Romanians want more public transport facilities for the people with disabilities

Romanians want access facilities for the disabled; about half of the respondents of a questionnaire run by the British Embassy in Bucharest believe that public transport and public institutions need further improvement in this area.

According to 33% of those surveyed, people with disabilities cannot properly reach for emergency alarms. In addition, about half of respondents (49%) believe that emergency procedures are not displayed visibly enough.

The survey was run between 1-15 September 2009 as part of an online communication campaign aimed at evaluating accessibility of public venues in Romania. Up to 550 people filled in the online questionnaire and over 1,000 have since joined the campaign on a specially created page on Facebook. The British Embassy will inform the relevant Romanian authorities about the results of this survey.

Other outcomes of the study indicate that 70% of respondents believe public areas are well lit and have goood access such as large corridors for wheelchair users. About half of the scrutinised public venues provide reserved parking for the disabled.

Ambassador Robin Barnett noted:
'Promoting diversity, including support for people with disabilities is a top priority for our Embassy. For instance, we have dedicated this year's Queen's Birthday Party to the disabled. I strongly believe that our projects developed in partnership with Romanian authorities, civil society and mass media have contributed to improved welfare of people in difficulty'.

Update:

The Embassy, through Ambassador Barnett, sent the compiled results to the National Authority for Persons with Handicap (Romanian website), for information, analysis and further action. The Embassy fully supports the local authorities in their goal to offer disabled people in Romania equal chances to development and is always opened to any future action in this matter.

Find out more about the campaign

• 'Support the Romanian disabled' campaign included an online questionnaire, dedicated pages on Facebook and Wikipedia and communication on Twitter. A group of volunteers involved in an online internship project  - pr365 - and well-known Romanian blogger Cristian Manafu supported the campaign.
• The survey consisted of ten questions about the accessibility of public venues in Romania in terms of proper lighting, access ramps, reserved and clearly sign-posted public toilets and parking.