Abstract: A platform-type wheelchair lift for mounting in the stairwell of a vehicle, such as a bus or train. The wheelchair lift includes a platform frame that is movable from a retracted position in which it is stowed underneath the vehicle to an extended position in which it extends out from the side or back of the vehicle. A wheelchair platform is movably coupled to the platform frame by a parallelogram linkage that allows the wheelchair platform to move between a lowered and a raised position. The wheelchair platform includes foldable outer, side, and inner wheelchair barriers that prevent a wheelchair from moving off of the wheelchair platform during operation of the wheelchair lift. The outer and inner wheelchair barriers are capable of absorbing part of the energy of an impact between a wheelchair and the barriers and in ways cause barriers to fold out.