I ask everyone i meet the same questions. One of these is "What are the four primary barriers to inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace?"The answer is invariably "Transportation of course. We need better public transportation." This answer has caused I try to imagine the challenges that I would face using the different forms of transportation if I had various disabilities. this has opened my eyes to aspects of transport that I have never considered, and I encourage everyone to start asking questions on this issue. In this post, I am going to go through three forms of transportation - mini bus taxis, MyCiti Busses, and MetroRail train services to illustrate where the system works and fails.
Mini Bus Taxis: These min-busses can be found all over South Africa and Africa in general. They travel on main roads and stop wherever there is a potential client. There is a driver and then a person who hangs out of the front window yelling the name of the vehicle's destination. I will be happy to imitate these men yelling "Wynberg" so just ask me sometime. The route that I took most often using this form of transport was from the Southern suburbs to town on the main road. This cost me 6 rand one way and 12 return. In town, there is a taxi stop with other taxis going to routes all over the Western Cape. This is a lively place where people offer to sell items from socks to t-shirts to water bottles.
In terms of accessibility, the mini-bus taxi does not provide a viable option. To begin, these busses pack people in like sardines. On a few occasions, I have had to sit on a crate. Indeed, the goal is to get as many people in as possible so if someone has a wheelchair than the driver is most likely not going to want to use the space to accommodate that person. Even more, the vehicles are not equipped with ramps or any other accessibility contraptions so it would take manpower to get someone in the vehicle. If for some strange reason the people operating the taxi let someone in a wheelchair into their vehicle, the person will be charged for their transport in addition to the transport of their wheelchair. Someone who is blind with a seeing-eye dog would also be charged twice (people tend to be scared of dogs so this is a big "if.").
In addition, mini bus taxis have no planned stops on their routes. The taxi picks up passengers when they are waved down and lets them go when a passenger indicates they are ready to get off. No one is announcing "We are now at Mowbray Shoprite stop." This lack of formality would make it difficult for someone that could not see to know where to stop. They could not see to say "I need to get off just up here" as I would. The bottom line is that the informality of Mini-bus taxis make them undesirable for people with disabilities.
As a side note, I would like to share my theory regarding music on taxis. I have decided that there are three types of drivers based on the music - the safe drivers (play gospel music, which causes the driver to sing in addition to passengers), the young and probably unlicensed ( They play techno music extremely loud like their taxi is a club. For some reason, when I am tired or have a headache I get on one of these), and the chill drivers desperate for customers to fill their vehicle so they can get to Cape town as soon as possible so they can get munchies (play reggae music). I digress but if you ever come to Cape Town and use taxis I guarantee you will hear gospel, techno, or reggae on your journey. Unfortunately, you will not be riding with many people with disabilities.
MetroRail: The train system is unaccessible to people with physical and sensory disabilities in addition to causing more people to have disabilities. To begin, the train stations that I have been too are not equipped for people with disabilities. There are lots of stairs and no ramps. Next, entrances to he train are not level so if I were in a wheelchair, it would be nearly impossible to get on. Even more, I have heard stories about people losing legs because they tripped getting in and the train moved. Also, there is not a speaker system announcing stops so someone that is blind would have to count stops in order to know where to get off. If they miscounted, the train skipped a stop or the train stopped midtrack (as happened to me yesterday), there would be no indication for someone that was blind. For someone that is deaf, there is not a electric board indicating stops. Even more, as the train passes stations, there is not a clear sign indicating where the train is stopping. I find the train system's lack of equipment indicating stops to be confusing so I cannot imagine using the system if I had a sensory disability. In sum, the train system is in need of reform. As Vincent Daniel's, an amazing advocate for people with disabilities told me (paraphraising), "If they fixed it there would be more business. They would make the money back! Not only could people with disabilities get on but the elderly could. It's good business. Fix it once and be finished with it!"
MyCiti Busses: This is the public transportation system with the most hope. The main stations are accessible by ramp. In addition, the busses drive up to doors where ramps come down so people in wheelchairs can get in. On the busses, there are boards where stops could be flashed and a PA system to make announcements. The problem is that they are not used. I am not sure if the drivers are not utilizing the system or they do not work. Also, there is only room for one wheelchair so if two people in a wheelchair wanted to get in , a fight might break out! Another weakness is that the accessible busses are currently only on the main routes. The feeder busses I took had numerous problems. Finally, MyCiti Busses are not everywhere. Currently, they are located mostly in Northern Suburbs (like Milnerton). So, I could not have used them when I lived with Rene and Clive in the Southern Suburbs. Rene, one of the people I interviewed, laughed as she told me the system was supposed to be completed by the World Cup ... In conclusion, there is hope for people with disabilities if technology is utilized and MyCiti Busses continue to expand with new routes.
Conclusion
With all of these forms of transport, it is important to note that there may be a distance between where vehicles stop and where someone is going. This may cause even more challenges for people with disabilities. I hope this post will lead you (the few who probably read to the end), to think about the challenges people with various disabilities face regarding transport.
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