Suchergebnisse

Public transport is a viable option that can help persons with visual disability to overcome mobility challenges. The main aim of the review is to identify existing provisions, barriers, and/or access to public transport services for persons with visual disability. A scoping review was conducted based on the framework proposed by Arskey and O'Malley. A total of 16 studies were systematically selected out of 273 published literatures which was obtained from electronic database searches. Four themes emerged from the selected studies. The major theme was challenges related to accessing public transport from the perspective of persons with visual disability (PVD) with presentation of information, drivers/workers attitude, bus design, technological barriers, and accessibility of public spaces being the subthemes. The other three themes were the challenges reported by the transport drivers, available facilities/adaptations and resolutions, and policies and recommendations. In conclusion, the current review suggests that access to public transportation for persons with visual disability is considerably inadequate. Poor presentation of information, inappropriate driver attitude, and inconsistent bus design seem to be the major barriers persons with visual disability encounter during public transport travel.

Public transport plays an important role in improving mobility for persons with visual impairment. Commercial drivers are major stakeholders in ensuring that there are efficient and accessible public transport systems on university campuses that have a relatively high number of persons with visual impairment. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 90 taxi drivers who operate their services on the campus of a tertiary inclusion school. The drivers were surveyed on their knowledge and practices in providing services to persons with visual impairment. The findings show that 55 (61.1%) drivers knew how to identify a pedestrian with a visual disability by looking out for the white cane. A total of 77 (85.6%) drivers have also adopted the practice of stopping for pedestrians to cross the road. However, only 20 (22.5%) respondents agreed to reserve the front seat for the passenger with visual impairment. Participants were not knowledgeable on the sections of the disability act relating to the provision of transport services to persons with visual impairment nor the kind of punishment associated with breaching the rules. The study provides recommendations on how to bridge the gap between the demands of the disability act and the practices of commercial drivers.