Sun Metro Passenger: Wheelchair Damaged Twice By Driver

Daniel Valencia said twice since April, Sun Metro drivers damaged his electronic wheelchair while trying to get on the bus.

"Drivers didn't properly secure that chair, and the strap that went around the chair yanked the cabling from the back of the chair," Valencia told KFOX.

The first time that happened, he received more than $2,800 for damage done to his wheelchair.

Then recently the same thing happened again, costing $1,700. Valencia hasn't been reimbursed for that yet.

"Being disabled, they're my legs. I can't push a manual chair anymore, and that's what they put me through for the last two or three weeks," said Valencia.

"Operators, administrative personnel, supervisors -- it's mandatory to go through that training, again, to go ahead and ensure that all passengers, regardless of their disability, are properly secured," said Cynthia Grajeda, with Sun Metro.

Grajeda said Sun Metro wants to know about anything that happens on one of its buses.

"Any incident, any concern that the individual has, they can definitely call customer service, if there is anything that occurs on the unit, we also go ahead and insure that we investigate the situation," said Grajeda.

But Valencia told KFOX his voice isn't heard.

"It sickens me because, it seems like we make complaints and everybody hears us and everybody sounds polite and, 'Oh, we'll see it.' But you know what, this has been going on for over a year I've been making complaints," he said.

Valencia told KFOX that on Thursday, he and others with disabilities will meet with city leaders, Sun Metro authorities, and the city manager to talk about these problems.

Sun Metro said any and all incidents are not only thoroughly investigated, but also sent to a independent third party to review if a claim is legitimate of fraudulent.