Differently-abled struggling with public transport

Recently launched People’s Bus Service has reserved seats for persons with a handicap, but these are always occupied

KARACHI:

Even though public transport options have increased in the port city after the launch of the People’s Bus Service, differently-abled individuals are still having a hard time accessing such options.

For instance, Talha, who uses public transport daily to commute from Malir to Shaheen Complex for his job, often has to wait for public buses that are not crowded or where the assigned seats for differently-abled individuals are not taken before he can board a bus. “It is quite infuriating to see that seats, which are specifically allocated for people like me, are generally occupied, and passengers who occupy them will pay no heed to my disability,” lamented Talha, who became an amputee a few years back after a car accident.

“Bus drivers do not assist either. They will just shake their heads when it is pointed out that the reserved seats for people with a handicap are being misused,” he added.

Concurring with Talha, Abdul Razzaq, a local who regularly travels on Route 9 from Saddar to Gulshan-e-Hadeed, has personally witnessed the plight of differently-abled individuals on the People’s Bus Service. “About two weeks ago, a visually impaired individual boarded the bus from the Natha Khan stop, and everyone on the bus could tell he had a handicap. However, the passengers who were sitting on the reserved seats did not even budge,” recalled Razzaq.

While some citizens call out the lack of sensitivity exhibited by the passengers, others like Imran Khan, who boards the People’s Bus Service from Korangi every day, criticize the bus conductors for their display of indifference towards passengers with disabilities. “Despite the fact that I am missing a leg, neither the general public nor the bus conductors show any sympathy towards me. They simply turn a blind eye toward my obvious predicament,” lamented Khan, who has to stand throughout the bus ride from Korangi to Saddar.

In his defense, Mohammad Irfan, the conductor of the R-12 bus operating from Gulshan-e-Hadeed to Tower, argued that they try their very best to keep the seats reserved for differently-abled commuters vacant. “However, when these seats are occupied by women, we cannot do much since forcing them to leave their seats would be considered improper,” shrugged Irfan.

According to Kamal Dayo, Managing Director at the Sindh Mass Transit Authority (SMTA), approximately 100 differently-abled people travel through the People's Bus Service daily, and a significant proportion of reserved seats has been arranged for them in these buses.

“The fact that these buses have seats reserved for differently-abled individuals, yet many have to stand throughout their journeys, is indicative of an ethical dilemma facing our country, where people do not bother following rules; therefore, sitting on seats reserved for special persons is not considered a violation,” opined Dr. Saeeduddin Ahmed, an urban planner and professor at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, who drew a comparison with countries like Japan, where people conscientiously refrain from occupying reserved seats, allowing the spaces for differently-abled passengers to remain vacant.

Where witnessing an outright violation of their right to seating would instill indignation among many differently-abled passengers, it also aggravates their physical disability to a great degree.

“Prolonged standing in public transport is not only a source of mental exasperation for people with disabilities but can also worsen their ailment by exposing them to accidents, which could exacerbate their pain, muscle spasms, sprains, limb swelling, and other deformities,” elucidated Dr. Khalid Mahmood, a medical expert at the Civil Hospital Karachi.

In an attempt to inquire about the plight of differently-abled passengers and the insensitivity of operating staff at the People’s Bus Service, The Express Tribune reached out to Asad Zaman, the Secretary for the Transport and Mass Transit Department. “I will investigate the matter and give directions to fix it immediately,” assured Zaman.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 19^th, 2023.