A Wheelchair Accessible Vending Machine!
For the most part, vending machines can be hard to use in a wheelchair. The buttons to order an item are often too high. And then if you can order something, it comes out at the bottom.
So, when I went out today I was very excited to see a wheelchair accessible vending machine!
Money can be inserted from a wheelchair user’s height and there is a tray to put in coins instead of a slot to make it easier for those with poor motor control.
For those who cannot reach the buttons for the top items, alternative buttons are available at wheelchair height.
The tray to get your drink is large and easy to open. Also, the change tray is very large and sticks out from the machine to make it easier to retrieve.
Very impressed at the effort to make every day items easier to use for people with disabilities!
Published in Personal
Great piece: thanks. Does the machine claim to be especially accessible… or does it just seem to be designed that was?
Hello,
No, it doesn’t claim to be accessible explicitly. However, standard vending machines in Japan have have the drink retrieval slot at the bottom (knee height) and no extra buttons to use in place of the upper row.
I have seen a few like this in sports centers for people with disabilities, so it is my assumption that it is for accessibility. It could be argued it is for kids, but even if that is the case, it just shows that universal design helps everyone ?