N
notAnn
Guest
I am overweight, have bad knees and sometimes have problems stepping up onto the long-haul cars. Coast Starlight personnel were singularly unhelpful the last time I tried to board at San Jose Diridon. At the time, I was only using a cane, and the floor of the car was nearly at knee height due to an uneven platform. The grab bars are not placed in a good way (the one on the left is okay, but the one on the right is on the outside of the car, and the door is so wide that it offers no real assistance). The only step the people could find was exactly the same height as the floor of the car, so not helpful. I asked the conductor to put the ramp out, because that was how I got onto the Southwest Chief -- the conductor there volunteered that solution, and I just walked up. The CS conductor said he couldn't do that because "someone got hurt once." I ended somehow pulling myself partway into the car but found myself balanced, unable to get any farther forward, and likely to come back out. I did the only thing I could do -- I yelled "Push!!" and one of the attendants put her hands on my sizeable butt and shoved me into the car. Humiliating for both of us.
800-USA-RAIL said I would have to talk to the station about it, but then refused to give me their direct number. So eventually (months later) I got over there and talked to someone who said that the people on the CS that day were just a bunch of lazy jerks who didn't want to sling the ramp because it was heavy, and that the next time I booked my tickets, I should ask for a supervisor and have them note on the reservation that I will need the ramp.
Since the incident, I have started using a walker. Does this now count as a "wheeled mobility device" that allows me to use the ramp? Or will I face the same thing, even with the ramp request noted on the reservation?
800-USA-RAIL said I would have to talk to the station about it, but then refused to give me their direct number. So eventually (months later) I got over there and talked to someone who said that the people on the CS that day were just a bunch of lazy jerks who didn't want to sling the ramp because it was heavy, and that the next time I booked my tickets, I should ask for a supervisor and have them note on the reservation that I will need the ramp.
Since the incident, I have started using a walker. Does this now count as a "wheeled mobility device" that allows me to use the ramp? Or will I face the same thing, even with the ramp request noted on the reservation?