The Coalition of Organizations for persons with disabilities of ZDK – Zenica held a working meeting with representatives of the Consortium responsible for transportation in the Zenica area to discuss resolving the issue of inaccessibility of public city transport for people with disabilities in the city. Representatives of the City Administration were also invited to the meeting, but they did not respond to the invitation. As a result, one of the conclusions was to organize a meeting with the relevant city department as soon as possible, to discuss how to adapt the road infrastructure of bus stops, ensuring both physical and sensory accessibility, so that public transport can be fully accessible to all citizens of Zenica.
“We used this event to inform the representatives of the Consortium about this long-neglected issue, which has led to little progress on this topic. Accessibility, both physical (access) and sensory (audio and visual signals in transport), has mostly focused on traffic-related facilities (pedestrian crossings, sound signaling), but never on the area of public transport. After a dynamic discussion, guidelines for further action were agreed upon, and we will submit an initiative to the Consortium. It was also concluded that public transport vehicles should be improved and that training should be planned for the staff, especially the drivers, regarding proper access and communication with people with disabilities. Additionally, we received important information from the Consortium that the process of harmonizing the fleet is underway, which will greatly help in realizing our requests”, said representatives of the Coalition of Organizations for Persons with Disabilities of ZDK – Zenica.
As a reminder, the main problem with public transport in the city of Zenica is the lack of coordination between the city administration and transport companies, due to non-compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of persons with disabilities regarding accessible environments in all areas. For this reason, the Coalition of Organizations for persons with disabilities of ZDK – Zenica advocates for a change in the criteria of the public call for selecting transporters, in order to define a specific number of vehicles that will ensure both physical and sensory accessibility. Namely, the current public call for selecting transporters lacks criteria, apart from basic ones, that address the arrangement of vehicles providing public transport in the context of ensuring the conditions necessary for accessibility for persons with disabilities (blind and visually impaired, deaf and hard of hearing, paraplegics, etc.).
“People with disabilities are discriminated against in this sense because they cannot use public transport. Unfortunately, our buses, our public transport in general, do not have sufficient signaling for people with hearing impairments, blind and visually impaired people, and people who use wheelchairs also face difficulties in using public transport. I believe this is not OK, and we all must have equal rights and equal conditions for everyone”, said a member of the Coalition.
Equal access to public transport would allow people with disabilities to move freely, actively participate in social life, and contribute to the community in ways that align with their abilities and interests. Investment in inclusive transport would show that Zenica is actively working to reduce social isolation and build a community that embraces diversity and provides equal opportunities for all.
