Q’UBE Case Study: MAX Transit

With monthly wheelchair ridership increasing by about 40 percent in the past two years, Macatawa Area Express (MAX Transit) needed a way to speed securement and reduce the overall 6- to 8-minute load time for mobility challenged passengers. The West Michigan public transit system found a solution in the Q’UBE, the complete bolt-in securement station from Q’Straint.

“We transport almost 1,000 people a day,” says MAX Transit Operations Manager K.D. Reisenga. “Between 390 and 425 of those are demand-response riders. So if we have a wheelchair, we have to expand the time on that particular manifest to give the driver more time to get to their destination.”

She says the Q’UBE began returning “major value” as soon as the first ones were installed. “We’re saving time. Drivers used to have to make sure they could get the belt or the retractor in the slot. And then they always had to make sure they were tight enough. Sometimes, the belts would twist and get caught, and it was a mess. We haven’t had that with the Q’UBE.”

Driver acceptance is another immediate benefit of the new system, says Reisenga. “They were ecstatic. The Q’UBE is so much easier to use, so much easier to work with. There’s less stress and wear and tear on drivers’ backs, because they’re not down there on the floor trying to figure out how it works.”

“On the old system, it was hard for the driver to get back behind those chairs, whereas, with the Q’UBE you can actually have the chair up farther so they can get down in there, and then tighten that up last. It works out really well.”

“The Q’UBE began returning ‘major value’ as soon as the first ones were installed. We’re saving time. The drivers were ecstatic. The Q’UBE is so much easier to use, so much easier to work with.”

MAX Transit has found the Q’UBE’s self-contained design provides for a cleaner installation and less obtrusive operation. “I like that the restraints are out of the way until the seat is flipped up to allow access to the securement,” says Reisenga.  “And other ones are kept in a little pouch and they’re out of the way. Before, once the passenger got off, drivers had to make sure to pick up the belts so they’re not a tripping hazard for walk-ons.”

With straps tucked away when not in use, they need servicing less often, says Reisenga. “We’re in the shop much less with them, because they’re not filling up with mud. Our winter months here in Michigan are rough. So mud and sand and anything that’s on the floor could be a problem with other systems.”

Perhaps most important, says Reisenga, passengers are more secure. “Straps are tighter, so the chair isn’t moving around,” she says. “With the older system, the belt tended to slip a little bit. Once you finished the trip, you could tell when you went back there that the chair had moved a little. I think the Q’UBE makes the passenger feel safer, because they can hear that click and can feel the straps tightening up.”