[sustran] Re: fwd: accessible public transport comment

[Alan Howes]

Point taken - but there is another issue.

Saudi Arabia has many of the characteristics of a developing country. One of
these is that ALL facilities for the disabled are virtually non-existent. If
we provided ULF buses with every provision for the wheelchair user,
virtually no-one would use them - because they would not be able to manage
at the ends of the trip because of total lack of pavements etc. There is a
high number of wheelchair-bound people here, but you never see them on the
streets.

So there needs to be a total solution - there is no point in burdening the
PT system with a  cost that will yield no benefits because of failings
elsewhere.

--
Alan Howes
Saudi Public Transport Company, Riyadh


----- Original Message -----
From: SUSTRAN Resource Centre <sustran at po.jaring.my>
To: <sustran-discuss at jca.ax.apc.org>; <msia-plan-transp at egroups.com>
Cc: <ratzka at independentliving.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2000 11:47 AM
Subject: [sustran] fwd: accessible public transport comment


> I should share this comment on an item in the last SUSTRAN News Flash
(#40).
> Paul
> -----------------
>
> From: "Adolf Ratzka" <ratzka at independentliving.org>
> To: <sustran-flash at jca.ax.apc.org>
> Cc: <madeleine.goetzinger at sida.se>
> Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2000 14:20:20 +0200
>
> Regarding accessibility for old and disabled people in public
> transportation
>
> The latest SUSTRAN newsletter featured a report by SIDA, the Swedish
> International Development Agency, on Urban Transport and Development
> Assistance. The 44-page report omits a large part of the population,
> namely older persons and those with disabilities. Not a single
> references is made to this group whose members are dependent on public
> transportation probably more than any other sector of the public in any
> country, developing or "developed".
>
> This oversight might be explained by the present attitude to public
> transportation for older and disabled Swedish citizens. Needs of this
> group are primarily met by special  -  as opposed to mainstream  -
> solutions, for example, special minibusses, exclusively for the use of
> disabled persons. Intercity trains might have, at best, one wheelchair
> accessible seat per departure and destination. Intracity busses while
> increasingly of the low-floor type, still leave an approximately 25 cm
> high step at the entrance which presents an unsurmountable obstacle to
> users of power wheelchairs or unaccompanied users of manual wheelchairs,
> unless they are wheelchair acrobats.
>
> Given this domestic record Swedish agencies and consultants need to
> learn that  SUSTAINABLE  public transportation includes  ALL citizens.
>
> Adolf D. Ratzka, Ph D
> wheelchair user
> Institute on Independent Living, Stockholm, Sweden
> http://www.independentliving.org
> ______________________________
> Our columnist, Audrey King analyzes residential institutions at
> http://www.independentliving.org/column/king8_00.html
>
>
>
>