Penang Watch

 Is the wheel chair going up or down?

Rapidpg's pose at the launch of its accessible buses on Sunday: the pose at the bus' entrance for the wheelchair folk seems to raise question if the Rapid folks had been receiving well the training from USM academic Dr Tiun-the wheelchair seems to be neither going up or down! To go up the wheelchair should head towards the car. To come down the wheel chair should also be heading towards the bus-but helped from the back of the wheelchair ie the wheel chair should be going backwards when going down. For both situation the wheelchair's safest position is to face the bus. So what is the Rapid folk doing here?

There are some issues that disabled and public transport groups will like to take up with Rapid company-but will they be too late? Of top concern is whether the promised 200 accessible buses to be delivered by end of 2009 has already been a `cooked' deal such that they will not consider improvement? If it is it is a strange way to involve the users in the bus' design-as if the `consultation' is merely a PR! If you think the issue is not big-think about another 1000 `new' accessible buses which Rapid will buy for the Klang Valley!

Have a look at this new site promoting bicycling in Penang here.

Ong BK