INTRODUCING A NEW WHEELCHAIR TRANSFER DEVICE

A background on wheelchair to vehicle transfer needs in America.

THE FULL STORY

The NIH states that one in five Americans have a disability to some degree. Of those 53 million citizens, over 60% have a disability that hinders their ability to complete daily tasks.  This population includes 3.3 million Americans that rely on a wheelchair for mobility and is a population that is steadily growing at an average rate of 2 million new wheelchair users per year.  This growth has led to the wheelchair industry increasing annual revenue by 2.5% per year from 2009 to 2014.  It is estimated that by 2018, the manual and electric wheelchair markets will reach $2.9 billion and $3.9 billion respectively.  Public transportation has responded to an increasing population of mobility device users by increasing the number of transit buses equipped with ramps from 62% in 1995, to 98% in 2007.  However, four-fifths of wheelchair users report that local public transportation is still difficult to use or inconvenient to access.  

Lack of efficient transportation severely restricts working-age wheelchair users from joining the labor force.  In 2000, only 20.4% of the capable population was part of the labor force and of that population, the unemployment rate was 14.4%, leaving only 17.4% employed.  As the unemployment rate continues to rise in accordance with the graying of the population, the living conditions of wheelchair users has been shown to be negatively affected.  It is 4.6 times more likely for a wheelchair user to have an annual family income lower than $10,000 than that with a family income over $35,000.  Furthermore, manual wheelchairs become increasingly common compared to electric wheelchairs as the annual household income decreases.  A study in 2001 estimates 90% of all wheelchairs to be basic manual push rim-propelled wheelchairs. 

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According to the 2000 census conducted by the Bureau of Transportation, 62% of citizens with disabilities leave their home five to seven days a week.  However, 22% of manual wheelchair users and 10% of electric wheelchair users require specialized assistance when traveling outside, which can greatly affect how often they leave their home.  Some of the most common transportation difficulties for these people have been physically using transportation (17%) and lacking additional human assistance (12%). The inability to work paired with difficulty completing daily tasks has resulted in 85% of wheelchair users to perceive themselves as disabled.