(WXYZ) — Dozens of blind and visually impaired campers were left stranded after Amtrak suddenly canceled their train home from a winter camp near Battle Creek, prompting organizers to call for accountability and better accommodations for disabled travelers.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
The campers, most in their 70s and 80s, had attended the annual Winter Camp for the Blind last weekend, hosted by The Lions Club of Michigan District 11-B1. What was supposed to be a few hours of travel home turned into a frustrating all-day ordeal.
Around 30 campers were scheduled to board an Amtrak train just before 11 a.m. last Sunday to be dropped off at various stops in metro Detroit. However, the train was delayed and then canceled altogether due to mechanical issues.
"This was very, very disappointing. I said I am not traveling to winter camp on the train in the future," said Gina Rowell, a Detroit resident who has attended the camp for the last six years.
Travelers say they were initially told five buses would arrive to take them to their stops, but hours later, only one bus came.
"The driver basically was concerned that we were not going to have enough room for everybody. And in fact, there was not room for everyone," said Roger Bosse, administrator for Winter Camp for the Blind.
A blind man with his service dog and others had to be left behind and were driven home personally by camp volunteers and staff, like Bosse. Other travelers had to be dropped off at stations that could not accommodate those with disabilities. The campers dropped off at the Detroit Amtrak location were left on the side of the road due to the bus's large size.
"I think, in terms of their consideration of capacity and disability and accessibility, I don't know that they considered that when they chartered the bus," Bosse added.
The annual camp gives visually impaired and blind adults an opportunity to connect and explore the outdoors.
"It's a pleasure. I didn't go to camp as a kid, and I didn't lose my vision until adulthood, so to have this opportunity, it's good," Rowell said.
Amtrak responded to the concerns in a statement:
Amtrak is continuing to apologize to customers who are reporting an experience that falls below their expectations and ours. That is why we have reached out to these customers to provide refunds and also have encouraged them to open customer relations cases to document areas of improvement.
We are also following up on some of the customer experience statements in this report that are new to us.
For Bosse, it's not about the refund as much as it is about the lack of communication and accommodations.
"As far as how it made us feel, very frustrated," he said. "Nobody deserves to have to go through that, especially if you have a disability," he said.
Bosse hopes next year's experience will be much different.
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