In a small alley, drivers on three-wheeled motorbikes slowly head out onto the streets of Saigon, beginning a new day of enthusiastic work.
After a journey roaming the streets of Saigon, the place these vehicles return to is the Doi Rat Dep clubhouse.
It turns out that these special vehicles and free motorbike taxi rides are part of the project “Mobility support for people with disabilities – Motobike taxi”, run by the Disability Research and Capacity Development Center (DRD), with support from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the “Rights” forum of the Korean community of people with disabilities.
Luong Thi Quynh Lan, the project manager, said: “In South Korea there is a similar programme, but they use cars rather than three-wheeled vehicles. Considering that taxis cost more and are hard to move around in inner Ho Chi Minh City, we asked them to split the funding to buy 10 three-wheeled vehicles, each worth nearly 35 million VND. In practice, the three-wheeled motorbike taxi has advantages over a taxi because it can easily reach people with disabilities in places taxis have difficulty entering”.
The “Motobike – taxi” project was set up to create more opportunities for people with disabilities to overcome environmental barriers, access education and employment, take part in activities, build their own capacity and contribute to society.
This humane activity is all the more humane because the project’s team of drivers includes people with disabilities such as Phuong Dinh, Vuong Vu, Ai My and Nhu Y.
“Because we empathise with each other, the drivers and passengers talk easily and become friends. The biggest obstacle is when roads are flooded or it rains, but I just avoid those roads, or if it rains too heavily I tell passengers to postpone the appointment, and almost all of them understand and are very happy. In general, I have not had any significant difficulties,” said driver Phuong Dinh.
Le Van Nam, a non-disabled student who had just graduated in social work from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Ho Chi Minh City, said: “When I first joined the project, I just wanted a chance to gain practical experience in my field of study. But the closer I got to customers with disabilities, the more I came to love them and want to help them more”.
Nam also said that when he first got used to the three-wheeled vehicle, he found it very hard to control, because he was used to the reflexes of a two-wheeled vehicle. That is why Nam and the project’s drivers all had to take a training course in using three-wheeled vehicles and learn how to communicate with and assist people with different types of disabilities.
Many people have also wondered “why not use non-disabled drivers and ordinary two-wheeled vehicles to carry passengers”. Truong Huy Vu, the project’s technical officer, explained: “When sitting on a three-wheeled vehicle, passengers with disabilities feel more reassured. And a three-wheeled vehicle is genuinely safer than a two-wheeled one because it cannot fall over. It can still tip over, but if you drive at the right speed it is absolutely safe. So far, no accident has occurred during the project”.
As of July 2013 (when the project was launched), Ho Chi Minh City had more than 3,800 buses in operation, but only 2 buses for people with disabilities and around 100 low-floor and semi-low-floor buses. That number is far too small compared with the number of people with disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City who need to travel.
Unique design
The three-wheeled taxi is specially designed with a backrest 40cm high, a safety belt, a wheelchair and crutch rack. Some vehicles have a backrest as high as 65cm to support people with quadriplegia or cerebral palsy. Five of the ten vehicles have a reverse gear, hand-operated gears, and hand-operated rear and front brakes.
For that reason, the “Motobike-taxi” project has received much support from people with disabilities in particular and the community in general.
However, the project’s money and resources are still quite limited, so for now it prioritises serving people with mobility, visual and speech impairments with their most essential needs, such as study, work and taking part in activities for people with disabilities within central Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Kim Phung and Nguyen Thi Thom, who take customer requests directly, each week the programme receives calls from around 40–50 customers. Although they would very much like to serve all the “orders”, they have to select them according to the project’s capacity because there are not enough vehicles and drivers.
Quynh Lan also shared: “Last January, the project held a review of its six-month trial, and KOICA decided to continue supporting the project for the next three years (from 2014 to 2016). That means that for now the programme will continue to be free for people with disabilities, but later it will have to charge a fee. However, the fee will be very low”.
Looking back at what the programme has achieved and the dedication of those who run it, perhaps everyone hopes that more benefactors will support the “Motobike-taxi” project so that every day, in the small alley, people will still see diligent drivers on three-wheeled motorbikes slowly heading out onto the streets to begin their meaningful voluntary work.
Pham Nhu Quynh
Photo: DRD – Source: http://ihay.thanhnien.com.vn/