photographing a wedding all afternoon yesterday and downloading photos

>to my computer last night.)

>

>-Barb

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>To learn more about EDS, visit our website: http://www.ehlersdanlos.ca

>