Gaps in mobility network
There’s a need for disability-inclusive transport systems
The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged India’s passenger mobility infrastructure like never before. While the country was already aware of the massive room for improvement, the need for robust transport systems has become all the more obvious today. As India battles the second wave and prepares for a potential third one, the economy is under tremendous stress. The promised V-shaped recovery after the first wave will be a mirage if the country does not find a way to safely regularise movement of people and goods.
The new systems built to regularise mobility must be safe, accessible, reliable and affordable for all, lest the marginalised and the underprivileged find themselves in a progressively worse situation coming out of the pandemic. The 100-million-plus Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) forming India’s largest minority are at risk of just such an outcome.