It is not disability but the system which makes a person disabled
by Vardhani Ratnala

Rural Transport is a major issue in India. Although, three fourths of India’s population of 1000 million lives in rural areas, only 55% of the villages are connected with Fair Weather Roads (National Transport Policy Committee Report). The main transport modes seen in rural areas are government operated buses, railways and private vehicles like autos (3-wheeler), rickshaws, bullock-carts, jeeps, tractors, etc.

Rural India is not just plagued by bad roads but also few and infrequent transport services. These factors combined with the fact that the entire transport system is inaccessible to disabled persons, make traveling a stupendous task for a disabled person living in rural areas. To illustrate the problems faced by a disabled person, here’s an example with one of the most common transport modes, the government bus.

To travel by a government bus, a person with locomotor disability, firstly, has to reach the bus stand from his/her house. In most cases, the road leading to the stand would be a mud one and not asphalted. So even if he/she has a wheelchair, they need somebody to push them till the stand. In rainy season with mud puddles and slippery ground the road would be more difficult to navigate.

Once they reach the bus stand, the next problem is to enter the bus shelter, (if there is one) which usually has 2-3 steps leading to it with no ramp. Thus, they would end up waiting for the bus to arrive in the heat or under a nearby tree. The waiting time depending on the location of the village and bus service could be anywhere between 5 minutes to 1 hour.  On the arrival of the bus, there is a mad rush to get inside and the disabled person is more likely to be pushed around. Then arrives the moment of truth: ‘the wheelchair cannot fit into the bus doorway’ and there is no ramp for the wheelchair to be pushed in, which effectively means the disabled person has to get out of the chair and be either physically lifted or crawl into the bus. The wheelchair if foldable would be allowed into the bus.

The problems faced by other disabled people – those with visual, speech and hearing impairment are even worse, with no signages or zebra crossings to help them. The only other alternative for a disabled person is to hire private transport like - rickshaws, bullock carts, etc to travel. Although, none of these systems have accessible features and are expensive compared to government transport, they nevertheless offer the convenience of home pick-up and drop.

It is not just the vehicles but the entire transport system, be it the bus shelters, ticketing counters, railway platforms etc., that are not disabled friendly. For disabled persons, the government provides - travel concessions, front seats in all buses are reserved for them and in long distance trains they have a dedicated compartment. Also, in town bus terminals, there are signages, ramps and wheelchair attendants to help disabled people.

However, accessing these disability provisions is also not easy. In Prakasam district of Andhra Pradesh state, our research team personally visited the transport authority office located in the 1st floor to collect travel concession forms. The concerned officer said disabled persons “crawl like frogs and come to our office, we are thinking of constructing a ramp”. Adjacent to his office is the bus depot, where the ramp was blocked by motorcycles of other passengers, further inside we observed a dilapidated wheelchair chained and locked to a post, with no attendant in sight.

Considering these difficulties, one wonders, are these so called disability provisions itself accessible to disabled persons?

These issues get further amplified in the case of persons with visual, intellectual, speech, hearing disabilities and mental illness.  None of them can imagine traveling alone without an escort. Taking an escort along not only means increased costs but also, loss of a day’s labor for the escort who is usually a family member.

Therefore, disabled persons and their family members feel it is prudent to travel only when absolutely needed, that is for emergency or medical reasons. For this reason, it is not surprising that we rarely see a disabled person on a bus, a train, in theatres, in parks etc. They are left out of mainstream society and become dependent on their family members. When confined to homes, disability breeds disability. A person with severe disability due to lack of mobility could develop bed sores leading to secondary disabilities. In extreme cases, lack of social interaction for prolonged durations can lead to mental illness too.

Restricted access to transport inevitably leads to restricted access to education, employment and fewer social interactions. Lack of access to education and employment leads to poverty. According to WHO estimates, within developing countries, disabled population is atleast 400 million and they are among the poorest of the poor.

As per the government census of 2001, disabled persons are 2.2% of India’s population. However, this figure is contested by organisations working in the field, which estimate the disabled population at six per cent or 70 million – a figure larger than the population of the United Kingdom. Can India afford to leave out 70 million of its population without transport facilities and thus out of mainstream society? The answer is a definitive no.

It is not expensive or difficult to make India’s transport and other infrastructure barrier-free. The main problem lies in the attitudes of policy makers. The Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 of India, very clearly states that it is the government’s responsibility to enhance access for disabled persons. However, the clauses are worded with terms like “within the limits of their economic capacity and development, the government organizations can provide easy access”. Such language gives transport organizations the scope to overlook accessibility citing lack of funds.

The onus is on disability organisations and disabled persons to sensitise policy makers on the importance of ‘access to transport’. Only when attitudinal barriers are removed will the physical barriers disappear.

This opinion piece was contributed by Vardhani Ratnala
Contact: knowledge [at] lcisouthasia.org

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