Lori sent a message to Joseph H. Boardman – CEO, Amtrak – Email Address that said:
Sir,
My very first experience riding any sort of train was just a few days ago, on the 21st, and then again on the return trip on the 23rd of July.
Both, I am afraid, were the most unpleasant, embarrassing, and physically painful travel experiences of my life. and I have traveled often in my 48 years on this earth.
I would very much like to speak to you about what happened.
I am disabled, and have been in a power wheelchair since 2009. I also have an adult learning disabled daughter, she has the mind of a child, and I am her caregiver. I was taking her on a special trip for her Birthday to the Great Wolf Lodge. The reservation at the Lodge alone cost close to $700.00, and took me 2 years to save up for. My only source of income is social security disability.
On the 21st, on train #513, The space provide for my wheelchair was quite adequate, as I must have my upper body in a semi recline position and my legs elevated. This train broke down just a few minutes out of Bellingham and we sat dead on the tracks for 4 hours. Once they got the train moving, and we were close to Seattle, they announced that once we reached Seattle, the train we were on was being taken out of service, and we all would be put on busses to get us to our final destinations.
The Wheelchair accessible bus had a wheelchair lift, but it was too small to accommodate my wheelchair, so the bus driver had to manually hand crank the lift, with me and my wheelchair on it, while groups of people gathered around to watch. I have never been so humiliated in my life. I was in tears. At this point, I just wanted to go home. It took the bus driver about 30 minutes to get me onto the bus, only to discover that my wheelchair now blocked the restroom for the other passengers. I again was so embarrassed. The whole day had been a disaster.
We were to ck in at Lodge just after noon, and I had a whole day of Birthday surprises scheduled for my daughter....but none of this happened. We did not even get to Seattle till noon.
By the time we did get to our final destination, it was after 6pm, and I was in so much pain from sitting for so long...from 8:30am to 6pm (the ride on the bus was the worse because I could not recline or elevate my legs like I could on the train)
Now, on the return trip, I expected the same wheelchair space, and knew we would be on a different train, as we were told the train we came down on had been taken out of service.
The return trip home on the 23rd was on train #516, and it did not have the same wheelchair space. there was barely enough room to put my wheelchair, much less recline my upper body at all...and I could not even put down my foot rests...no way in hell could I elevate my legs.
when I brought this to the conductors attention, he just told me that was "the same wheelchair space in all of their trains".
I tried to explain to him that was incorrect and that due to my medical needs, I needed to be able to recline my upper body and elevate my legs. His very rude response back to me was (pointing to the seat in front of me) "you can put your feet up there if you want, that is elevating them isn't it?"
I asked him if there was another spot on the train where I could put my wheelchair so that I could make myself comfortable and he told me that I had to stay in the spot assigned to me.
I was in so much pain, I could hardly shift my position. by the time we reached Bellingham, I was doing my best to hold in tears, so my daughter did not see me crying. I was bedridden for the entire next day.
I called Amtrak this morning to inquire about getting a refund on the round trip.
I was offered a "travel voucher" for $100.00 at first, then a travel voucher for $125.00 or a refund for $62.00.
The whole Amtrak experience was such a disaster, I will not do it again. A travel voucher would be useless to me. if your company is willing to refund me by way of a travel voucher, why would they not refund me for the full round trip? Granted, there were no travel delays on the trip home, but the wheelchair seating was not the same as it was on the trip down, and I was forced to sit in a position was medically very painful for me, so much so, I was not able to drive home after reaching Bellingham. I had to call and have someone come help drive for me.
The Customer Relations person I spoke to on the phone this morning also told me that all wheel chair spaces on your trains are all the same.
Sir, I am here to tell you that they are not. And your staff on one train have great customer service, yet on another, treat a handicap individual like crap, blatantly showing that they care little or not at all about a persons disability or medical issues.
Thank You for your time
LoriAnn
