A disabling public transport system?

Abstract

Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Southern African Transport Conference 12 - 15 July 2004 "Getting recognition for the importance of transport", CSIR International Convention Centre, Pretoria, South Africa. Public transport does not make satisfactory provision for Special Needs Passengers (SNP) and this isolates them from employment opportunities, recreational and educational opportunities. This study focuses on what one might term mobility-handicapped persons who find it difficult to move around, or to hear and see. The term SNP or mobility-handicapped persons encompasses more than just disabled persons. It includes customers laden with shopping bags, pregnant women, or someone with a broken leg, and so on. The public transport system should enable persons with disabilities to experience the most optimal level of independence. The public transport system can be divided into 4 categories namely, Infrastructure, Shared Road and Pedestrian Environment, Information and Vehicles. At present, these components of the system do not function efficiently. Therefore it is imperative that legislation, policies and implementation strategies that aim to provide equitable public transport be assessed to the extent with which they cater for SNP’s. It is crucial to have an accessible public transport system, because this is the first step in achieving independence for many SNP’s. At present the system does not even satisfy the needs of able-bodied persons. How then is it supposed to respond to Special Needs Passengers?