Honolulu (KHON2) — More Handyvan users have contacted KHON2.com saying the company is no longer able to pick up and drop off outside of their homes. Handivan says some roads are too narrow and not enough for small cars.
In tonight’s I-Team report, KHON2.com has some answers about their ongoing solution.
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Bert Kato, from Kaimuki, is blind and unable to use a wheelchair. He’s been on a handyvan since 2017, and a small car pulled up in his driveway to pick him up.
That was until 2021 when he was told he would have to pick him up around the corner. It’s only a few doors away, but it’s too difficult and too dangerous for Kato.
“Even if you can’t see, if you stray even a little, your wheelchair will go off the sidewalk. It will tip over and you’ll fall,” Kato said.
I was told that if a small car was available, a handy van would pick me up at my house.
“But when I call and ask, ‘Can you give me a ride in a small car?’ they always say, ‘No, I have to wait at the corner,'” Kato said.
Kato filed two appeals against the company, but both were dismissed. So he couldn’t ride a handyvan for about two years.
Wahiawa’s Janis and Edward Fernandez are in a similar predicament. She is legally blind and he is in a wheelchair.
I was told that if a small car wasn’t available, they would pick me up a block away. The director of the Hawaii Center for Disability Rights has filed a complaint with the Federal Transportation Administration seeking assistance.
“People who are blind and cannot literally walk or use another vehicle should think about how to plan around their schedules,” said Louis Artesic, executive director of the Hawaii Center for Disability Rights. It is.”
Municipal Transportation Services Commissioner Roger Morton said the fleet of small vehicles in handyvans had plummeted. But they just bought 10 SUVs that will go into service in August 2023.
He said 14 Ford Transit Cargo Vans will also be added in about 10 months. Morton said the addition of SUVs to the fleet may be enough to reassess policies and allow home pickup and drop-off again.
The chairman of the city council transportation committee also plans to hold public hearings with transportation officials next month to find a solution.
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City Councilman Tyler Dos Santos Tam said, “We will ask many questions of DTS and the Handivan itself at the hearing to find out the truth.”
A public hearing is scheduled for August 22.
