Disabled fans faced F1 shuttle trouble

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Most Formula One U.S. Grand Prix fans last weekend caught a ride on a shuttle out to the race. James King and his son flew in on Friday -- true fans from 1,200 miles north in Minnesota.

By the time they arrived at the pick-up point in Downtown Austin, King ran into some trouble with the last shuttle of the day. The workers told him they were unable to accommodate his motorized scooter, because there was no way to get it on board.

"I called Circuit of The Americas,” King explained. “They told me their handicap would take me on my motorized vehicle."

Circuit of The Americas said about a quarter of its 500 shuttles were accessible for people with disabilities. The challenge came, as organizers used buses from 14 different companies and three school districts from Texas and surrounding states.

"In the future, any kind of feedback we can get on that issue, we'll take that and use it with proportion to the number of buses that we have that we bring on for the shuttling operation,” said CoTA president Steve Sexton.

Open to improvements, the circuit points out the venue itself is compliant with the Americans With Disabilities (ADA) Act. The group's website also said fans could ask for mobility assistance at the track.

But people said there were not enough of those on-site shuttles, and any available quickly filled up.

"There was a man on our bus that was 81 years old that I was thinking, 'Oh, my God. What is he going to do?'" said John Garvey, a race fan.

Most said they walked anywhere between 10 to 45 minutes to get to the gate from the drop-off point.

“The length of time between the buses and getting to the venue is long,” one woman said.

But for the most part, feedback was good.

"It was in and out,” said David Riddle. “We didn't stop walking until we got right on the bus."

"They've really go it figured out. It's go, go, go,” said Bridget Wos.

No doubt, the first year was a learning curve for everyone. King said his lesson for the rest of the weekend was to show up early if you need extra help – he was near the first in line on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.

"I can't wait to get out there,” he beamed.

One of the biggest sources of shuttles was Austin's own Capital Metro . It supplied 75 buses throughout the course of the weekend, and all of them had wheelchair ramps.