TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Debbie Austin

First Person: Meet Amar Latif, the Adventurer Making Adventure Travel More Accessible For The Blind

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photo of the legs of a person with a white cane

Our Takeaway: This is a tutorial about how a blind seeker of travel exhilaration is able to visualize what he’s missing through the use of his other senses and adroitly crafted descriptions from his colleagues

I lost my sight at 18 due to an eye condition. By the third year of my college degree, I’d decided that enough was enough — I wasn’t going to tiptoe through life wrapped up in cotton wool. Against the wishes of my lecturers and parents, I headed off to Canada to study in Kingston. I went there alone — just me and my blindness. That taught me your world becomes bigger when you push your limits.

In 2005, I took part in a 220-mile trek across Nicaragua alongside 10 other people with disabilities for a BBC documentary series called Beyond Boundaries. We had to work as a team to go across tropical rainforests and a shark-infested lake, as well as up a 5,000ft volcano. I was pushing a wheelchair through dense jungle; no amount of exercise could have prepared me for it — it became all about mental resilience. Each time you push yourself, it helps you get ready for your next challenge. You begin to crave that feeling of uneasiness; when it’s tough, when it feels awkward — that’s when you know you’re growing. Read More.

India by Rickshaw:  Leading Provider of Accessible Travel to Build 5000 Accessible Electric Rickshaws

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photo of a blue electric accessible rickshaw

Our Takeaway: Maybe Musk should have invested in EZ MOV rather than Twitter! A wonderful example of how a public-private partnership enhances existing—and familiar—transportation with infrastructure that converts a primitive method of getting from one place to another, in a completely contemporary way.

In the first-ever massive initiative in India to provide wheelchairs in auto rickshaws for physically disabled or mobility-challenged people for ease in travel, Ezy Mov, India’s leading Accessible Transport operator, has partnered with New Delhi-based Goenka Electrical Motors Private Limited (GEM) to manufacture 5,000 accessible wheelchair friendly e-rickshaws over the next two years.

Driven by its mission to realize the future of Accessible Transportation in India for disabled, handicapped or mobility–challenged people, Ezy Mov has plans to bring accessible transport even in the auto rickshaw segment right to the doorsteps of passengers.

Goenka Electric is one of the leading electric rickshaw manufacturers in the country with a wide variety of high-quality E – Rickshaws and Electric Vehicles. Ezy Mov is India’s leading and fastest-growing accessible transport provider with its fleet of on-call wheelchair taxis already plying in India – Mumbai

British Columbia To Underwrite Costs To Maintain 400 Wheelchair-Accessible Taxis

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photo or a person sitting in a wheelchair as they are about roll off the accessibility ramp from a taxi

Our Takeaway: With transportation being one of the primary barriers to accessibility, the Canadian Accessibility Directive is funding several creative incentives that help existing transportation companies, especially taxis, to level up their inclusiveness.

Provincial grants worth $2.6 million promise to improve transportation for British Columbians with accessibility challenges.

Minister of Transportation Rob Fleming said the grants will help 51 taxi companies across the province reduce maintenance costs for nearly 400 wheelchair-accessible taxis.

“Reducing the costs of maintaining wheelchair-accessible taxis will keep existing vehicles on the road in good condition and encourage more supply,” Fleming said. “It will also make it easier for companies to recruit and retain drivers for these vehicles, making sure more people will have access to these specialized taxis Province-wide.” Read More.

Conde Nast Magazine announces, “Beyond Barriers” Monthly Column Celebrating Accessible Travel

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photo of a disabled skier on top of the mountain

Tom D Morgan-Courtesy Sophie Morgan

Our Takeaway: In some ways, the UK media is light years ahead of their American counterparts when it comes to inclusive values.  Will others follow?

I would like to share a photograph. In it, a smiling 18-year-old girl wearing a faded sleeveless vest and ragged jeans leans forwards to counterbalance a backpack. She is embarking on her first intrepid adventure, standing on the precipice of a journey, but also of girlhood. She’s at that giddy time when everything seems to offer the promise of potential opportunity. The world is her oyster, and she knows it. When I look at this picture, nostalgia twists gently in my stomach. Then the feeling tightens with foreboding. In just a few weeks, that girl—her wanderlust tickled from a trip around southern India—will be paralyzed in a car crash. Read More.

Greece Ramps Up Accessibility By Retrofitting Over 200 Beaches With Ramps That Fully Submerge Wheelchair Users Into The Sea

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picture o a beach in Greece with Thatched umbrellas

Our Takeaway: Here’s an example of a country drawing a line in the sand, so to speak. They are spending tens of millions of dollars to make Greece the most preferred beach destination in the world for beach lovers.

Describing access to the sea as an inalienable human right, Greek tourism authorities are retrofitting 287 beaches across the country with self-operating wheelchair ramps.

Self-operating means that wheelchair users can operate it by themselves without assistance from a friend or employee, offering a flexible freedom rarely found in difficult terrain such as beach sand.

So far, work crews have already installed the Seatrac system on 147 beaches, where disabled people can enjoy swimming in the country’s famous blue waters. Read More.