#Accessible Transport

[healthplustransportation]

When it comes to ensuring safe travel for individuals with disabilities, transportation services in Ypsilanti, Michigan, play a crucial role. These services provide specialized transport options tailored to meet the unique needs of those who require extra assistance. With a focus on safety and comfort, NEMT helps individuals reach their medical appointments and community activities with ease.

[faithfromanewperspective]

I’ve reblogged this before but with additions but I have to say: communism, socialism, some other version of capitalism, whatever: we have to value diversity and consider existence to be its own contribution, that’s how we care for the environment and each other. Because diversity is complex and quite a lot of us actually don’t fit the cookie cutter mold.

and those some of us also tend to include (not all of us!! We don’t have to be!! The innovators who will, actually, come up with the kind of public transport that does cater to individual needs BECAUSE IT’S NOT LIMITED TO WHAT WE HAVE NOW sorry for shouting and you know. Other things) like if your version of utopia doesn’t leave room for individuality and innovation—you’re just creating the very thing that makes people scared of communism instead of you know. A diverse and functional community which we CAN create

it's very clear from some communists' visions of future city-planning that they expect disabled people to just shut up and die, lmao

[ablehelperstransportation]

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) plays a pivotal role in ensuring individuals have access to essential medical services, paving the way for holistic wellness. Let’s explore the profound impact of NEMT on the health and well-being of individuals, emphasizing its key contributions to fostering a healthier society. Read more information about NEMT here.

[care-ritehomecareservices]

In the realm of home care, ensuring comfortable and secure wheel chair transportation is a vital aspect of enhancing the quality of life for our loved ones. We understand the unique challenges associated with wheelchair transportation and have compiled effective tips to make the journey smoother for both caregivers and clients.

[faithfromanewperspective]

for the comment on new york and new jersey: both are states in the northeast, which is an area a lot smaller than other areas of the us. new york and new jersey are states that border one another. new york city is an island located in the harbor where the white river meets the atlantic ocean, and is between the physical landmass areas of the state of new york and the state of new jersey. because of that, many people live in jersey but easily commute to nyc and vice-versa. it’s unusual for things to be that close and easily accessible in most other areas of the country

ANON THANK YOU FOR THIS EDUCATION. They’re different states, whatttt that’s crazy!! And I thought New York was on the Hudson River?? But I do know of several cities in Australia that span state borders and are called different things on either side so I kinda get that. But yeah I imagine many people would do that commute

[reasonsforhope]

"This week, the Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a new rule requiring airlines to make bathrooms more accessible for disabled people. All new single-aisle aircraft will be fitted with fully-accessible lavatories.

Most flights inside the United States are single-aisle and as technology has improved, they are used more frequently for long flights, including coast-to-coast trips that can last as long as six hours. Double-aisle plans are already subject to the regulation but are primarily used for international flights.

Out Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced the new regulations, saying, “Traveling can be stressful enough without worrying about being able to access a restroom; yet today, millions of wheelchair users are forced to choose between dehydrating themselves before boarding a plane or avoiding air travel altogether.” ...

The secretary has made it a priority to improve service on airlines during his tenure. In 2022, six airlines were forced to pay millions of dollars in refunds to hundreds of thousands of customers and were also fined millions for causing the issues. The department’s firm stance on the side of customers has continued through this year after multiple companies have had meltdowns, stranding thousands of travelers.

All planes delivered to airlines starting in 2026 must include several upgrades. Planes already in service will not need to be retrofitted unless the plane is renovated.

“These aircraft must have at least one lavatory of sufficient size to permit a passenger with a disability (with the help of an assistant, if necessary) to approach, enter, and maneuver within the aircraft lavatory, to use all lavatory facilities, and leave by means of the aircraft’s onboard wheelchair if necessary,” the DOT said in a statement.

Accessible faucets and controls, grab bars, accessible call buttons and door locks, minimum obstruction to the passage of an onboard wheelchair, and an available visual barrier for privacy are also required upgrades."

-via LGBTQ Nation, July 28, 2023

Wayyyyyyy fucking overdue but I'll take it!! Also, very nice curb cut effect: We all get to be less miserable on airplanes, and older people don't have to worry as much about airplane bathroom fall risks.

[hands-onamericaservices]

Medical transportation is not just about urgent trips to a healthcare location. There is another aspect of medical transportation that may not contain as much urgency but remains as important as ever.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The study from urban accessibility expert Dr. Jan Scheurer set out to determine whether Melbourne, Australia's trams are the most slugging worldwide, and instead pinned that unfortunate distinction on Toronto's TTC streetcar network. Using the Spatial Network Analysis for Multimodal Urban Transport Systems (SNAMUTS) methodology system, the study looked at data from transit systems across the world that operate trams, streetcars and similar urban light rail networks. As for the poorest performance, the study states, "that dubious honour continues to go to Toronto," noting that "Toronto stands out as a laggard" in the study.

Continue Reading

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[justabunny]

PSA:

if someone who is using a mobility aid is trying to get on public transit first please just let them.

