Disability rights activists to come up with plan for accessible bus stops
Disability rights activists have launched the 'Bus4all' initiative to audit and improve the accessibility of bus stops for wheelchair and crutch users. The group aims to standardize platform heights and infrastructure to ensure low-floor buses can be used effectively.
Why it matters
Improving urban infrastructure for accessibility is critical for the inclusion and mobility of persons with disabilities.
A wheelchair user tried getting on the electric low-floor bus with the ramp and the bus tilted down. With great might, he got on the first ramp, but the incline was too great for the next ramp, and he came rolling back to the bus stop.
Crutch users too found it difficult to use the ramp. The fault is not of the bus, but the bus stop. With no standard design, bus stop platforms vary in height, making it difficult to board low-floor buses, which are the most accessible for persons with disabilities.
In an effort to standardise the design of future bus stops, the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA) started the ‘Bus4all’ initiative. Under this, nearly 10 ambulant persons with reduced mobility carried out accessibility audits at two bus stops on Kamarajar Salai on Sunday to formulate recommendations for an accessible bus stop.
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