Wheelchair users are reporting that transport has improved with the introduction of accessible buses, but they say high taxi costs, inadequate infrastructure and limitations of public transport continue to affect their independence and ability to travel.

Their experiences were shared on Monday during the official handover of a newly acquired school bus to the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD) at Harambee House, Garrison. The bus is expected to provide transport for children with disabilities, while those interviewed reflected on the wider state of accessible public transport across the island.

President of the Rehabilitating Enabling Society for Amputees (RESA) Patrick Forde recalled that getting around before the accessible buses were introduced was “very difficult” for wheelchair users.