Background
10:08 PMLack of Implementation to aid Mobility of Visually Impaired
In 2015, PM Lee noted that “Singapore must continue working towards more inclusive society”, by treating citizens with disabilities equally as everyone. Singapore is currently facing the issue of ageing population. According to National Survey of Senior Citizens (2011), one of the most common medical condition reported was concerning vision.
The public transportation sector is working towards providing facilities catered to individuals with physical disabilities. Table 1 shows an assessment of facilities, catered to people with different disabilities, in the public transport aspects.
Table 1: Disabled Friendly Facilities Checklist
Wheelchair Bound
|
Visually Impaired
|
Hearing Impaired
| |
MRT
|
✓
|
✓
|
✓
|
Bus
|
✓
|
X
|
✓
|
The current transport designs have provided greater accessibility for people with disabilities. Currently, all the existing MRTs are retrofitted to create a more handicapped friendly environment. In comparison, the bus facilities catered to physically disabled passengers are more limited. There is no existing implementation done to aid visually impaired when boarding the bus.
Based on the statistics from the Singapore Association of the Visually Handicapped (SAVH) (refer to Table 2), there is an increasing trend in visually impaired. This issue is slowly becoming more obvious and should be addressed soon as to aid the visually impaired in experience a seamless bus ride.
Table 2: Statistics of the Visually Impaired registered under the SAVH
The Interview was conducted with the Executive of Singapore Association of Visually Handicapped – Ms Dolores, to find out the hindrance of boarding buses for the visually impaired. She noted that main concerns were getting assistance from other commuters to help recognise the right bus and board the bus.
To gear towards becoming an inclusive society, it is essential to create an inclusive environment where everyone’s well-being is considered. This means people with disabilities have equal access to the public transport system. Thus, there is still room for improvement for current transport systems to bring greater convenience to the visually impaired. This report will be focusing on public buses for the visually impaired.
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