Article on the Issue of Accessibility pf Public Transportation for Persons with Physical Disabilities in Thailand

On September 14, AGENDA partner Thailand Association of the Blind (TAB) published its fifth article written by Mr. Sawang Srisom who is a person with a physical disability. The article addressed the issue of accessibility of public transportation for persons with physical disabilities. In his past experiences, Mr. Srisom used to take a taxi to go to work as buses and sky trains were inaccessible for him to travel with a wheelchair. Mr. Srisom explained that he had no other choice, despite that taxi drivers often express negative stereotypes towards his disability and taking taxis regularly costed half of his salary.  After he learned about the concept of Universal Design, Mr. Srisom then committed himself to advocate for the accessibility of public transportation. He believes that accessible public transportation and urban development would equip persons with disabilities with greater employment opportunities and facilitate increased social inclusion. He suggested that any efforts by the government to make public transportation accessible for persons with disabilities, including allotting budget for infrastructure improvements, should be aligned with regional commitments such as the Enabling Masterplan and support international development agendas such as the sustainable development goal 11 on making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The article was published on TAB’s Enabling Masterplan Facebook Page here.