Public Bus Transportation Systems During the Pandemic: Barriers For Passengers with Disabilities

Abstract

Participation in employment, education and social life is a critical challenge for people with disabilities. In order to identify the difficulties that disabled people face throughout the day, it is necessary to understand their characteristics and problems realistically. In this study, the obstacles experienced by disabled passengers who prefer bus transportation to meet their transportation needs, especially in physically accessing the transportation system and obtaining information, were examined and focused on how these obstacles took shape during the pandemic period. In the study, within the framework of a semi-structured survey, 43 disabled passengers were asked to describe the entire process of bus services, from the stage of obtaining information about the journey to reaching the final destination. It was focused on what kind of additional obstacles were created to the experiences and difficulties experienced by disabled passengers during the pandemic precaution measures implemented in Istanbul. It has been determined that the pandemic period and subsequent measures have revealed many additional obstacles, such as psychological distress, for disabled passengers, and that the society should be made aware of the unique characteristics of disabled people (for example, disability is not just a physical issue) and other concerns. One of the results of the study is that service providers and decision makers should consider a more detailed approach depending on the type of disability in the decision-making process.