On Wheelchairs and Malls

Interested in how disabled facilities at shopping malls are used, reporters set out recently to investigate. On June 23, 2009, they decided to visit several shopping malls at random. Those they saw included Beijing Modern Plaza and the New World Department Store among others, and their focus was on wheelchairs.

One police officer from Beijing Modern Plaza said that five wheelchairs and two baby carriages were available free of charge from the concierge and are ready for customer use. Also found were disabled facilities such as a lower cashier’s and information desks, available to those who needed them. One employee from the New World Department Store said that they kept two free wheelchairs at the general service counter. They added that their salespeople have the ability to communicate in sign language.

However, one startling finding was that most of the shopping malls interviewed said that the wheelchairs they provided were rarely used.