Last month, I took a flight to the Windy City for business purposes. I traveled there with my spouse and my 7 year-old granddaughter. I attended business meetings for three days while they relaxed at the hotel pool or did some sightseeing. There was very little wind there in mid-August. The weather was delightful.
When we arrived in Chicago at O’Hare Airport, my wife had to put my power-operated wheelchair back together because it was taken apart completely by the idiots working on the ground at my New York-area departure point. This was a first for me in 46 years of using a wheelchair and flying, mostly, back and forth to 36 of these United States.
Once mobile again, we made a dash to the taxi line. After 10 minutes of no wheelchair-accessible taxi sightings on the line, my observant spouse noticed a cab with a higher roof about a dozen or so vehicles away. She turned towards me and said, “I bet that cab with the higher roof is an MV-1.” I responded, “that’s good,” not realizing that my wife had noticed this MV-1trait at a recent display of them in New York City, and I had not.
It was an MV-1, and we had our wheelchair-accessible ride to our hotel in the city. I sat in my wheelchair in the open space next to the driver, and he tied my wheelchair down at four points rather quickly. Once we arrived at our hotel, I asked him if he could come back at the end of our stay and return us to O’Hare Airport. He agreed and we settled on the day and time of our hotel departure. He picked us up three days later and delivered us to the airport for our return trip.
Easy-peasy, right? The truth is that getting a wheelchair-accessible taxi trip in most cities isn’t always as successful as our recent Chicago experience was. But the accessible taxi idea seems to be gaining broader acceptance.
Check this out. On September 5th, AM General—manufacturers of the military HUMVEE and other similar vehicles—announced an agreement leading to its ownership and operation of the Vehicle Production Group, the original manufacturers of the MV-1. If you have followed the development of this vehicle as I have, this action could go a long way toward the growth of accessible MV-1 taxicabs in many communities, large and small.
I have a picture in my mind of my two Chicago taxi rides. The driver and I are in the front seating area of the cab. My wife and granddaughter are nestled comfortably in the back seat with plenty of room for a third individual, if needed. Our luggage is stowed safely in the trunk with plenty of room to spare. And, as in many major urban areas on a “getaway” Friday in the summer and a “get back home” Sunday, we are stuck in our share of traffic.
Is this the “new normal” for folks with mobility and other disabling conditions, including disabled veterans and wounded warriors? I’m voting “yes.”
Terry Moakley
Chair of the VetsFirst Committee