metro.net - Transit Services and Information for Los Angeles County
The following list contains the most-asked questions about Metro’s efforts to provide fully accessible transportation to persons with disabilities. For further information or comments about accessible service, please write to Metro Customer Relations, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952.
Q. What types of wheelchairs can board Metro Buses?
A. Metro Buses can accommodate all types of wheelchairs. This includes three-wheel scooter-chairs, power chairs and small four-wheel chairs. General requirements for bus passengers in wheelchairs are that the chair must fit on the lift and it must be able to maneuver to the wheelchair securement area. Metro Buses are equipped with lifts or ramps that can accommodate mobility devices up to 30 inches wide and 48 inches long. The weight capacity of the lifts or ramps is 600 pounds.
Q. Should passengers in wheelchairs board facing forward or backwards on lifts?
A. Each passenger using a wheelchair knows his or her equipment. Although it may be recommended that the bus be entered facing forward, the determination is made by the passenger. Keep in mind that the wheelchair or mobility use device should be able to maneuver through the aisle and into the securement location.
Q. What devices are available for wheelchair securement?
A. Metro has three types of securement on buses. One is a clamp used mostly for manual wheelchairs; the clamp fits easily around the tires of these chairs. The second type is an over-the shoulder seat belt, usable only if the chair can fit snugly against the back of the securement area. The third type consists of two floor straps mounted at opposite points of the chair. This system accommodates a variety of assistance vehicles. The straps can be wrapped around a number of places on a chair including the armrests. On some of the newer buses, securement is provided by three sets of belts. All Metro buses also have shoulder straps or lap belts for additional securement. Operators are required to ask each wheelchair passenger if he or she requires assistance boarding the bus, reaching the securement area, or using the securement devices. If an operator fails to follow this policy, please ask the operator for assistance.
Q. Are passengers with walkers or crutches allowed to use the wheelchair lift on a bus?
A. Any customer who may have difficulty climbing steps may request use of the lift or ramp on Metro Buses. For safety reasons, riders should closely follow the operator’s instructions when using the lift or ramp to board or leave a bus. Persons who are 5’5” or taller should use special care to prevent hitting their heads as the platform rises and as they enter the bus from the platform.
Q. What can a passenger in a wheelchair do to ensure a safe trip?
A. The following tips will help:
• Enter the wheelchair lift or ramp slowly.
• When using the lift to board or leave the bus, secure the chair so that it will not roll when the lift is in motion.
• Be aware of any items that may be hanging outside of the wheelchair or mobility device, such as bags, backpacks, baskets or any other item. Make sure these items are safely moved in order to allow safe maneuvering on the bus.
• Use the shoulder strap or lap belt, whichever is available, for additional securement while riding the bus.
• Standees using the lift must be able to maintain balance while the lift is in motion. Please use the handrails, if available, and follow the bus operator’s instructions.
Q. What if a bus cannot pick up a passenger in a wheelchair because of a problem with the wheelchair lift/ramp?
A. Metro Bus operators are required to contact Bus Operations Control whenever they cannot transport a passenger in a wheelchair. Based on the service frequency of the bus line involved, Bus Operations Control will take appropriate steps to ensure that the customer is accommodated as quickly as possible. On most Metro lines, an accessible bus will arrive at the stop in less than 30 minutes.
Q. What will an operator do if the seats in the securement area of the bus are occupied and a passenger in a wheelchair wants to board the bus?
A. Metro policy requires that bus operators ask able-bodied passengers sitting in the wheelchair securement location to move from the area if a passenger in a wheelchair wishes to board a bus. Operators make a reasonable request and if the other passengers move, then the wheelchair passenger can board. In some cases, able-bodied passengers refuse to vacate the seats. The operators cannot force anybody to move from the securement area so this scenario would be considered a pass-up. In such a case, the operator is required to call Bus Operations Control and identify that the wheelchair patron could not be transported. Bus Operations Control will make arrangements for the next bus or alternative transportation depending on the schedule.
Q. What is the fare policy for persons with disabilities?
A. Reduced fares are available for persons with disabilities who have one of the following: a Medicare card, a DMV placard, a LACTOA or other transit agency reduced-fare identification card. To obtain an application for a reduced-fare ID card, please visit a Metro Customer Center or write to Metro Customer Relations, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952 or visit metro.net.
