People
On board the Postbus in a wheelchair and with a white cane
Daniela Moser is 31 and is blind. Louis Amport is 33 and uses a wheelchair. We wanted to find out how comfortable they felt travelling by Postbus and what we could improve. Along with our driver Stefan Knutti (29), we invited them for a ride in Laupen (Canton of Bern).
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All is still well at Laupen station. Louis Amport can get off the train at ground level in his wheelchair, wheel across the platform and wait for the Postbus. Laupen station has been renovated and declared accessible. In our video, you can see why Postbus driver Stefan Knutti still has to help him get on the Postbus. The situation is far more difficult at the second stop, Schützenstrasse, on the outskirts of the village. It’s not accessible, and Louis can’t use it independently. Here, driver Stefan Knutti’s attentiveness and assistance play an even more important role than at the stop at the station.
Daniela Moser can find her way around Laupen’s accessible station very easily thanks to the tactile-visual markings. It is easy for her to change from the train to the Postbus. But she also relies on Stefan Knutti for help. He makes sure that the seat by the front door is free for her. This is the best way for her to communicate with the driver if necessary. In the video, she explains what else is important to her as a blind commuter on public transport.
Louis Amport (33) is a qualified business professional and works as a reduced mobility specialist at his own company inclousion gmbhTarget not accessible, based in Schaffhausen. He helps companies and institutions with inclusion, accessibility and taking care of people with reduced mobility. Louis Amport was born with cerebral palsy, making him dependent on a wheelchair every day.
Daniela Moser (31) works as a specialist at the Swiss Federation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (SBVTarget not accessible). She frequently uses public transport between her home in Emmental and her office in Bern. Daniela Moser has been severely visually impaired since birth. She is blind in her left eye and has 0.001 percent residual vision in her right eye. She wears glasses to protect her eyes.
Postbus driver Stefan Knutti (29) has been with PostBus for eight years and works both as a driver and in operations support for construction and bus stops. He lives in Spiez and has often transported passengers with disabilities.
We would like to thank the three main participants for contributing to the video and helping to make public transport more disability-friendly. The video makes it clear that stops are all very different and that one thing will always be very important: communication between the passengers and the driver.
