Beijing welcomes guide dogs to its subway system
Print Edition
BEIJING yesterday started allowing visually impaired passengers to take guide dogs onto the subway, while blind rights advocates continue to urge greater accessibility for the dogs in the city’s public transport system.
The widely praised change was the result of a subway management regulation approved by the capital last year, which took effect yesterday. The regulation also bans begging, performing and handing out fliers and threatens violators with fines.
Chen Yan, a blind piano tuner and campaigner, got some curious looks from other passengers as she entered the Tiantongyuan Station on Line 5 with her guide dog Jenny.
With the help of subway employees, Chen and her dog entered a carriage designed for disabled passengers and later transferred to Line 2 to arrive at their destination, Beijing Railway Station.
Guide dogs are a rare sight in China. Only about 70 guide dogs are in service in the country, which is home to 16.9 million visually impaired people, and the animals are often denied entry to public transport.
Chen said the capital still lacks regulations on bus travel for guide dogs and said that it is common for them to be turned down by taxi drivers.
Shanghai and Chengdu have passed similar regulations to allow guide dogs on the subway.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