Q. Can I use my Access Paratransit identification card on Metro Buses and Metro Rail lines?
A. Metro began a demonstration project in September 2000 permitting persons with current photo Access Paratransit identification cards to use their Access Paratransit card for fare-free transportation on Metro bus and rail lines. In addition, if the Access Paratransit rider’s identification card notes that the rider uses a personal care attendant (PCA), someone accompanying the rider may also ride at no cost. Q May a rider board a Metro vehicle with a service animal? A Service, guide or signal animals may board any Metro service. The passenger should indicate to the bus operator or rail fare inspector that the animal is a “service animal.”
Q. May a respirator or personal oxygen supply be brought aboard?
A. Passengers may board with any such aids they require, provided the equipment can be safely boarded and controlled while in transit.
Q. How can riders with visual impairments know if the bus pulling up to a stop is the one they are waiting for?
A. Bus operators are directed to verbally identify their route number when pulling up to a stop used by multiple bus lines when persons with visual impairments are waiting. Metro has Braille and large print flash-card booklets available at no cost; these can be used by persons with vision disabilities to let bus operators know which route they want.
Q. How can a passenger with a visual impairment tell when to get off the bus?
A. Metro rules require bus operators to announce all transfer points, major intersections, points of interest and any stop upon request. They must also make announcements at enough stops along the route to enable customers to determine when they are approaching a requested stop. Ask the operator to announce your particular destination stop. It may be easier to hear the operator’s announcements if seated near the front of the bus. By the end of 2005, automated systems will be installed in all Metro Buses which will announce all stops automatically through verbal and visual announcements.
Q. Are Metro Rail lines accessible to persons in wheelchairs?
A. All Metro Rail lines are accessible to persons in wheelchairs. Every station has either a walkway/ramp or an elevator from the street level to the boarding platforms.
Q. If the elevator in a rail station is not working, how can a person in a wheelchair get to or from the rail platform?
A. If you want to board the train at a station where the elevator is out of service, you may board a bus along an already existing route to the next station with a working elevator for free. In the event that maintenance work prohibits the elevator from being used, Metro staff will ensure that there are signs posted at the station where the elevator is down.
Q. How should a person in a wheelchair board the rail car from the platform?
A. Metro recommends, but does not require, backing into and out of the rail cars. There is a necessary gap between the platform and the car. A wheelchair is less likely to have a problem with this gap if it boards and leaves by backing to and from the train.
Q. What else does a person in a wheelchair need to know about traveling on the rail system?
A. Keeping in mind the following information will help make your Metro Rail experience a pleasant one:
• Metro Rail can accommodate two to four passengers in wheelchairs on each rail car.
• If you cannot get to the area designated for wheelchairs, position yourself so you do not block doors. Please do not block the train operator’s cab door.
• There are no securement devices on rail cars. Passengers in wheelchairs are advised to hold the rail inside rail cars and avoid blocking doors.
• Secure the brakes on your wheelchair while riding the rail system.
Q. What does a person who is blind need to know to use the rail system?
A. The Metro Rail system is accessible to persons with visual impairments. Care should be taken when approaching the edge of the platform. Truncated domes to alert passengers with visual impairments indicate all platform edges. Braille and tactile signs are posted on the sides of stairs and escalators in all subway stations indicating which side of the platform to use for trains heading toward Union Station and for trains heading toward Wilshire/Western or North Hollywood.
Q. How can additional information be obtained? And how can problems be reported?
A. Passengers with disabilities who have a travel emergency related to Metro accessible transportation may call the Metro Disability Emergency Hotline at 1.800.621.7828. Passengers with visual impairments may obtain this brochure or additional information about Metro service in alternative formats upon request. Information and customer service are available to persons with hearing or speech disabilities through the Metro’s text telephone/TDD phone number: 1.800.252.9040. General Metro Bus and Metro Rail information is available by calling 1.800.COMMUTE (1.800.266.6883). Complaints and compliments can be forwarded by phone, through this website, or by writing to Metro Customer Relations, One Gateway Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952.
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