Page 8 - The Mobility Project, 2022

New Horizons
“China was difficult. I was able to get a local tour company to help me with some of the tours, but when I got there, the people in the hospitality sector speak English, but other than that, like in Shanghai, nobody speaks English because nobody has to. Maybe in the financial sector they might, or if they have a lot of international visitors, but — everybody who goes to Disneyland in Shanghai [is] from China. I was very often the only American, the only Westerner, in all of Shanghai. So that was a big challenge. But in Europe, anybody and everybody in tourism speaks English. I know a few words here and there, so I can get by. My French is okay, my Italian not so okay, but good enough. And I speak fluent Spanish.”
Many Challenges, Many Rewards
Despite significant challenges to traveling in a wheelchair, Longmire said the sights she’s seen — and more importantly, the people she’s met — are why she keeps venturing out.
“Obviously, I love seeing the sights, seeing the tulips outside of Amsterdam, or the Parthenon or Iceland and the glaciers,” she said. “I published my solo wheelchair travel memoir last spring, and the common thread was my interactions with the people. That’s the great thing about solo travel: If you’re traveling with somebody else, you’re generally talking to the people you’re traveling with, and when you interact with the locals, it’s often on a tour.
“But when you’re traveling by yourself, you have no one else to talk to. I’m a social person and I like to meet the locals, and as a solo wheelchair user, people are curious about me. People want to know why I look perfectly healthy, and yet I’m in this space-age chair — and what am I doing by myself? I get to interact and ask questions and learn so much about some very colorful and interesting characters in different countries. That’s what makes the experience unique.”
Woodard echoed the opinion that traveling is a particularly wonderful form of education. “Is traveling as a wheelchair user exhausting at times?” he asked. “Absolutely! But I know what’s waiting for me on the other end of every flight, and I constantly look forward to learning more and sharing with others, so that’s why I continue to travel.”
He suggested that novice travelers start with more modest itineraries. “I would encourage them to start traveling locally and then work their way up to bigger — maybe international — trips. By doing a staycation or weekend getaway just a couple hours away, you can learn how to book accessible hotels, how to plan which attractions to visit, etc.
“After doing these smaller, more local trips a few times, you should start to feel more comfortable with the idea of traveling further. I’ll be the first to admit that traveling as a wheelchair user comes with its challenges and can be nerve-wracking, so having the confidence to travel is key.” m
WHILL & Bird Make Mobility Options Available on Demand in Pilot Program
You probably recognize the Bird name because of its lines of electric scooters and bicycles available for rent in many city centers.
Now the micromobility company is part- nering with power mobility device manu- facturer WHILL, and with Scootaround,
a mobility rental provider, on a pilot program to bring accessible vehicle rentals to several major American cities.
The program includes rentable WHILL Model Ci2 vehicles, which can be accessed via the Bird app.
Kerry Renaud, CEO/Managing Director of Scootaround, said of the program, “WHILL/Scootaround and Bird share
the fundamental belief that personal, accessible mobility should be available to everyone who needs it.
“As micromobility options such as shared bikes and scooters continue to
8 2022 | THE MOBILITY PROJECT
expand, we must ensure the benefits of these improved transportation networks be made as widely available as possible, including to persons with disabilities. Innovative partnership programs like this are an important part of that process, and we welcome Bird’s proactive participation in bringing them to life.”
At press time, the pilot program was operating in New York City, San Diego, and San Francisco, though a WHILL news announcement said the program “is expected to expand rapidly to more cities in 2022.”
Local residents as well as visitors in those cities can check on the accessible vehicle selection available for rental by using a custom interface on the Bird app. Upon delivery, vehicle riders receive “a personal 1:1 tutorial on how to safely operate the micro-electric vehicle to
WHILL and Bird electric vehicles were on display at the 2022 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.
ensure that they feel comfortable and confident using, charging, and storing their vehicle throughout the duration of their rental.”
Bird is also providing a toll-free number to answer questions that renters have. For more information on WHILL’s offerings, visit whill.inc/us. m
MobilityMgmt.com