Ghislaine Solves has lived in Grabels for more than 20 years. Founder and president of Handi Cap Sud 34, she campaigns for the accessibility of public transport for people in wheelchairs. Herself in an electric wheelchair, Ghislaine Solves had a bad experience last May. “I wanted to take line 24. At the bus stop, there was another lady in a wheelchair. When the driver arrived, he told us he could only take one person”, explains Ghislaine Solves. According to a safety rule, buses can only transport one person in a wheelchair. So no choice, the resident of Grabels had to wait for the next one, but she wonders “What if it had happened in the evening, with the last bus. What do we do if there are two people in wheelchairs waiting?”
According to the president of Handi Cap Sud 34, this is not the first time this has happened. “Two other ladies, both in wheelchairs, told me that they couldn’t take the bus together to go to town. It’s scandalous.” This is not the only thing that Ghislaine Solves denounces. “We regularly see many strollers on buses, which block the passage in the corridors, so why them and not us? I just ask for at least two seats on a bus.”
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Response from the metropolis
Angry at this situation, the president of Handi Cap Sud 34, requested a meeting with Julie Frêche, elected to transport in the Montpellier metropolis. The only response received at the moment, the Tam confirms the driver’s decision. “After checks, vehicles operating this line can only accommodate one person with reduced mobility,” a response that does not satisfy Ghislaine Solves. “I also received an email to explain that I could use the GIHP service, but it is not free!” To request this service, specialized in the transport of people with reduced mobility, you must register. “You must first join, it costs 25 euros. Then, you have to pay during the week, a round trip is 7 euros and 9 euros at the weekend.”
There is no question of paying for a service, according to the president, when public transport has been free for six months. “Think of us, we are citizens!”
