Welcome to the primary weblog put up in a brand new sequence referred to as Journey Experiences, filed underneath the Reader Mailbag.

On occasion, I dip into the mailbag to reply questions on accessible journey from readers identical to you. Sometimes, readers prefer to share a narrative and photographs from their very own accessible journey — these tales will now be a part of the Journey Experiences sequence. In case you have a query you’d like answered or want to share particulars from a latest journey, ship an e-mail to [email protected].

The next journey report was submitted by Mary Khan. She wrote:

My identify is Mary, I’m 55 years previous, married 32 years, have 3 grownup youngsters, have been dwelling with MS for 34 years and use a wheelchair.

Let me begin by saying for ME, the easiest way to journey is by automobile. Now we have an accessible van. I can not even consider getting on an airplane till they permit me to return on the aircraft in my very own motorized wheelchair. I don’t need to be humiliated, be left unable to make use of the toilet, or switch from chair to chair.

My husband and I went to Washington DC in mid August. In hindsight, possibly that was not the very best time of yr to go as a result of it was 100° Fahrenheit and humid.

Now to get to the nice half: To make the holiday extra gratifying for each of us, my husband organized for a healthcare attendant to return to the lodge for 4 hours within the morning and 4 hours within the night. This fashion, he wouldn’t be exhausted from serving to me prepare and  we have been in a position to benefit from the day forward of us.

In Washington DC, there’s a metropolis bus referred to as the Connector. The price of using the bus is just one greenback, and it stops at each landmark, museums, and so on. It was extraordinarily useful and if we missed the bus, no drawback, one other one got here each quarter-hour.

Washington DC could be very accessible. There are sidewalk cutouts, ramps and elevators all over the place (as there must be)… There have been a few locations underneath development, however except for that the folks there have been very accommodating and useful to each my husband and myself.

I’ve not been on an airplane because the Nineteen Nineties and look ahead to the day I can go to the Grand Canyon. Have you learnt after they’re going to have the wheelchair restraints within the airplane, not underneath the airplane?

Editor’s notice: I’m thrilled to listen to that Mary and her husband had a enjoyable journey to Washington, D.C. The capital metropolis is likely one of the most accessible locations in the US, with a incredible public transportation system and a slew of nationwide monuments and museums which are FREE to go to!

Though it’s not attainable to convey a wheelchair into the plane cabin but, at some point it is going to be. USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg lately mentioned the next:

“No different type of transportation — trains, buses, boats — forces you to surrender your mobility gadget whenever you board. The identical must be true of airways. So, within the months and years forward, we plan to document a brand new rule that may permit passengers to remain of their private wheelchairs after they fly. We all know this received’t occur in a single day, however it’s a objective that we now have to work to satisfy.”

WheelchairTravel.org will proceed to comply with developments within the airline trade, because it’s my perception that the best of equal entry to air journey for disabled passengers should embody equal entry to the airplane cabin. In case you haven’t already, try the article on a wheelchair area designed for airplanes and watch my interview with Chris Wooden, the visionary behind that modern idea.

Enthusiastic about taking a wheelchair accessible journey to the nation’s capital? Begin with the Washington, D.C. Accessible Journey Information, a free useful resource crammed with data on the wheelchair accessibility of D.C. points of interest, motels, public transportation, taxis and extra!