CTS News Magazine-Seeing the Rare Vitality (24~25)

More than 360,000 people in Taiwan have physical disabilities, but there are only 1,877 rehabilitation buses, CTS News Magazine reported.

On average, every bus has to serve 196 people, which the report described as a serious supply and demand imbalance.

In addition, of the 600 plus barrier-free taxis in Taiwan, most are available only in Taipei. This shows a significant inequality between rural and urban areas, the report said.

Cheng Jian-Zhi (程健智) is a 123-cm tall  Osteogenesis Imperfecta patient from Yunlin. He deeply understands the needs of the disabled, so he joined a barrier-free taxi fleet, providing the warmest transportation service.

Meanwhile, the magazine shed light on Taiwan's first domestically manufactured wheelchair accessible vehicles thanks to LUXGEN’s years of effort. LUXGEN also works with social enterprises to promote a "barrier-free travel" platform among drivers, patients, and travel agencies.

In addition, the TFRD has recently implemented a taxi transportation subsidy program. All these efforts are made in the hope that people with disabilities can truly move forward in their lives without hindrance, the report said.

Saying that the difficulties faced by disabled people in public areas are beyond people’s imagination, the report indicated that the current public accessible toilets in Taiwan are only installed with baby changing stations. These toilets, however, lack the adult changing tables suitable for those with severe physical impairments and the elderly, while this kind of facility is quite common in Japan and Europe.

Adult changing tables are very different from baby changing stations. They require larger space and their materials and weight-bearing capacities have to be strictly considered. To people with severe physical impairments, adult changing tables are as necessary as toilets and washbasins, the report said.

The report urged the public to learn and think about the needs of different people and how to improve accessibility in Taiwan.

◎Video References:

Seeing the Vitality of RD Patients(24): Barrier-free Taxis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PR-vbDAlJ10

Seeing the Vitality of RD Patients(25): Adult changing tables

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_AXC4vr49M

Translator: Jonathan Wilson (Bruton disease), Reviewer: Alex Chiang