Broken elevators and service outages may seem like routine inconveniences to many BART riders. But to people like Ellen Greenblatt’s friend Blaise they’re serious trouble.
Among the background noises we barely hear as we ride BART are the announcements of out-of-service elevators.
But if you are my wheelchair-bound swim-buddy Blaise, and you travel on BART from your downtown Oakland apartment to UC Berkeley for your swim, you know those announcements all too well.
Blaise checks online ahead of time to see what’s out of service. So, even if the elevator is not working at 19th Street and he has to go from 12th Street, farther from his apartment, he doesn’t complain. The pool awaits.
Blaise leaves his Oakland apartment by 9:30 to make our noon pool date, rolling up to the campus pool in his manual wheelchair. He knows the plan and what it takes, and he is justifiably and quietly proud of his independence.