Debate for transportation tickets of the disabled

03/07/2014 00:00

The law allows the disabled people to travel for free, but since July
1st they have been obliged to pay their fare, since the transportation
companies contracted by the Tirana Municipality do not recognize the
disabled card, because they have not been paid for that.

“I had to buy a ticket, although I have the disabled card”, a senior woman declared.

“We have been told to make them pay, because they do not recognize the cards”, a bus conductor said.

Buses are filled with notes warning the disabled that they must pay. The Minister of Social Welfare blamed the Tirana Municipality that allows these companies to violate one of the rules that they agree on before being licensed. Companies that damage the rights of the disabled will have their licenses revoked.

“When the municipality makes the disabled people pay, they must answer for this. The licenses for these companies were given with a condition for the disabled people. The past local government never allowed this. This is the only local government that has had this problem. The Tirana Municipality should be held responsible. The prices of the bus tickets are decided by the Municipal Council”, Veliaj declared.

The Tirana Municipality declared that the government must take measures to implement the law they have passed in Parliament. According to the Municipality, the new law obliges the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Education to pay for free transportation and for reduced fees.

The President of the Association for the Disabled, Sinan Tafaj, who has met with representatives from the OSCE in Tirana, declared that this is a violated right. He said that the disabled people should not be used by any political force.

“We are consumers. If Veliaj will revoke licenses or not, it is their problem. Our problem is that no bus conductor should let the disabled without transportation, because these buses are paid by the government. We should not be used for their political purposes”, Tafaj declared.

The new law does not specify which institution is responsible for deciding about these fees. Both the Municipality and the Ministry attribute this to each other.

In 2012, the Council of Ministers was authorized to decide about the compensation criteria, but since then nothing has been decided, not even with the new law. Both institutions are now clashing with each other about the responsibilities.

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