CityBus has introduced 80 new eco-friendly buses onto our roads and one of the new features of these buses is that they now have a ramp for special needs passengers. I actually didn’t realize that up until now our buses weren’t wheelchair friendly, and other than these 80 new buses, none of the other public buses have ramps.
Although it’s kinda odd that we’re only just now introducing wheelchair-access to buses, it’s still pretty cool that we are. If you’re interested in public transportation make sure you check out @kuwaitcommute as well if you haven’t already. Also, check out the Alqabas video below where one of their journalist’s decides to use public transport and share her experience.
16 replies on “Some Buses Now Wheelchair Accessible”
Out of curiosity, how often does the average person use the bus for transportation here in Kuwait. Do any of you use it? I’ve been told that the bus routes are a bit hectic and disorganized, and was wondering if there’s any truth to that to those who actually use it on a regular basis.
i only used the bus when i was in school since me and my friends couldn’t afford to take cabs. now that i have a car i don’t have a reason to use the bus and i can afford to take a cab if i dont have my car.
Hi there, the ridership of the total population is 2% in the latest count (2016)
Although a valiant effort on part of City Bus , How many members of the public in wheel chairs in Kuwait venture out on their own and actually use a bus ??
We hardly have any decent side walks for pedestrians let alone wheel chair friendly paths or decent disabled person friendly bus stands
“How many members of the public in wheel chairs in Kuwait venture out on their own and actually use a bus ??”
ummm no one, because before they introduced ramps people in wheelchairs couldn’t use the buses.
Great gesture. But can someone please explain how to negotiate that step just after the ramp?
oh yeah, wtf just noticed lol. how does this work?
Oops.
wait a minute…
Ok, it seems the top step also folds open
https://www.instagram.com/p/CMaSMi_sHae/
amazing.
Point Noted .. . they got ramps down… At least City Bus did. Don’t see cash strapped KPTC doing anything like that anytime soon.
But that it is only one part of it ..
Now fix the side walks, the pedestrian bridges and the bus stops all to be wheel chair friendly so that you can actually have those wheel chair bound passengers to use your buses.
The authorities are building pedestrian bridges across the 55 right now but none are wheel chair friendly. None have wheel chair ramps and are only accessible by stairs.
The really nice fancy air-conditioned pedestrian -bridge over the 4th ring road with the escalators; Dose it have a wheel chair lifts on both sides as well? , Does it have a wheel chair ramps at the exits ? Can a person in a wheel chair access the bus stops on either side on his own from the bridge without toppling over because the side walks are not designed for wheel chairs?
Whoever is in charge for public infrastructure need to take this into account when they build stuff for the public if they want disabled people to use them
I totally agree on the whole sidewalks situation. I live in Salmiya and walking on Salem Mubarek Street which is a primary shopping street involves a lot of walking on the main road and navigating over dirt paths. And thats the main road. I technically live around 10 mins away from Gia in Salmiya but I can’t walk to it because there is no sidewalk for me to walk out from my street (Salem Mubarak) to the next street (Baghdad Street). Even if there was a sidewalk to get to baghdad street there isn’t one after that to get me to gia.
It’s a total mess.
I don’t see the point of having a wheelchair-friendly bus when the bus driver barely stops long enough for able-bodied people to jump in.
As per Law 8 of 2010 (Handicap Bill) articles 69 and 21 public transport must be suitable for handicapped users. The handicapped are left stranded 1 month a year because their drives travel and that effects their employment security and their contribution to society. The handicapped want to be able to be independent on their own rather than dependent on a driver. @kuwaitcommute on IG has a couple of interviews with the handicapped
As for bus rushing, this can be solved with a central regulator (as per law 115 year 2014 was suppose to be PART but they did not do anything in terms of mass transit)