We live in the future, walking around with our pocket communicators that bounce messages off orbital satellites so we can ask vital life-changing questions like whether it'll be curry or Mexican takeout tonight.
But this future isn’t evenly distributed. While the rest of us enjoy our increasingly Star Trek-like world, people in wheelchairs are stuck with the same clunky, expensive, inefficient transportation options they’ve had since the 1980’s, only without the hope of time travel if they hit 88 miles per hour. Until now.
An unassuming warehouse in Pflugerville is home to the brand new offices of Community Cars, producer of the Kenguru. It’s the only car designed specifically to give wheelchair users completely independent mobility. Push a button on your keychain and the back hatch opens up while the ramp lowers down. Wheel in, lock the chair in place while the hatch closes, and you’re ready to drive off. When you see it, the concept seems so obvious. It’s amazing to think that the only other option for most people in a wheelchair is an $80,000-plus custom van modification, and even that doesn’t necessarily grant full independent mobility. Best of all, the Kenguru’s sticker price is right around $25,000, and the company plans to ship its first cars in the next 6 - 12 months.
Wheelchair users have different needs, so the vehicle was redesigned from the ground up. The cute electric cars have motorcycle-like handlebars instead of a steering wheel. The intuitive feel and built-in hand brakes make it easier for someone in a wheelchair to drive. Everything else inside the car is controlled via large, easily accessible buttons that don’t require any stretching or mobility above the waist.
Grinning with pride, Mike Evard, Procurement Technician and all around shop wizard who has helped create numerous custom parts for the Kenguru said, “It’s renewable, it’s green, it’s clean and it’s fun as hell to drive.”
Since the Kenguru is both all-electric and specifically designed for people in a wheelchair, the combination of green initiatives and grants for independent living can bring the cost down considerably. Stacy Zoern, CEO of Community Cars, said she wants anyone in a wheelchair who wants a Kenguru to be able to afford one.
There’s only one catch. While the cheery, egg-yolk-colored electric cars are able to handle speeds up to 45 miles per hour, as a Neighborhood Electric Vehicle they’re only licensed for 25 or below.
“When you talk to people about this you get very different responses from people who are able bodied and have a car versus someone in a wheelchair,” said Zoern. “You’re not going from having restricted access to full access. For someone in a wheelchair, it’s going from NO access to any access with the Kenguru.”
Zoern uses a joystick-controlled power wheelchair due to a form of muscular dystrophy. She lives downtown in order to increase her independence, but a casual trip to CVS to pick up household staples takes about 20 minutes each way in her wheelchair. Instead of stocking up for a week of groceries, she has to take a slow five mile per hour trip to the grocery store, regardless of weather, where she can only load the back of her chair with one or two bags then slowly ride back home.
“Everything about your life is impacted by your disability, including where you choose to live,” said Zoern. “I’m fortunate. As an attorney I can afford to live downtown, but if I lived in Pflugerville, I’d be trapped. I’d be completely isolated, I’d have no sense of community, I’d have no access to basic needs like groceries or medicine. Twenty five miles per hour may not sound like much, but it’s an incredible change to your quality of life.”
Evard pointed out that an increasing number of people end up using a wheelchair at some point in their lives. “The Kenguru’s not just a life-changer for someone like Stacy. Imagine retired people who have been independent their whole lives, but now they’re in a wheelchair. They can stay independent with one of our cars. Honestly, even at 25 miles per hour, something like this can keep them from getting depressed and losing all hope because they still have their own life on their own schedule.”
As an added bonus, Evard said Neighborhood Electric Vehicles such as the Kenguru are registered like scooters or mopeds. Since many people in wheelchairs don’t have a driver’s license, that makes the Kenguru even more accessible.
Zoern didn’t set out to own a car company. She discovered the Kenguru when searching for any new vehicles for people in wheelchairs.
“I was getting so sick of being stuck on the street where I live. Being downtown, I can get around a little, but people take for granted the ability to get down to South Lamar. I have no access to that. I came across the Kenguru and thought this was perfect for me,” said Zoern.
Unfortunately, she found the Hungarian company mere days after the local economy collapsed, leaving Kenguru on the verge of folding. “They had a loan lined up one day, and the next [day] the bank said they weren’t giving money out to anyone,” said Evard. “All they had was the prototype. After all her searching, they told Stacy they were going out of business and couldn't sell her a car.”
Zoern had never seen another car that could grant her the independence of the Kenguru. She thought about their predicament for four days then called the owners back and asked how much money they needed and what she could do to help.
“It changed my life,” said Zoern. At that point she was a practicing patent attorney. She raised $2.5 million through a combination of angel investors, a $100,000 grant from the city of Pflugerville, and some debt. Suddenly, she owned a car company.
“It’s actually been really amazing,” said Zoern. “When I was practicing law, I was very intellectually stimulated. There were aspects I really loved, but it wasn’t meaningful work in the way this is. It feels different to know that when I’m putting in long hours and risking a lot financially, it’s for something really important that’s given a lot of meaning to my life. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this alive before. I’d do it again tomorrow.”
While she didn’t invent the Kenguru, she and her team of 10 employees at Community Cars are hard at work improving it. The Hungarian prototype was designed for a manual wheelchair. They’ve made improvements to the interior design and amenities for that model, but Zoern and Evard are both excited about the model they’re creating for people in power wheelchairs.
“Wheelchairs aren’t all created alike. A power chair like Stacy’s is taller and heavier. We’re redesigning a model that will accommodate those chairs and have joystick controls for people who don’t have upper body strength,” said Evard.
Zoern said keeping the power wheelchair model just as affordable as the manual wheelchair model is a top priority. “To put it in perspective, the power chair I use costs $35,000. A custom van can easily cost $100,000 or more. Everything about transportation costs so much. We want to be the option everyone can afford.”
The manual Kenguru should be available in the next 6-12 months. Zoern has orders coming in, but she doesn’t currently have enough funds to buy the parts needed to manufacture the cars. “In some ways it’s a good problem to have. I know people want them,” said Zoern. In addition to loans, she’s targeting family funds, venture capitalists and angel investors to help them meet inventory so they can begin manufacturing in earnest.
In addition, they have a crowdsourced fundraiser on RocketHub which includes an opportunity to snag a manual Kenguru for $18,000 instead of the usual $25,000.
“Austin has the right mindset for something new and different like this,” said Zoern. “It’s not just about keeping Austin weird. People here want to make a real difference in people’s lives. The Kenguru does that.”