Wheelchair-accessible car featured at National Council on Independent Living conference in DC

From The Washington Post:

Kelly Buckland predicts that when he heads home to Idaho next week, it will be a long, exasperating journey. Not the flight -- the ride home from the airport.

For him, like other quadriplegics, finding a vehicle that can accommodate his electric wheelchair is a never-ending hassle.

"There are no accessible cabs in Boise, so when I go back there, I can't catch a cab to go to my relatives' house," said Buckland, 56, executive director of the National Council on Independent Living.

Getting around is about to get easier with the advent of the MV-1, the first car specifically designed for wheelchair accessibility. An early model of the vehicle will be on display July 20 at the National Council on Independent Living's annual conference, being held at the Grand Hyatt in Northwest Washington this week.

Slightly smaller than a van, the MV-1 features a wide side door, extra space between the back and front seats and a powered ramp that rolls out from the floor. A wheelchair-user can ride up the incline, then turn around to get situated in the space where the passenger's seat normally is.

The vehicle (pictured), scheduled to go on sale in January, costs about $40,000, said Marc Klein, co-founder of the Vehicle Production Group, a new U.S. car company that is manufacturing the MV-1.

The National Council on Independent Living's conference takes place the week before the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into legislation July 26, 1990. About 3 million Americans 15 and older used a wheelchair in 2002, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The District has 20 wheelchair-accessible cabs in operation, deployed after the city voted to use federal funding for the fleet in 2008, said Wendy Klancher, a principal transportation planner for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. This is the first month in which all 20 are in use, Klancher said.

Bobby Coward, 46, who has lobbied for accessible cabs in the District, said he is pleased with the advent of the MV-1 and hopes its design might someday be incorporated into public transportation. The MV-1 allows users to enter from the side, whereas the wheelchair-accessible cabs in use in the District require them to enter from the back.

"We need a more versatile vehicle specifically designed for people with disabilities," said Coward, a quadriplegic. He added that the MV-1 "gives you an option, as a sedan and an accessible vehicle."

For Mary Margaret Moore, 61, a quadriplegic from Salem, Mass., the car represents a mode of access to something that is normally off-limits: everyday life.

"Working, shopping, the movies, visiting my friends, going out to eat, having fun, living life, being independent -- not having other people do things for me and doing it myself," she said. "I'm just a regular person, trying to get through the day with specialized support."