Paratransit Agency Ramps up Passenger Experience with the INQLINE by Q’STRAINT
TransNet, one of the largest non-profit paratransit agencies operating in Pennsylvania, transports hundreds of people each day to their destinations. Maria Church, Risk Management Director at TransNet, recognized how difficult it was for drivers to secure a passenger traveling in a wheelchair and thought that there had to be a more efficient process for drivers to secure passengers when embarking and disembarking from their minivans.
Limited Space becomes Problematic for Boarding Process
Due to the limited space available to apply restraints for wheelchair passengers in minivans the process was not only inefficient, but it was preventing the drivers from keeping to their scheduled trips. The existing system for riders traveling in wheelchairs when embarking and disembarking the vehicle was so haphazard that operators removed seats in the minivan to make additional space to secure the wheelchair safely.
Maria commented, “A driver would literally have to be the size of a toothpick to have enough room to secure wheelchairs in the tightly spaced minivans.”
TransNet turns to Q’STRAINT for a Securement Solution
Maria reached out to Joe Boyko, Northeast Regional Manager at Q’STRAINT, for an answer to the problem. She knew Joe had extensive knowledge in the industry but never expected him to respond with a fully-integrated plug-and-play solution so quickly.
“I still remember saying to Joe, Q’STRAINT has to make something that can hook onto our wheelchair passenger chairs and remotely pull it in and safely secure it to our minivans,” Maria recounted. “We have to put our heads together and design something.”
Q’STRAINT comes to the rescue with the INQLINE
Maria was astonished to learn that Q’STRAINT already had an all-in-one, steerable system for wheelchair passenger boarding and securing called the INQLINE. This perfectly addressed all the boarding and securement needs and alleviated her frustrations.
The INQLINE is equipped with a fully steerable remote control, heavy-duty winch and restraint system that allows paratransit operators to effortlessly, safely and expediently board and secure a wheelchair passenger into a minivan.
“The INQLINE is the cream of the crop when it comes to wheelchair embarking, disembarking and securement.”
After spending some time on the Q’STRAINT web site reading about the INQLINE and watching the instructional video, she quickly discovered that it was exactly what TransNet needed. Maria proceeded to contact a prominent paratransit dealer, who is responsible for TransNet’s vehicle procurement. After speaking glowingly about the INQLINE to the dealer, they agreed to review the advanced winch and retractor system and proceeded to install a demo into one of their vehicles.
INQLINE Showcased at PPTA
The dealer then showcased the INQLINE at a Pennsylvania Public Transportation Association (PPTA) conference, where the game changing passenger onboarding and securement system was very well received.
Shortly thereafter, the dealer installed the first three INQLINE equipped minivans and TransNet purchased them. Moving forward every minivan that TransNet buys will have the INQLINE.
INQLINE Decreases Liability
“The INQLINE eases the process of embarking and disembarking a passenger traveling in a wheelchair onto the minivans and decreases the liability associated with driver injuries related to physically moving the wheelchairs on and off the minivans,” Maria added. “Before the INQLINE, these injuries were more prevalent.” TransNet has plans to double their INQLINE minivan equipped fleet by next year.
The INQLINE is the Cream of the Crop
“Our new rear-entry winch and retractor system (INQLINE) allows our operators to board and secure extremely heavy power wheelchairs by simply applying securements in a spacious environment,” Maria summarized. “And then with a touch of a button you can steer the wheelchair with precision up a ramp with an ergonomic remote control (thumb controller).”
“The INQLINE is the cream of the crop when it comes to wheelchair embarking, disembarking and securement,” Maria said.
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