Historical Facts
- 1869 was the year when the first wheelchair patent was issued in the United States.
- In 1933 mechanical engineers Herbert Everest and Harry Jennings invented the first steel, lightweight, collapsible wheelchair.
- 1933-1945 United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt used a wheelchair in everyday life.
Top 5 Wheelchair Accessible Countries to Travel to:
- Canada
- United States
- Australia
- United Kingdom
- New Zealand
Top 5 Cities in the United States for Wheelchair Living:
- Seattle, Washington
- Portland, Oregon
- Reno, Nevada
- Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Denver, Colorado
Best Vacation Destinations for Wheelchair Users in the United States
- The Skydeck in Downtown Chicago
- Silverstrand State Beach in Coronado, California
- The National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park Colorado
Facts and Numbers
- $2.9 Billion expected for the manual wheelchair market by 2018
- $3.9 Billion expected for the power wheelchair market by 2018
- There are an estimated 3.3 Million wheelchair users in the United States and the number is increasing every year
- The demand for wheelchairs is increasing due to the large need among the baby boomer generation
- 98% of public transit buses in the United States are equipped with wheelchair accessible ramps
- One out of every two taxi cabs in New York City will be wheelchair accessible
- The wheelchair industry revenue grew at an average annual rate of 2.5% from 2009 to 2014
- There are about 2 Million new wheelchair users every year
- 1.825 million wheelchair users are the age 65 or older