The other day I was trying to get on the public transit bus for my area, (which is primarily used for university students, but anyone can use it) and I usually stand at the front so I can be one of the first people to get on since I am a mobility aid user and use priority seating.

well, I was trying to get onto the bus and this guy tries to cut in infront of me and in the process bumps into me and makes me lose my balance and almost fall into other people.

if someone has a mobility aid usually it's safe to assume that they aren't the most stable on their feet, give them space and let them go first.

[dahyun]

i’m really sorry to post this, but i am struggling a lot right now and i could use some help. my job search has come to a standstill because i no longer have a reliable means of transportation. i have been using what little money i have left to help buy food for my family. i don’t know what i’m going to do once it’s all gone

any little amount will help immensely and if anyone can share this i would be extremely grateful!!!

(here is a pic of hazel as a token of apology lol)

[skullergeist]

@amtrak-official i was working on my portfolio and i found this font…propaganda is everywhere

[thedisablednaturalist]

can sustainable city activists please remember not everyone is able to walk or ride a bike k thx

[neat-deadandlive-things]

Had to take the car into the shop for some very expensive maintenance (apparently it's important that your brakes work) so if anyone wants to hire a freelance ecologist, I charge $3000. I work with live and dead things in water, sludge, and dirt.

[beranibear]

👏Your👏 baby👏in👏that👏foldable👏pram👏does👏not👏belong👏in👏the👏reserved👏wheelchair👏spot👏on👏the👏train👏when👏the👏train👏is👏packed👏and 👏people👏in wheelchairs👏are👏forced👏to👏just👏park👏👏their👏wheelchair👏in👏the👏middle👏of👏👏a👏walkway👏

You can literally fold the pram and hold your child.

Those spots are there so we are safe and out of the way. So we are able to get emergency help if needed via the emergency assistance button. So we don’t slide down the middle of the train or slam into people if it comes to a sudden stop.

I can not just fold my chair and get out of it. I don’t have the privilege or ability to do that. It is not a pram parking spot, the symbol on the floor and walls is not of a pram, it’s of the universal symbol for people with disabilities.

Wild how people will still do this when there is literally a sign stating that you will be fined if you don’t give up the spot. If your baby has mobility, if you have mobility; your pram was literally made to be folded and compacted. Please DO IT when the train is full and people with mobility aids are forced into spots that aren’t safe.

Fuck you. I should not have to be unsafe so you don’t have to fold a pram and hold your child.

[alpaca-clouds]

Cars vs Accessible Worlds

Alright, let me talk about one thing in terms of accessibility in science fiction settings - and Solarpunk specifically - that also has more than one side to it: Cars and accessibility. Because it is more complicated than you'd thing.

See: The fact that our world is so car centric really, really hinders accessibility. Wide streets are a hindrance for even normal pedastrians, cyclists and so on. If I want to get from A to B, and the route crosses a street, and there is only a traffic light every like 500 meters, it means tat I usually need either to risk my life or take the long way around to get there. And that is a fucking bother even when you are healthy and can easily take that long way around. And the more car centric a society is, the worse the issue becomes. Here in Germany it is a lot easier still to cross a street than in many places in the US.

And of course this gets a lot worse if you are disabled. Be it that you just cannot walk that far. Or if you are blind and cannot even see in what direction you could go for the next traffic light. Or if you are hard of hearing or deaf, you might be more in danger of being surprised by a car. (And that is without going into how electric cars being so fucking quiet makes stuff even more dangerous.) And, you know, neurodivergent people might also just struggle with the fucking noise that is created by roads and is often inescapable in big cities.

And of course even outside of the environmental issues, the constant presence of cars is also a health risk. Not just because of the risk of accidents, but also due to the pollution and how it interacts. Even if we all were driving electric cars, there would still be all those microplastics created by tires and streets and stuff.

So, really. We do need to move away from car centric infrastructure to make our lives healthier and to make the world more accessible for disabled people too.

BUT...

But there is the issue that some disabled people still might be in need to use some sort of personal transportation device that can cover both short and large distances, because for one reason or another public transport just does not work and cannot work for them.

For example someone with severe anxiety issues, or someone who will be easily suffering from sensory overwhelm. There might be other issues, too. Just some folks will always need something like cars.

And of course there is also the fact that stuff like emergency services will still need streets accessible to cars. Because the emergency services will just not get around using something like cars to get to all the places they might be needed.

And this... makes things complicated. Because infrastructure should not be car centric, no. But it needs to be accessible by cars - and be it just for emergency services.

This is just something that I would love to see more talked about especially within the Solarpunk sphere.

