Disability Rights 12: Right to access public transport

In addition to the human rights laws in the Constitution of Uganda there are several other rights granted to persons with disabilities (PWDs). These rights are given by law in the Persons With Disabilities Act 2006 (PWDA) which is modeled on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Whether you are a PWD or not, these laws apply to you.

Section 22 of the PWDA says that anyone providing transport services must provide transport for disadvantaged persons. It then defines disadvantaged persons as:

• People using mobility devices: Besides PWDs using crutches or wheelchairs this would include a person with a leg or arm in a plaster cast. 
• People using sensory devices: Devices like white canes or hearing aids.
• People who need assistance or support with communication: People like the intellectually handicapped.
• People who need assistance climbing steps or carrying heavy loads: This would include mothers nursing babies.

If you are a PWD and you have a wheelchair this means that it is the responsibility of the person providing the transport service to take you as a passenger. If they refuse to carry you they are breaking the law.

This section of the law, like all the other sections of this law is about offering dignity and support to some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Disability results from the interaction between a person’s impairment and obstacles such as physical barriers and prevailing attitudes that prevent them from fully participating in societal engagements.

This law is written like this in section 22 of the Persons With Disabilities Act 2006:

22. Access to public transport facilities 

(1) Any person providing public transport services shall provide access to transport-disadvantaged persons.

(2) For purposes of sub-section (1) "transport disadvantaged persons" include persons—

(a) using mobility devices such as crutches or calipers, or wheelchairs;

(b) using sensory devices such as white canes, low vision devices or hearing aids;

(c) who need assistance such as those using sign language or other support in communication;

(d) having difficulty in negotiating steps, climbing stairs or walking long distances including persons having health problems, or those carrying heavy loads.