WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE BUSES

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WHEELCHAIR-ACCESSIBLE BUSES:

(Implementation details): 13.

Assoc. Prof. Kalyani K Mehta asked the Minister for Transport (a) whether he is aware of the refusal of wheelchair-accessible bus (WAB) drivers to accept wheelchair-bound passengers; (b) how long will it take before all the routes ply by WAB are made available for wheelchair-bound passengers; and (c) when and how will the information regarding WAB be communicated to the public, such as on the LTA website.

14.

Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen asked the Minister for Transport (a) if he will explain why 80% of bus stops along a bus route have to be wheelchair-accessible before SBS Transit is allowed to accept wheelchair users on wheelchair-accessible buses; (b) what are the features of a wheelchair-accessible bus stop; (c) what infrastructure work does Land Transport Authority (LTA) have to do in order for a bus stop to be wheelchair-accessible; and (d) how does LTA and SBS Transit intend to coordinate on the issue of wheelchair-accessible bus transport.

The Senior Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport (Mr Teo Ser Luck) (for the Minister for Transport): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos. 13 and 14 together?

Mr Speaker: You have three minutes left for two questions.

Mr Teo Ser Luck: The Members' questions touch on the implementation details of the wheelchair-accessible bus (WAB) programme. For a bus route to be wheelchair-accessible, two things must happen.

First, the buses plying the route must be wheelchair-accessible. The public transport operators are in the process of

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equipping new buses with wheelchair-accessible ramps, as they replace and renew their fleet. The Government is funding the capital cost of the ramps, which comes to about $21 million in total. By end-2010, 40% of our buses will have wheelchair-accessible ramps, and by 2020, all of them will.

Second, the bus stops along the route must be wheelchair-accessible. This involves replacing steps with ramps, removing potential obstacles and creating more space for wheelchairs to manoeuvre. The Land Transport Authority (LTA) is in the process of making all 4,500 bus stops in Singapore wheelchair-accessible by 2010.

These two sets of improvements, to the buses and the bus stops, are coordinated between the LTA and the public transport operators so that we can roll out as many wheelchair-accessible bus services as possible to best meet the needs of passengers-in-wheelchairs.

The criterion of requiring at least 80% of bus stops to be wheelchair-accessible, before designating the bus route as such, is to balance between the safety of passengers-in-wheelchairs and the speed of implementation. To fully ensure the safety of passengers-in-wheelchairs, ideally 100% of bus stops along a certain route should be made wheelchair-accessible before it can start serving passengers-in-wheelchairs. But we recognise that this will take some time. LTA had therefore worked with the VWOs representing passengers-in-wheelchairs, to find a way to accelerate the rollout of wheelchair-accessible bus routes without unduly compromising safety. It was after these discussions that all the parties concerned agreed to the 80% criterion, as a reasonable balance that can speed up the designation of wheelchair-accessible bus routes, while ensuring safety.

Prof. Mehta asked about information on wheelchair-accessible bus services. There have been extensive efforts to

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publicise WAB services through multiple channels such as news releases, educational pamphlets and information on online portals such as on SBST's website. The relevant VWOs have also helped to disseminate information to passengers-in-wheelchairs.

3.00 pm.

Mr Speaker: End of Question Time.

[ Pursuant to Standing Order No. 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 13-14, 23, 25, 27-29, 31, 37 and 40 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix*. Question Nos. 15-22, 24, 26, 30, 32-36, 38-39 and 41 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 18th November 2008. ]

• *Cols. 821-838.