MY SON, 17, has cerebral palsy and walks with the aid of a
walking frame. He and his friend decided to take a bus from
Promenade MRT station to Marina Bay Sands on the evening of March
25.
When they saw a bus ramp and an external service button on SBS
bus service 133, they flagged for it. When the bus came to a halt,
my son's friend proceeded to lower the ramp as he had done on
several occasions on Wheelchair Accessible Buses (WAB).
But the bus driver got off his seat, approached the boys and
berated them. He was angry that my son's friend had not informed
him first. Further to the humiliation from the scolding, the boys
were told to get off the bus.
My son, who was already seated by this time, had no choice but
to leave the bus. They walked to their destination, a more than
half an hour's journey for my son who walks with difficulty.
Subsequently, I called SBS for an explanation.
It was understandable that the boys had mistaken service 133 for
a WAB bus, given the presence of a ramp at the side of the bus. But
was it necessary for the driver to berate and order them off the
bus? Is the driver trained to handle non-routine matters? And why
is there an accessible ramp on the bus that remains unused?
The customer service staff, although pleasant and helpful, could
not satisfactorily answer my questions.
I was told that as service 133 is not a WAB, the driver should
have declined to pick up my son. Does that mean that the driver
should just drive past disabled persons, whether in wheelchairs or
otherwise? And if that were so, might these passengers not assume
the driver had missed them and continue waiting for the next bus,
only to have the next driver repeat the practice?
Second, I was told that all new buses are equipped with
accessible ramps. That however, does not mean that the buses are
WABs. What puzzles me is that since buses are already equipped with
ramps, why does SBS not use them? The explanation given is that
they are in the process of making all bus stops accessible.
I feel a deeper discussion on public bus accessibility is needed
and I look forward to handicap- and family-accessible bus services
that can benefit all. We are making steps in the right direction;
the debate should be about how much more, and how much faster we
should do this.
Hilda Sankar (Mrs)
