Handi-Transit user concerned after trainee caught riding in a lawn chair

A Winnipeg Handi-Transit user says she was baffled after seeing a traineestrapped into a lawn chair in the front of a Handi-Transit van.

"In the spot where there's supposed to be a wheelchair, there was a lawnchair," said Rebecca Kozak.

Kozak, a regular Handi-Transit user, said she was picked up at her Fort Rouge home on Tuesday around 7:25a.m.

Kozak, whois visually impaired,saidshe did notnotice the chair at first. She realized shortly into the trip that things didn't look quite rightand snapped a picture.

"I even sent the picture to my husband and was [wondering] is this a new kind of wheelchair? Am I missing something?" she said.

Her husband confirmed to her that she was, in fact, seeing a lawnchair.

Kozak saidthe seatbelt was fastened to the floor, but the lawnchair was not anchored. Her first concern was for the man'ssafety.

"If we get T-boned, that chairand the person in it is going flying," she said.

Kozak saidwhen she arrived at her destination,the driver told her that the man in the chair was a trainee.

"My thought was that he was training someone that he probably shouldn't be training. I don't think Handi-Transit would sanction that," she said.

Kozak saidshe didn't say anything further to the driver, but she reported the incident to the City of Winnipeg's311 service lineafter she arrived at work.

She said311 instructed her to call Handi-Transit directly. Handi-Transittold her that complaints usually take 10 business days to process.

Kozak said the Handi-Transit employee seemed surprised but did not seem to have a sense of urgency or concern for the man's safety. Kozak was told that a manager would be informed.

"This guy is out here being dangerous.You need to do something now," she said.

Driver suspended

Handi-Transit is run by the City of Winnipeg's public transit system.A city spokesperson sayscontractors are required to reinstall the front passenger seat inmodified vans when they are training a new driver.

The city also saidthis kind of behavior is unacceptable andthe driver has been suspended. The vehicle in question has been taken out of service.