| SCAT cuts make disabled into unwilling homebodies
Sheila Trexler's parents live on the opposite side of Guilford County from her home at Bell House, a center for disabled adults near the old Carolina Circle Mall on Summit Avenue. But they might as well live on the other side of the world.
"I'm only getting home once a year because I have no way to get there," she said.
Trexler can't visit her parents' home because it sits outside - just outside - the official city limits, a point beyond which the SCAT bus she uses for transportation will not venture. Instead her parents visit her at Bell House and sometimes they meet closer to town, at the Wal-Mart on Wendover Avenue or the Four Seasons Mall.
Trexler, like many of the other Bell House residents, uses a motorized wheelchair to get around. Her disability hasn't kept her from securing a job at Wal-Mart, where she works three or four times a week, or participating at Reedy Fork Baptist Church.
Wheelchair lifts
Wheelchair Lift was designed and engineered for home use. It's easy to operate, easy to install and virtually maintenance free. Every safety detail has been carefully designed into these lifts. Including a non-slip platform, constant pressure switches, a low platform for easy roll-on/roll-off, safety barrier and railing, and rolled edges.
Handi-Ramp® Residential Wheelchair Lifts have maximum lift heights of either 50 inches or 72 inches. These Wheelchair Lifts are sturdy enough to lift and lower up to 500 pounds and will accommodate electric wheelchairs and scooters. Running on a gear box and chain, these wheelchair lifts provide a smooth and quiet up and down ride, requiring little maintenance. All mechanics are fully enclosed, yet are easy to access through the rear or front of the housing unit. The wheelchair lifts are completely weatherized and attractively finished in off-white.
Wheelchair-accessible ramps
The University of Massachusetts Transit system added five new buses to its fleet in the middle of August, and plans to add another five by the end of the academic year.
The new buses were designed to be more accommodating to disabled passengers and are equipped with wheelchair-accessible ramps.
"On the older buses, passengers had to roll their wheelchairs onto the lifts in the back, and the bus driver would operate the lift. With the new buses, they can just roll on by themselves," said Transit Services manager, Al Byam.
The buses, which were manufactured by Gillig Corp. of Hayward, California, are run by the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA). They are blue and orange, seat 40 passengers, and are marked with the new PVTA logo.
"The new buses also have the most fuel efficient diesel engine," said Byam.
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