New safety system for wheelchair users is installed in new MTU buses in La Crosse

Wheelchair users have a new, do-it-yourself way to ride more safely on a city bus.

La Crosse’s MTU has started equipping its buses with a safety system called Quantum, which lets passengers in wheelchairs lock themselves in place at the push of a button.

MTU operations manager Tim Koterwski describes the system as “a lever that comes in from the wall side, and then the Quantum comes in from the aisle side, squeezes together, and then they’re secure.”

Bus rider Andy White tested the system using his own wheelchair, during a demonstration of the system outside the La Crosse Public Library on Thursday, and he likes how it works.

“It was pretty convenient,” said Andy, “but there’s also some customers, not most, but there’s some that have walkers that say they can’t move.” White says he was told that passengers with that problem can wait for a second bus to come along. Two buses now have Quantum in La Crosse, but it will soon be standard equipment.

Koterwski says the self-operating device can save a few minutes that the bus driver might normally spend locking a wheelchair into place.

Koterwski says the lever system will require a wheelchair to be placed facing the back of the bus, to minimize the chance of injury if the bus stops or is struck from behind.