She called us a reader, who told us that on Monday, February 10, she had an accident on a Municipal Transport Company bus and wanted to file a complaint. The woman told us that she was using crutches because she is scheduled to undergo surgery on one knee. When she was travelling by MZK bus on Monday, the driver braked sharply, and she went “with full force onto her knee.” Fortunately, it was not the injured one. “The crutch flew along with me; I almost fell onto it,” the Bolesławiec resident said.

Later, in a conversation with us, she stated that Bolesławiec buses are not safe, especially for people with disabilities. She also said that MZK vehicle drivers drive as if they were carrying potatoes rather than people.

Andrzej Jagiera, president of the Municipal Transport Company in Bolesławiec, explains:

All MZK buses are fully adapted to transport people with disabilities. They have a low floor, a so-called kneeling system that lowers the entrance to the bus, a ramp facilitating boarding for people using wheelchairs, and a device that announces stops aloud.

Passenger buses do not have safety belts for passengers. The only belts are installed in the space intended for a person with a disability using a wheelchair, and they are used to secure the wheelchair.

For people with disabilities who do not use wheelchairs, special seats are designated on our buses. They are marked with appropriate pictograms, have disability symbols embossed on the upholstery, and are also fitted with protective handrails. People with disabilities should use these seats.

The passenger who fell in our bus while it was braking occupied a seat not intended for people with disabilities, even though she boarded at the first stop when the bus arrived empty. Most likely, if the passenger had taken the seat intended for her, she would not have fallen.

And he emphasizes:

Regarding the passenger’s allegation that the bus braked sharply, I declare that it was ordinary operational braking forced by a change of traffic lights on al. Tysiąclecia. I also see no fault on the part of our driver, and I declare that every driver employed by us undergoes the appropriate periodic and psychotechnical examinations required by law. Our drivers fully comply with the applicable road traffic regulations and are prepared to drive buses safely.

He also adds:

Our bus was travelling at approximately 30–40 km/h; stopping at that speed does not require sharp braking. Moreover, during the braking that occurred in the incident described, no one else fell or was injured.

What do you think? How do you find travelling on public transport? We invite you to join the discussion.