2nd Dec 2006
Call for a systemic change at the Regional Transport Authority (RTO) sensitive to the needs of persons with disabilities
Dear Friends,
Greetings
I am very happy to inform you that based on my letter to the Commissioner (Transport) dated 29th Oct 2006, I have received a letter from The Commissioner of Transport, 5th Floor, Multi Storey Building, Bangalore - 560 001 (Ref. 322/2006-07 dated 13th Nov 2006) informing that -
"The needs of persons with disabilities in all the Regional Transport Office (RTO) will be taken up on priority basis. In addition a circular has been issued to all the RTOs (Urban and Rural) to set-up special counter for persons with disabilities to access the services from the RTO." (this letter has been translated from Kannada to English)
A copy of this letter has been sent to Joint Commissioner, Bangalore City and Rural, 7th Floor, MS Building, Cunningham Road, Bangalore - 560001.
I am writing back to the Commissioner asking for the copy of the said circular.
With warm regards
Best wishes
Mahesh
My experiences with the RTO as reported in
DECCAN HERALD Tuesday,November 7,2006
Woes of Mobility – Impaired
Tripped by barriers of babudom
For several with walking disability like disability like Mahesh driving or riding vehicles remains the only option to commute in the City. Many of them are wheelchair-bound, and so entering or exiting BTS buses is not easy. If not a definite no-no.
Driving isn’t an easier option either, given the fact that many like Mahesh, will have to go through a difficult procedure to obtain medical certificate from a government orthopedic, for getting a license from the RTO.
“Usually, a private doctor residing in the same campus as the RTO issues the medical certificate for everyone,” Mahesh who works with the city-based NGO, told Deccan Hearld. “But in our case, they (RTO’s) ask us to obtain the same certificate from a government orthopedic, which, given our condition, is extremely difficult as we have to stand in long queues for days”.
Official ‘ignorance’
Above all, says Mahesh, most government officers and doctors aren’t aware of the modified vehicles a disabled person can drive. “In my case, I’ve purchased a second-hand car from another disabled person, that contains hand-controlled brakes and accelerator. All that is needed is to get a doctor’s endorsement that I’m medically fit to drive and own this car,” he says. He had faced the same problem while applying for (and Obtaining)a two wheeler license eight years ago.
Recently, Mahesh has petitioned the State transport authorities, asking that procedures be made disabled-friendly.
Creating a special cell to assist persons with disability to secure all necessary documents from one place, an RTO-approved nationwide standard for altering two and four-wheelers, a doctor qualified to issue medical certificate at the RTO office and standard procedures for road tax exemption for vehicles either used/owned by the disabled, are his demands in petition.
Ordeal
According to Mahesh, around 400 persons with walking disability in Bangalore alone are currently going through the ordeal to get two-wheeler licenses.
He says the City’s transport authorities will be setting a trend for the rest of the country if they consider his demands favourably.
An official at the Transport Commissioner’s office acknowledged that the procedure in Mahesh’s case has been properly followed, but declined to comment on the changes requested for.
By L Subramani
DH News Service
29th October 2006
Dear Friends,
Greetings,
Please find below the letter that I have written to the Regional Transport Authority highlighting the plight of persons with disabilities.
I would request you to kindly take up these issues with the relevant authorities in your state and possibly publish this to generate public discussions/ opinions.
Thanking you
With warm regards
Best wishes
Mahesh
29th October 2006
Bangalore
[email protected] <[email protected]>
To
Commissioner for Transport,
Government of Karnataka
5th floor, M.S.Building,
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar Veedhi,
Bangalore - 560 001.
Copy
Deputy Commissioner for Transport,
Bangalore Division,
10th Floor, Podium Block,
Vishweswaraiah Tower,
Dr.Ambedkar Veedhi,
Bangalore – 01.
Respected Sir/ Madam,
Subject: Call for a systemic change at the Regional Transport Authority (RTO) that are sensitive to the needs of persons with disabilities
In recent times I, as a person with walking disability, have been desperately trying to get the necessary documents to own and drive my car from the RTO.
I have purchased a used car and that was earlier driven by a person with disability using his upper limbs for 18 years. The car has been fitted with the standard controls for hand operations such as automatic gear transmission and a hand lever for the accelerator and brakes. I have done a couple of test drives in this car and I am perfectly capable of driving this car with my upper limbs safely.
The cumbersome rules and procedures to get the registration certificate for the car and the learner’s license from the Regional Transport Authority (RTO) have made my life extremely difficult and I am sure it is uniformly the same for almost every person with disability across the country.
In order to get the car registered in my name and to get the driver’s license– I need a certificate from the District Orthopedic Doctor from a Government hospital informing that I am physically fit to drive the car.
Whereas, a person who does not have disability can easily get their medical fitness certificate from one of the private Doctors who are readily and easily accessible at the RTO office complex and does not have to go to a Government hospital.
At the Government hospital, as we all know, the hospitals are overloaded and it is extremely difficult for us to get the doctor’s attention. There are no standard procedures and the Doctors are not aware of the type of certificate that the RTO needs.
I cannot go back to the RTO as they will not process my papers until I get the required certificate from the Doctor.
There are many persons with disabilities who are already driving their own modified 2-wheeler and 4-wheelers and there are many more like me waiting in the queue. Each one is trying a different way to procure the documents.
Hence, I would kindly request the RTO to understand the plight of persons with disabilities and introduce the following reforms -
1. A special cell in the RTO has to be created to assist persons with disabilities for getting the required documents from a single-window.
2. RTO has to come up with a directory of approved designs/ standards for altering 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler across the country that enable persons with disabilities to drive independently.
3. A Doctor has to present at the RTO to issue the required fitness certificate for the applicant.
4. Standard procedures for getting road tax exemption for vehicles either driven by persons with disabilities and for vehicles that are being used exclusively by persons with disabilities.
I kindly request you to give due consideration to these suggestions and introduce appropriate reforms at all the RTOs in our state and in our country at the earliest.
Thanking you
With warm regards
C Mahesh
Address:
C. Mahesh
Advocacy Coordinator
CBR Forum
14, C.K Garden, Wheeler Road Extension
St. Thomas Town Post
Bangalore – 560 084
Tel: 080-2549 7387 or 2549 7388