Archives for School Bus Fleet

A Mile in Their Wheelchairs

Drivers who transport people with disabilities should be aware of their passengers’ needs and challenges. But can they be taught to truly understand? An extreme example of “sensitivity” training proves insight. In 1982, when I began my paratransit operating company, PTS Transportation, in Los Angeles County, I had just completed directing a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) funded study of 30 systems in 18 U.S. cities, and I had just written a three-volume manual on the subject published by the DOT in 1980. As far as the state-of-the-art, three cities (Portland, Maine; Ft. Lauderdale, Fla; and especially Tulsa, Okla.) knew