Nationwide Survey to improve bus access and safety for people with disabilities. Wheelchair and scooter users, their family members, and aids are invited | University of Louisville

Accessing Public Transit Buses Using a Ramp

Thank you for visiting our survey site!

You are being invited to participate in a research study by taking this anonymous survey to identify factors that contribute to ramp-related incidents and injuries when entering or exiting a public transit bus using a wheelchair ramp. If you've never experienced a ramp-related incident we would still like to hear from you, as that is important information too.

If you are 18 years of age or older, use a wheelchair or scooter as your primary means of mobility, and you have accessed a public transit bus using a wheelchair ramp similar to those shown below during the past three years, we welcome your participation in this survey. Or, if you are a family member or personal assistant for someone who meets these criteria, you may complete this survey.

This survey is part of a research study funded by the National Institute for Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR Grant No. H133G11074). There are no known risks involved with participating in this survey, and the information collected may not benefit you directly. However, the information learned from all survey responses may be helpful to others. If you have any questions or concerns after reading this page, you may contact the researcher via telephone or email (see contact information at bottom of page).

We value your time. We have strived to streamline this survey to obtain useful information in a relatively short time period. Depending on your travel experiences, we anticipate this survey will take 15-25 minutes to complete.

This information will be used strictly for research purposes. This information will be used to describe ramp and/or vehicle features/components that contribute to ramp-related incidents. This information will also be used to develop ramp design guidelines that improve the accessibility, usability and safety of vehicle wheelchair ramps.

All responses are voluntary and anonymous, and you will not be asked to provide any personally identifiable information. You do not have to answer any questions that make you uncomfortable, and you can stop the survey at any point by exiting the survey or closing your web browser window. All responses will be SSL encrypted and stored on a secure server hosted by SurveyMonkey until downloaded to the password-protected research database. In addition to being anonymous, your responses will be protected in accordance SurveyMonkey’s Privacy Policy (http://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/policy/privacy-policy/).

Individuals from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Institutional Review Board (IRB), the Human Subjects Protection Program Office (HSPPO), and other regulatory agencies may inspect these records. In all other respects, however, the data will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. Should the data be published, your identity will not be disclosed.

Furthermore, if you have any questions about your rights as a research subject, you may call the Human Subjects Protection Program Office at (502) 852-5188. You can discuss any questions about your rights as a research subject, in private, with a member of the Institutional Review Board (IRB). You may also call this number if you have other questions about the research, and you cannot reach the research staff, or want to talk to someone else. The IRB is an independent committee made up of people from the University community, staff of the institutions, as well as people from the community not connected with these institutions. The IRB has reviewed this research study.

If you have concerns or complaints about the research or research staff and you do not wish to give your name, you may call 1-877-852-1167. This is a 24-hour hot line answered by people who do not work at the University of Louisville.

We would like to share the data we collect with you. At the completion of the survey, you will have the option to view the responses collected to-date from all participants.

For Survey click headline or visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/WheelchairRampSurvey

Thank you for your participation,
Karen Frost, PhD, MBA
k.frost@louisville.edu
(502) 852-0279
Assistant Professor, University of Louisville