<p>Three years after the expiry of the deadline to make public transport buses accessible to people with different abilities, only 6.6% of the 17,996 buses providing suburban bus services have been reported to be disabled-friendly.</p>.<p>Under the Accessible India Campaign, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Morth) had advised the state governments in 2017 to adopt measures to make 25% of the government-owned public transport carriers fully accessible by March 2019.</p>.<p>As per the comprehensive guidelines provided by Morth, accessible buses should have foldable ramp installed in the doorway and provide space for wheelchairs inside, identified by standard symbols.</p>.<p>Audio visual announcements should be provided, especially in the city buses, for the benefit of such passengers.</p>.<p>As per the data tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the BMTC has claimed that all its 6,664 buses are accessible, but the three other corporations reported poor compliance.</p>.<p>The KSRTC stated that only 1.23% of its 8,202 buses were accessible, while KKRTC said 5% of its 4,714 buses were accessible.</p>.<p>In comparison, the NWKRTC fared better as it reported 16% of its 5,080 buses were accessible.</p>.<p>An official in the transport department said even the BMTC was not “fully” accessible.</p>.<p>“It is mainly because of the low-floors adopted in the buses that the BMTC is claiming 100% compliance. Even then, the floors of the ordinary buses are considerably high compared with the Volvo buses. Moreover, the ordinary buses do not have ramps,” he said.</p>.<p>KSRTC managing director V Anbukumar said the corporation was focussing on adopting the measures in the new buses.</p>.<p>“The 50 electric buses we are procuring have high level of safety features that cater to the differently abled. However, a majority of the existing fleet is comprised of the ordinary diesel vehicles, which are not suitable for modifications,” he said.</p>.<p>Noting that providing transport service in suburban and rural areas with low-floor buses requires better quality roads, he said it is a team work which will be taken up with everybody’s cooperation. </p>.<p>Transport department secretary N V Prasad said he will look into the matter.</p>.<p>“Some of the work was delayed due to the pandemic. We will take up the matter with the RTCs concerned to ensure the targets are reached,” he said.<br /> </p>
<p>Three years after the expiry of the deadline to make public transport buses accessible to people with different abilities, only 6.6% of the 17,996 buses providing suburban bus services have been reported to be disabled-friendly.</p>.<p>Under the Accessible India Campaign, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (Morth) had advised the state governments in 2017 to adopt measures to make 25% of the government-owned public transport carriers fully accessible by March 2019.</p>.<p>As per the comprehensive guidelines provided by Morth, accessible buses should have foldable ramp installed in the doorway and provide space for wheelchairs inside, identified by standard symbols.</p>.<p>Audio visual announcements should be provided, especially in the city buses, for the benefit of such passengers.</p>.<p>As per the data tabled in the Rajya Sabha, the BMTC has claimed that all its 6,664 buses are accessible, but the three other corporations reported poor compliance.</p>.<p>The KSRTC stated that only 1.23% of its 8,202 buses were accessible, while KKRTC said 5% of its 4,714 buses were accessible.</p>.<p>In comparison, the NWKRTC fared better as it reported 16% of its 5,080 buses were accessible.</p>.<p>An official in the transport department said even the BMTC was not “fully” accessible.</p>.<p>“It is mainly because of the low-floors adopted in the buses that the BMTC is claiming 100% compliance. Even then, the floors of the ordinary buses are considerably high compared with the Volvo buses. Moreover, the ordinary buses do not have ramps,” he said.</p>.<p>KSRTC managing director V Anbukumar said the corporation was focussing on adopting the measures in the new buses.</p>.<p>“The 50 electric buses we are procuring have high level of safety features that cater to the differently abled. However, a majority of the existing fleet is comprised of the ordinary diesel vehicles, which are not suitable for modifications,” he said.</p>.<p>Noting that providing transport service in suburban and rural areas with low-floor buses requires better quality roads, he said it is a team work which will be taken up with everybody’s cooperation. </p>.<p>Transport department secretary N V Prasad said he will look into the matter.</p>.<p>“Some of the work was delayed due to the pandemic. We will take up the matter with the RTCs concerned to ensure the targets are reached,” he said.<br /> </p>