O F F I C I A L
BUSRide Field Test:
MCAT: Forward thinking
with rear-facing technology
Manatee County Area Transit (MCAT) provides public
transportation to a ridership of over 2 million in Manatee
County, serving Bradenton, Ellenton, Palmetto and several
Gulf Beach communities along Florida’s West Coast. The
MCAT service is now enhanced with the addition of the
Q’POD and QUANTUM wheelchair securement systems
provided by Q’Straint.
With QUANTUM, passengers can back their wheelchairs or scooters into the
system, press a button and independently secure themselves.
14 | BUSRIDE.COM | OCTOBER 2018
Securing connections
The relationship between the agency and Q’Straint began when
Manatee County Government Transit Division Manager William
Steele and Manatee County’s Transit Operations Chief Jim Egbert
observed the QUANTUM system demonstration at the 2016 Florida
Public Transportation Association (FPTA) Conference.
“I previously worked at the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority
(PSTA) in the Safety, Security and Training Division, and PSTA
upgraded to the Q’POD system on a new bus order, and when I moved
to MCAT, they were in the process of ordering buses and I noticed they
had specified a four-point wheelchair securement system,” Egbert says.
“Fortunately, it was not too late to initiate a change order and specify
the more advanced Q’POD securement system. I saw the QUANTUM
demonstration soon thereafter, and since then, I was looking for every
possible way to get the QUANTUM system on our buses. ”
Egbert and Steele expressed their interest in learning more, and
scheduled Q’Straint for an on-site presentation for both the MCAT
leadership team and transit operators. Both the MCAT leadership
team and operators asked very specific questions about how the new
wheelchair securement technology could benefit operations and
passengers. In short, creating a real “win-win” for the community.
This very focused and engaged interaction provides the important
in-person forum, where any operational concerns are addressed
right up front, and not during the pilot program. Understanding
how the equipment functions, and addressing the “what-ifs,” put the
operations team at ease, and both the Operators and Supervisors saw
the program potential from the outset.