The bus driver explained the situation that happened today on route 53
According to the city’s hotline, a person with a disability was reported to have had his shoulder crushed by a door on bus No. 53 when leaving the bus. The incident occurred this morning at the V. Shukhevycha Street bus stop. The bus driver, Mr Volodymyr, explained the details of the situation.
In particular, he said that the man got on the bus at about 7:00 a.m. in Novyi Lviv. At the bus stop, the driver noticed that the man was in a wheelchair.
So Mr Volodymyr drove as close to the curb as possible, “tilted” the bus, which is technically possible for this model, and wanted to get out of the bus to lower the ramp. However, the man got up and entered the bus on his own. The woman accompanying him brought a wheelchair.
The passenger was getting off the bus in the centre, at the V. Shukhevycha Street stop. Unfortunately, he did not warn the driver about this.
“When I arrived in the centre, at the V. Shukhevycha Street stop, I drove as close as possible to the platform. This stop is inclusive, with a raised platform. I opened all the doors and waited for the passengers to get off. And when no one else got out, I pressed the button to close the door. And at that moment, in the mirror, I saw the wheels of a wheelchair in the door. But the door cannot injure a person, because when it collides with someone or something, it automatically opens. That’s exactly what happened: the door hit the wheels and opened. The man left, and an attendant came out with him.
If I had been warned that they were going to leave, this would not have happened. After all, there have been many cases where people with disabilities or older people have been warned that they will be getting off and asked to wait or come closer to the stop. I’ve been working on this route for 13 years and I’ve never had any such situations.
I am sorry for this incident, I apologise to the man,” said Mr Volodymyr.
It should be noted that route 53 is operated by a private carrier, Success-BM. They noted that for 13 years they had not received a single complaint about Mr Volodymyr’s work. “On the contrary, this driver has only gratitude,” the company says.
As a reminder, the mayor’s office regularly conducts training for city public transport drivers. In particular, they are told how to interact with passengers with reduced mobility and how they should help them use public transport. They also talk about the peculiarities of communicating with privileged passengers, the military, and students. In total, almost half of Lviv’s public transport drivers have already undergone such training.