[faithfromanewperspective]

since this post is getting—not heaps of traction but more than I was expecting, I need to update you guys on a really interesting development. yesterday at work I discovered the innovation adoption curve after being told to watch the ted talk the power of why and oh boy does this feel like discovering my neurodivergence all over again. innovators have a dream behind the products they design and sell. some sort of vision and ideal they share with all those who adopt whatever mad shit they (we) come up with. the good thing about my vision is I think what I long for we all long for even without having the words to describe it: liveable settlements and commutes for all of us. I just happen to have ideas on exactly how. same phenomenon as me iphone but you know. more communally driven and less of the things that I hate that got us into this mess to begin with. I don’t mind driving the innovation on the far from sure hope that this might get somewhere, I can’t not try. and as it turns out. sixteen percent of the population. that’s all you need for something to start being adopted by the majority. one sixth. in Brisbane that’s only half a million people, five hundred thousand, less than the square of the number of followers I have on Instagram. surely it’s possible that chase this dream with the laws of sociology and science on my side, right?

remember being in a horrid shitty mood catching the bus back to my parents, thinking, if they just painted a bus lane on the fucking road my journey could take less than 45 minutes and be way more reliable. wondering why it isn't there, the infrastructure, surely i could afford the jail time if i just went out there and built it, they wouldn't tear it down right? footpaths and shit. cause it's still a pretty rural area. instead i'm sitting on the bus destroying my mental health, no wonder i feel better having moved out of the area, when every car that cuts in front of us and all the traffic we can't just zoom past feels like a personal put-down, an insult to my way of life that i've chosen because it's better for all of us, not just me.

and realising, when my head's out of the constant frustration of it having moved out to somewhere walkable, i can see it 'above the trees' if you will that i can whine and bitch about it all i can (and believe me i have) but any change like the one i want, is political. we do this for the city, we as the whole city do it together. of course it would be good, say the 3+ million of us living in greater brisbane, soon to be 4, 5, 6, 7 million in the leadup to 2032 and after, but it's the tragedy of the commons isn't it? my priority, say 3+ million minus one self-supporting adult in this soon-to-be megacity, is getting to work every day and putting food on the table. i've never had that strong of a survival drive, I'd rather do the right thing and invest my choices into something that makes for a better city than be able to work or eat but when it comes to my mental health? sometimes you've gotta learn the hard way, some things you can't change, and it's not worth losing everything over. you can't think if you're exposing yourself constantly to what's fucking up your brain like if i punished myself for the inaction of the city it might make it better.

i'm starting to learn it doesn't. change is political, it's about power, and people are like water (bear with me, i'm a hydrologist) because it takes volume, all going a certain way, to make the biggest impact. have the strongest force. erode grooves in rocks and wash away entire buildings (this is brisbane, we've seen it happen). what we need, is all these people, 3+ million of us and more, coming together around an idea. getting together, council can't do anything to stop a majority, not in australia at least, and the functionality of a city is something we all need. heck, traffic is bad for all of our mental health and i would bet both my kidneys that the impact of it on our lives and relationships is understudied and underreported exponentially. we can solve this, but individual choices alone don't do shit.

so i'll stop beating myself up for not being able to simply will all the traffic lights along my commute to be green, and turn the energy i put into being mad at all of those stupid annoying cars into the things i do best. it turns out i'm really fucking good at drawing up ideas and connecting with people. so i'll stop beating myself up about the fact that the uni degree i did so i'd know about these things and the job i do for Experience and Sustenance meant i haven't had time to do all of these things As Soon As I Thought Of Them (like you always got told to do for your homework assignments). instead i'll think in larger timeframes. 9 years til the olympics. 2 to finish my masters degree. 27 til the rest of the world is carbon negative like tasmania and bhutan. what can i do in each of these timeframes? and how can i prioritise it?

as i coax my brain slowly out of fight or flight, as i put my pencils and watercolours and maps to annotate out on the table in front of me and say 'take your time, but you're allowed to do what you love' i know the places that have marked on my soul stand out to me. south east queensland right out to the bay. western sydney and bringing dignity to our second cbd, parramatta. queenstown tasmania, for some reason. the murray-darling basin as a whole, gundagai and the murrumbidgee at its heart. the red dirt centre of this great land and all the peoples and cultures it holds. i can hold all of their perspectives. i can train my intuition to find out all of their needs. i can put myself into 26 million pairs of shoes and decorate the lands and i can do it respectfully and lovingly like i'm tattooing my own skin because it might as well be. tattoo it with the needs of all of us and all who have gone before. blueprints of functionality, functionality we don't have, and then meet all 26 million souls (okay, i probably only need 2 million if we're starting from brisbane) and say to them, would you dream this dream with me? will you imagine this lifestyle where you're less burdened? can you be a part of simply talking about it, because that's how we're going to make it happen? can you improve it, make it better, make it yours, knowing that when you do it imprints itself on your heart a little more, you feel a part of it? and then we're all part of it. it takes years, but it can happen.

so i guess i've got my life's work cut out for me, and i'm so fucking glad i could figure this out from something that has been frustrating me to no end, because 'you can't change it' doesn't work for me unless you switch it out like a child's toy for something more big and exciting that i can change instead. fuck you, conformity. i found what it can be for me. a dream so big it doesn't matter if i can only do some of it--and who says i have to limit myself to australia?