Cyril Ramaphosa gets tied to a wheelchair
A picture of President Cyril Ramaphosa being overly buckled up in a bus has gone viral. In the image, the President of the Republic of South Africa is shown strapped into a wheelchair and appearing somewhat uncomfortable
Cyril Ramaphosa reportedly tested a newly created wheelchair-accessible bus. A design like this is intended to accommodate passengers with disabilities on public transportation while also keeping them safe from rolling over in their wheelchairs.
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It is clear that not all disabled individuals who use wheelchairs have access to private transportation, so it is crucial that public transportation is accessible to individuals with disabilities.
The concept and intentions are excellent, but as the President has demonstrated, the seat belts are too much and should be reduced. We must consider potential emergencies in which disabled people might need to free themselves from their belts, which, based on the image, would be nearly impossible.
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Persons with disabilities should be consulted during the development and implementation stages of public transportation projects by the government and other stakeholders as they have first-hand knowledge of what needs to be done to improve accessibility.
Despite making up 7.5% of the population in South Africa, access to public services continues to be extremely difficult for people living with disabilities. This is a sad reality that needs to be changed.