Children with disabilities are less likely to attend school than other children.  This is due to a tangled web of poverty and many other factors, of which transportation is one key. 

One of the most neglected of these factors is transportation to school.  Major institutions promote accessible school buildings and better trained teachers in their quest for inclusive education.  But inclusive schools can have ramps everywhere and teachers using the latest methods, yet those children will not arrive without transportation to get to school.

Shedding light on a key barrier to education

We are colleagues based in several countries and working together to prepare a guide to promote more affordable and reliable transport to school for children with disabilities. 

The illustration above presents some of the modes of transport that are used.  The situation depicted assumes that funding mechanisms are in place to provide transport that parents otherwise could not afford.  It also assumes that economical modes of transport are in place, and that the typical school is an inclusive school.

To address these and other objectives, we plan to prepare and disseminate a guide by the end of 2016 to help close the gap between the current situation and this ideal.  The members of the team developing this publication include Amin Amir Andani (Pakistan), Janett Jiménez-Santos (Mexico), Gretel Silvestre (Dominican Republic), and Susan Rickert, Tom Rickert, and Richard Schultze in the United States.

These are a few of the ideas we will investigate:

There needs to be a bridge between the world of education and the world of transportation

At present these worlds often ignore each other.  Each group may be engaged in "silo thinking," as the popular term has it. Large international agencies team up with major development banks to invest billions of dollars to fund dozens of critically important bus rapid transit corridors, but often without addressing "last mile connectivity" issues and shorter school trips.

This is matched by the tendency of both larger school districts as well as individual schools to assume public transportation is an alien world that presents problems that cannot be addressed for their students.

There needs to be a transportation element in an individual education plan for each child with a disability

In the USA and many other countries, an individual education plan for a child with a disability is critically important. Such a plan sets goals and provides a standard for knowing if these goals have been reached. 

These plans normally contain a transportation element. The mode(s) of transport are indicated, as well as issues of funding for the transport and expectations of the parents/caregivers, the students, and the transport agency or driver. 

Similar plans in developing countries might differ markedly depending on circumstances. A transportation element readily identifies unmet needs and can provide quantified data to use in making the case to meet these needs when transportation is revealed to be a key obstacle.

Transport by the private sector needs to be treated more seriously

While our research to date indicates that every conceivable mode of transport is used in various situations, the fact remains that for a great many schools the assumption is that vans or mini-buses must be procured by the school itself.

There is understandable distrust by many heads of schools concerning the "informal transport sector" in many developing countries. The typically young, male, and often uneducated drivers may not understand the needs of children with disabilities. However, in many cases, schools or other transport providers could require some type of background check and the use of a training module to help assure safe, courteous, and sensitive driving.

Smaller vehicles are more affordable for parents

Our research in India, Tanzania, Peru, and Mexico indicates that travel by a "three-wheeler" or equivalent small vehicle would cost the parent on average 40-50% less than paying for a group taxi.  In certain circumstances (not all), such vehicles could become a major element in getting kids to school.

Funding is the key

While our guide will explore greater use of parents and other volunteers to act as crossing guards or assistants on board vehicles, there is no way to avoid the critical element of funding. 

But we do ask, if teacher training colleges and major upgrades to building accessibility can be funded, is there any reason to ignore a systematic and scaled up approach to transportation funding to help children with disabilities get to school? 

In many countries, education and transportation regulations need to be harmonized in this regard.  We feel there is much to learn from funding mechanisms already in place in various countries.

We need your input

The suggestions of multiple stakeholders will help us as we prepare our guide to promote transportation to school for children with disabilities

We will be glad to receive your comments in response to this blog.

Note: The content for the blog illustration was suggested by Tom Rickert and Janett Jiménez-Santos.

To learn more:

English:
Newsletter - January 2016
Newsletter - June 2015
Paratransit for mobility-impaired persons in developing regions: Starting up and scaling up

Spanish:
Gaceta - Junio 2015
Transporte puerta a puerta para personas con movilidad limitada: Su inicio y su desarollo