A Bus Trip Around Hyderabad

I had the opportunity to travel around the city of Hyderabad with a person with a disability to experience first-hand the experiences that the person had talked about in their interview with me.  I am so thankful that SERP arranged this and for the individual I traveled with for agreeing to show me the city and taking time out of her day to do so

.

First, we met at a location about 20 minutes away from the SERP office by vehicle.  We met at a major bus stop that was quite big and had a lot of people waiting.  I was a little intimidated by the sheer number of people waiting to get on buses, but luckily the person I was riding with was a great guide.

The first bus we rode on was the standard (high-floor) bus.  For me, just getting on was terrifying.  The bus doesn’t really stop, it just slows down and people are pushing and grabbing at each other to get on.  I wasn’t prepared for that, so I felt lucky just to be able to make it onto the bus to start the day.  The bus ride lasted for about 20 minutes and we arrived at another popular bus stop.

The next bus we took was a new, low-floor bus, that I have been examining as part of my project.  It was a much nicer bus and was easier for everyone to board because it was much lower to the ground.  Even though there are still accessibility issues with it, the low-floor bus makes many improvements in accessibility for passengers.

Finally, I got to cross a busy highway with the individual I was traveling with.  I got this experience because the bus stop and her workplace are separated by about .25 miles and a major road, so I got to experience what life with public transportation is like.   It was terrifying for me to cross that major road, but it really gave me a good understanding of the location of the bus stop.

I'm so glad I got to have this experience because it really helped me add insight to my project, and it's something I will remember for a long time to come.