Wheelchair assistance at JR Kyushu Station platform Non-employees can do it Miyazaki Kawaminami Town November 6, 0:26

As the number of unmanned stations increases in various places, JR Kyushu has decided to allow non-employees to assist with wheelchairs at home, which was previously limited to employees as "safety cannot be guaranteed".

JR Kyushu limits wheelchair assistance at home to employees who have been educated as "safety cannot be guaranteed" even if it is an unmanned station or a station where contracted local government employees are working. , I had to contact you in advance to get assistance at such a station.



Regarding this response, JR Kyushu has changed the outsourced town and the content of its work so that non-employees can respond if they have received safety education at Kawaminami Station in Kawaminami Town, Miyazaki Prefecture.



As a result, the staff of the town and the town's tourism association will assist from the 9th of this month to 8:30 am to 5 pm on weekdays.



This is the first time in the jurisdiction of JR Kyushu that assistance is granted to non-employees.



JR Kyushu says, "We are considering whether a similar system can be introduced at other stations.



We would like to cooperate with local governments so that they can be used conveniently

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Regarding the assistance of wheelchairs at station platforms, there are calls from users in various places for improvement as the number of unmanned stations increases, and in Oita Prefecture, wheelchair users are also suing JR Kyushu.

Proceedings of high school students

It was a high school student's appeal that moved JR Kyushu and the town.



Soujiro Imai, a third-year high school student living in Kawaminami, who lives in a wheelchair, loves trains and has been assisted by volunteers from the Tourism Association for many years at Kawaminami Station, which he used from an early age.



However, in May, I suddenly became unable to receive the assistance.



This was because JR Kyushu demanded thorough provisions that it would not allow assistance other than employees who had not received safety education.



In response to this, in July, Mr. Imai collected over 8,000 signatures with a group of people with disabilities and requested improvement.



Mr. Imai said, "I am very happy that the town and JR have moved because of the signing activities and everyone's interest and thinking together. It is easy to get on at other stations as well as Kawaminami station. I hope it will be. "

Disability group "spread to each prefecture in Kyushu"

Masahiko Nagayama, director of "Independence Support Center for Persons with Disabilities YAH! DO Miyazaki," evaluated JR Kyushu's response, saying, "I would like to take a positive view that it has become possible for non-JR employees to assist."



On top of that, "I hope that this form will spread to each prefecture in Kyushu as the number of unmanned stations increases. We will increase the number of passengers if the station becomes easy for us to use, considering both JR and local governments. I think it will also connect. "