A pilot project to support transport service for people with disabilities in Ho Chi Minh City was launched on Thursday thanks to the cooperation of the Disability Resource and Development (DRD) and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).
The US$108,000 project, funded by KOICA to last through 2014, offers free transport services from now till the end of this year. After that, the services will remain operations at cheap fees. Needy people can call the hotline number 0935 144 123. Operational time is from 6:30am till 6:00pm.
All the ten first motorbikes of the project are modified to have three wheels for the safety of the users. The rear seat of the bikes has backrest, armrest, seat belt, a frame to keep folded wheelchair and a stick.
Mr. Yang Won Tae, chairman of the Able Forum – the voice of the disable in South Korea, said at the launching ceremony of the service in HCMC that he would want to extend his gratitude to the volunteer drivers of the project.
Through the project, DRD and KOICA hope that the image of the three-wheel bike will help people and authorities change their outlook towards people with disabilities and provide more public transport vehicles that are friendly to the disabled.
“We wish to work with DRD to help people with disabilities in Vietnam integrate into the community,” said the chairman.
Mr. Shin Ju Hwa, representative of the General Consulate of South Korea in HCMC, said that the project helps promote mutual cooperation between the two nations. It helps promote the rights and the benefits of disabled people.
Ho Chi Minh City with nearly 40,000 people with disabilities has only 117 out of 4,000 buses with low or semi-low floors for people with disabilities, especially wheelchair users.
Of the 13 million of people with disabilities in the country, nearly 40 percent are illiterate and only 10 percent have stable jobs, according to DRD chief Vo Thi Hoang Yen.
The team of three-wheel taxi motorbikes for the disabled parades past Ben Thanh Market in HCMC’s District 1 (Photo: DRD) 
Actress Thanh Thuy (back) on a modified taxi bike during the parade (Photo: DRD) Đăng ký: VietNam News