Житель Кимберли лишился возможности пользоваться автобусом из-за запрета на его электростул

Kimberley resident left in the lurch after wheelchair banned from the bus Published 10:30 am Wednesday, September 2, 2026 A Kimberley resident has found himself in a difficult situation, after being told he is no longer able to bring his power-assisted wheelchair on the bus. Charles Harding has used a power-assisted wheelchair system (PAWS) for the past three years to travel around town and run errands in Cranbrook. He never had a problem bringing the wheelchair on the handyDART bus until July 14, when he was told by the driver that the wheelchair was a safety hazard because it could not be secured. “When I go to Cranbrook, I need to take it with me … For a long-distance drive, it just doesn’t work. I need the power,” he said. When he boarded the bus to Tamarack Mall in Cranbrook that morning, everything went according to routine. He said his wheelchair was folded and secured behind the driver’s seat, while he sat in a seat directly behind the wheelchair. The electric portion of his wheelchair was detached and also secured. When he approached the bus to return to Kimberley that afternoon, another driver told him his wheelchair could not be properly secured. The driver was insistent about this, even when he explained there had never been problems securing it before. “The person who was driving on the way home wasn’t sure about how to hook up my PAWS unit and she wasn’t willing to listen to me because I could have done it,” he said. He said the driver left his wheelchair and detached electric system in front of him untethered with only the brakes engaged, and he considered this to be a hazard. When he arrived back in Kimberley, he said the driver took photos of his wheelchair on the sidewalk. Harding said he got a phone call from a dispatcher after this, informing him that he would no longer be allowed to take his wheelchair on the bus. This was followed by a call from Keolis Canada, a company that offers local transportation services, who also told him it would no longer be permitted. Harding said this decision has limited his ability to travel locally, particularly since neither he or his wife are able to drive. He contacted Keolis Canada by e-mail and phone to explain his predicament, but the company told him the decision was based on policy put in place by B.C Transit. “B.C Transit has conducted an assessment involving a wheelchair with an attachment similar to the one you use. This evaluation included input from multiple departments and leveraged the experience of one of BC Transit employees who uses the same equipment and serves as the Manager of Accessible Transit,” Remco Makkinje, General Manager at Keolis’ Kootenay branch wrote in an e-mail on July 31. Makkinje did not offer comment when contacted by the Kimberley Bulletin, and referred the newspaper to B.C Transit. B.C Transit told the newspaper that it “is aware of a complaint raised by a customer in the Kimberley Transit System regarding the ineligibility of their PAWS mobility aid. Our organization has conducted a comprehensive review of this device, including onboard testing, and found it to be unsafe for travel on B.C Transit buses.” B.C Transit did not answer the Bulletin’s questions on the criteria they considered that resulted in this decision, or whether this was the result of a recent change in policy. Harding is still not convinced B.C Transit conducted a thorough assessment. “A decision must be made based on empirical data instead of the unsubstantiated opinion of a single person using a random photograph,” Harding wrote in a letter. Harding said he has also not been given specific information about why his wheelchair doesn’t meet B.C Transit policy. He has suggested he visit Keolis in Cranbrook to show them his wheelchair so they can see how it works first-hand, but he said his offer was declined. Further attempts at contact, resulted in Keolis sending him an e-mail on Aug. 11 asking him to “please refrain from contacting the local office regarding this matter, as B.C Transit has completed its assessment and this decision is final unless alternative solutions are developed in future.” He contacted MLA of Columbia River-Revelstoke Scott McInnis and Kimberley Mayor Don McCormick about the issue and McInnis’ office has told Harding it will investigate and reach out to B.C Transit.