Schedule trumps wheelchair convenience, says Hong Kong's MTR Corp
Wheelchair users disatisfied with policy of helping just one user get on each train
Only one electric wheelchair is allowed onboard every time an MTR train sweeps into a station - unless wheelchair users are willing to forgo the ramp provided and risk danger by rolling into the carriage themselves.
And by its own admission, the MTR Corporation says the rule is based on a fear of delaying train schedules. For one disabled resident, that effectively means the railway giant is ignoring the needs of disabled people for the sake of efficiency.
Yip Wing, who has been unable to walk since birth, said the rule forced wheelchair users to wait on the platform until it was their turn to board the train.
Yip's words were borne out when the followed him and another person in an electric wheelchair to test out the procedure for disabled commuters.
True enough, the station master let only one wheelchair board one train, citing the safety code as the reason.
"When you have to wait for train after train, up to 30 minutes, it's frustrating," Yip said.
"We have asked why there cannot be more than one electric wheelchair user on the same train and the answer is always 'safety reasons', without further elaboration."
Non-electric wheelchairs need not adhere to the rule, prompting Yip to query the actual reason behind the rule.
Yip, who is an aide to lawmaker Dr Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, travels to work by MTR because buses are even more inconvenient.
A spokesman for the MTR Corp said in a written reply to the 's enquiry: "Due to time constraints, assisted boarding of one wheelchair is arranged per train."
Yip was critical of the attitude, saying the MTR was compromising disabled people's right to access public transport. "It's a bit discriminatory," he said.
"If a group of us [wheelchair users] are waiting together on a platform going to another location together, we will have to wait one by one as only one person can board a train at a time," said another long-time wheelchair user, Tsang Ki. "This does not make sense."
The MTR spokesman said wheelchair users "are welcome to board the train without staff assistance through the third door of any train carriage other than the front carriage".
But Yip said it might be dangerous to do so, as the electric wheelchair's wheels could easily get stuck between the wide gap.
"It is dangerous to not use that ramp. But sometimes all we can do is still risk it, or else there's no getting off the train," he said, adding that there were "many instances" where MTR staff members had forgotten to meet him at his destination to put down the ramp.
The spokesman said the MTR had been exploring the feasibility of adding resources to improve the travelling environment for all passengers, but that the existing barrier-free access and facilities "are able to meet the needs of passengers".
