《TAIPEI TIMES》 Draft to expand eligibility for priority seats passes

By Yang Cheng-yu and Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A draft amendment that would allow priority seats on public transportation to be given to “people with actual need” instead of only elderly people, women and children passed a legislative committee on Thursday.

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The legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee passed the draft amendment proposed by the Executive Yuan to the People With Disabilities Rights Protection Act （身心障礙者權益保障法）.

The amended version removes the words “elderly, women and children” to allow “people with actual need” to use priority seats, said Chien Hui-chuan （簡慧娟）, director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Social and Family Affairs Administration.

A similar proposal has also been put forward by Democratic Progressive Party legislators Wu Yu-chin （吳玉琴）, Lin Yi-chin （林宜瑾） and Chen Ming-wen （陳明文） along with Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） Legislator Chang Yu-mei （張育美）.

Article 58, Paragraph 2 of the act stipulates that people with disabilities and one of their necessary companions may also use priority seats.

The committee agreed to remove the word “may” from the paragraph following a suggestion by Wu.

Wu and others also proposed a draft that would require city and county governments to integrate local transportation methods, including taxis, Rehabus — a government-sponsored bus service for transporting people with disabilities — and other accessible transportation services to meet the needs of disabled people.

Local governments have made efforts to provide more convenient transportation services to people with disabilities, but the proposal was made as there is room for improvement, Chien said.

The proposal was passed by the committee.

Article 59 of the act stipulates that people with disabilities may be exempted from admittance fees when entering public scenic areas, entertainment venues, or cultural and educational areas, and would only pay half the price at private ones.

Wu proposed to include sports and exercise facilities to the article.

Chien said that public sports venues already provide discounts to disabled people, but the government has to further deliberate on discounts at private sports and exercise facilities, as it might affect the spending of local governments and businesses.

The Ministry of Education’s Department of Student Affairs and Special Education officer Chen Tien-ting （陳添丁） said his ministry welcomes the proposal, as it encourages people with disabilities to participate in social events.

However, more assessments are needed before amendments can be made to order private venues to offer discounts to disabled people, he said.

Wu agreed to turn the proposal into an attached resolution that encourages private businesses to support people with disabilities to participate in sports.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES