The switch to low-floor buses begins
Greater accessibility on Yk transit begins with one vehicle
Erin Steele
Northern News Services
Published Friday, February 7, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
People with mobility issues may be boarding buses more often due to the first step in a move toward greater accessibility on the transit system.
Yellowknife's newest accessible transit bus hit the city streets on Wednesday. The vehicle is a low-floor bus and the first of what will eventually be a full fleet of that type of bus within the next two years. - Erin Steele/NNSL photo
|
The City of Yellowknife's first low-floor bus rolled through the streets for the first time Wednesday and is expected to lead the charge in replacing all current buses with low-floor versions.
"(Low-floor buses) make it easier for persons with disabilities to access the bus, therefore increasing their quality of life by providing a different mode of transportation," said Chris Greencorn, the city's director of public works.
The city has two types of public transit - the conventional system that follows a fixed route and Yellowknife's Accessible Transit System (YATS), for people with physical or functional disabilities. The newly-acquired bus is for the latter system. Until Wedneday, the YATS bus - which picks people up and drops them off at predetermined locations of their choice - used a lift system to assist passengers.
"Before, there used to be a hydraulic lift that would come down and the wheelchair would roll onto it and then it would lift the passenger up into the bus," said Greencorn. "This way, when you roll onto the bus, you're basically on the main floor."
The new bus is now the sole one used on this system, with the other two - which still use the old lift system - are kept on standby.
"The other ones are in service and will be used as a redundant measure in case this one breaks down so we can always maintain service," said Greencorn.
The new bus has more room to accommodate people as well, Greencorn said.
"The older buses would take one wheelchair and approximately four
to six people. This one will take two wheelchairs and seven to eight people, so we are increasing capacity in that aspect," said Greencorn.
The fixed-route buses currently all have entrance steps. Once they are replaced with low-floor versions, Greencorn says he hopes this will move YATS' users onto the fixed-route system.
"(We hope) this will free up spots on YATS for other people. So we're hoping on an overall increase in ridership with the inclusion of the low-floor buses," he said.
All buses on both systems are expected to be replaced with low-floor models within the next two years.
