For many long years, millions of wheelchair users who wished to participate in community life have been forced, for lack of accessible means of doing so, to risk their own well-being in order to achieve it. They have had no choice but to take dangerous chances, to brave adversity and inclement weather, and to risk their health and sometimes their lives in trying to join the rest of society. They have waited for their buses and vans with apprehension, in heat and in rain and in snow, in fear of being late (again), or of being completely ignored by drivers who chose to avoid involvement with the needs of their less mobile scheduled passengers.
Mechanical lift troubles, wrong directions, miscommunications, and people too fed up to care anymore have been decisive factors in whether or not wheelchair users will get to work, or anywhere else for that matter, rather than careful planning, logic, or the law.
But their agonized pleas have finally been answered. Not, as you optimists might imagine, by new, effective legislation, adequate funding, and earnest enforcement, but by the little company that could.
To rewrite an old adage, sometimes an idea is good enough to be true. Standard Taxi (formerly Standard Motors) has created a completely new vehicular concept, a new design for a taxi that will carry ambulatory passengers, wheelchair users, and extra baggage all at the same time. Designed to provide accessibility as well as more space and simplified maintenance, no one can deny it represents not only a milestone in vehicular utility but a turning point in the expansion of access to the general public as well. It accommodates three to four people and not only one wheelchair user—but two.
No, it’s not huge. In fact, it’s about the same length as a yellow cab, but about a foot taller. It’s anything but space-age sleek; 21st century aerodynamics are so conspicuously absent from its square corners, flat surfaces, and ultra-simple lights that you might mistake it at first for a child’s toy matchbox car that wandered into a growth ray. But how it addresses and answers the need for adequate and usable space is stunning in its simplicity. And since beauty is in the eye of the beholder, millions of eyes will soon behold it as the most beauteous vehicle to ever pull around the corner of their block.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, transit bus companies are required to provide paratransit service to people with disabilities who are located within ¾ mile of a fixed transit route because they cannot be served on that main route. This involves the passenger calling the company at least 24 hours ahead of time and making sure to be ready when (and if) the transport shows.
Costs for additional vehicles, equipment, dispatching, and communication errors can hamper effective operation, and efforts to find solutions to these and other problems require continuous and renewed attention. Due to the wide variety in the needs and scheduling demands of passengers, county efforts to provide accessible buses may result in buses driving their routes mostly empty. Conversely, the demand and expectations of people who need accessible transportation is likely to grow rapidly in years just ahead, both in view of the fast-expanding elderly population throughout the country and in response to this new product availability.
Many wheelchair users have resorted to accessible minivans, but this is not for the small bank account. Converting one into an accessible vehicle also demands ready funds. Most mechanical lifts and ramps may be well designed and effective when they work, but many’s the story of someone stuck inside their vehicle on a hot (or freezing) day because of a malfunction or a broken part. The beauty of the Standard Taxi is that it solves the problem without relying on mechanics, by building a floor down close to the ground. A little more care must be used in how one drives, but how could that be a bad thing?
Rolling into the Standard Taxi is a breeze: it features a side ramp from the low floor, 56” of entry height and a 31” wide door. Once inside, a wheelchair can turn right and pull into the front passenger space. The space between the back bench and driver’s seat will accommodate a stroller, bags of merchandise, luggage, or a second wheelchair user. The trunk is large by taxi standards, low to the ground, and has no back wall to lift things over. Inside, over the trunk, is a back bench that will seat three or four across, and in the front, the driver’s seat is housed within a plexiglass surround.
The Standard Taxi has a steel chassis, and proposes a GM 150hp V-6 engine. Whether it would run on compressed natural gas, gasoline, or other fuels has not yet been scribed in stone. It offers rear seat head restraints, shoulder belts, and exit lighting. The body features interchangeable door panels and fenders and shock-absorbent bumpers, reflecting the designers’ attention to longevity and toughness.
Available at a moderate price (estimated at $25,000) the Standard Taxi will provide affordability to private and public companies alike. Resale of the vehicles, at an even lower price, will hopefully boost its success. The company is currently carrying out its final engineering and government testing procedures, and production is scheduled to begin in 2008.
For more information, prototype photos, articles, and how to (affordably) reserve one for your very own, visit www.standardtaxi.com and www.unitedspinal.org.
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