Zeliha Gündoğdu, Head of the Disabled Association Aydın Branch, TCDD Taşımacılık A.Ş. claimed that disabled people's right to free transportation was denied by. Stating that the train services, which were stopped on March 28, 2020 within the scope of coronavirus measures, started as of May 28, 2020, Gündoğdu said, “While the measures taken have started again for everyone, the right to travel of the disabled has been restricted. The Free Transportation Right of the Disabled has been suspended on the pretext of Covid-19. This unlawfulness must be ended immediately ”.
Gündoğdu made the following statements in his statement: “According to the data of the state statistical institution, 12.29% of the population of our country consists of individuals with disabilities, it is a fact that we have approximately 8,5 million disabled citizens in our country.
Covidien-19 Excuses Free transportation Right of Persons with Disabilities with the Republic of Turkey State Railways (TCDD) as Unlawful Transport Inc. is Suspended by.
As part of the fight against the Covid-19 outbreak, all High Speed Train (YHT), Outline and Regional Train services except for Marmaray in Istanbul and Başkentray in Ankara were canceled as of 28 March 2020, YHT flights on 28 May 2020 with the normalization process, the right of disabled people to travel was restricted while restarting “for everyone” together.
Regarding the elimination of intercity travel restriction, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued a Circular on 30 May 2020. It is stated that tickets will be made after the code is received through Hayat Eve Sığar (HEPP) application, which contains information indicating that there is no risk of COVID-19 for travels to be made by intercity public transportation (plane, train, bus, etc.).
In this Circular, although there is no expression regarding the restriction of intercity travel of the disabled people and it is mandatory to question “HEPP Code” for everyone, the travel restriction application has been applied for the disabled individuals because they are not even needed to question “HEPP Code”.
The travel restriction was applied as a purchase of tickets for the disabled by paying the fee, but then the right to travel of the disabled was completely suspended. In a statement made by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to the public on July 8, 2020; “Our disabled passengers get help while getting on and off the trains, they have personal contacts with the assistant staff at the same time, they also have a lot of contact with the common surfaces. In line with the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and the Scientific Committee, restrictions have been imposed on our disabled passengers to protect them from the risk of epidemic contamination. However, there is no restriction on the Marmaray and Başkenttray trains in the city for our disabled passengers. With the end of this process, where pandemic continues to be a danger to the society, and updating the normalization rules, while the intercity passenger transport (YHT outline and regional train) return to its normal course, the restriction imposed on our disabled citizens will also be removed. ”
Although there is no limitation in Marmaray and Başkenttray trains in the city, restrictions in YHT can be made by paying the fee for passengers with disabilities, while those with visible disabilities do not take the train even if they buy paid tickets; reveals the mistakes in the decision.
There is no scientific and legal explanation for restriction and enforcement.
Ultimately, the right of the disabled to be suspended; First of all, it is a discriminatory practice against the principle of equality. This application; It is a clear violation of the provision of “Everyone has freedom of settlement and travel” in the 23rd article of the Turkish Constitution. It contains contradiction to the Constitution.
This application;
It is a violation of the additional article added to the Article 4736 of the Law No. 1 on the Amendment of Goods and Services Tariffs and Some Laws Produced by Public Institutions and Organizations. It is unlawful.
This application;
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to which we are a party; It is a violation.
On the other hand, since this practice includes discrimination, according to Article 122 of the Turkish Criminal Code; because it prevents a person from benefiting from a certain service that has been made available to the public; It is a crime.
We urgently request that our Minister of Transport and Infrastructure instruct the General Manager of TCDD regarding the termination of this unlawful practice, and that TCDD Tasimacilik AS immediately terminate this unlawfulness and initiate the application for the right to free transportation of persons with disabilities, including the purchase of tickets from the Internet. ”
Our cards have also been canceled in Mersin city buses.