A Wodonga resident who uses a wheelchair is the face of a new accessibility video for mobility aids on bus services after sharing his recent close call.
Grant Myers, who has been a member of the Wodonga Community Access Advisory Group since 2017, recalled ‘making light’ of the fact he almost fell backwards on a recent bus ride.
“At an access meeting I made fun of it, I made light of the fact that I almost fell backwards on the bus and didn’t hurt myself,” he said.
“Members of the committee said that I can’t make light of it and we should do something positive.”
Mr Myers recalls the bus driver taking off before he had time to lock his wheelchair wheels securely in place.
“If I physically didn’t hit the seat directly behind me, I would have rotated all the way back to the floor and would have cracked my head and may have damaged by back again,” he said.
“So what could have been serious was fortunately not.”
The Wodonga Community Access Advisory Group (run by Wodonga Council) and the Dyson Group of Companies have collaborated on a short video to raise awareness about accessible transport in our city and ensure everyone feels confident to get on board.
It will also be used by Dyson for training purposes.
The video captures the various stages of accessing the bus, such as how the internal ramp is deployed for passengers and the best way to position mobility aids inside the bus while vehicle is in motion.
Dyson Group of Companies North East Regional Manager, Brett Drinnan, said the collaboration was a great opportunity to show the transport user experience and raise awareness around accessible transport.
“We have some new drivers coming through and this is going to be ideal to show them what is expected of them as drivers,” he said.
