Facilitators and barriers to inclusive and safe mobility on urban roads in Kathmandu, Nepal: a participatory research study

Research suggests that the built environment and transport services affect the health and well-being of people with a disability. In Nepal, there is limited evidence describing the safety of road users in transport environments. The perceptions of safety in people with a disability while travelling across urban centres in Nepal is unknown. We explored the experiences of people with a disability regarding their mobility and identified facilitators and barriers to achieving safe and inclusive travel in Kathmandu. We used video-elicitation interviews with seven people with a disability and interviewed five advocacy practitioners and five decision-makers. All participants considered poor road conditions and transport infrastructure, and drivers' speeding behaviour hindered their ability to travel safely. The absence of coordination between government agencies and disability-friendly infrastructure standards was the major reason impeding inclusive and safe travel. Our study suggests that the key issue to be addressed is the implementation of existing policies. This study explored the views of people with a disability, advocacy practitioners, and decision-makers regarding the safety of road environments in Kathmandu, and the actions that could improve safety for all road users.We used video footage, filmed by people with a disability, to enable them, and advocacy practitioners and decision-makers to engage on the topic.Traffic and the physical road environment, the behaviours of drivers, and street vendors hindered mobility and increased the risk of injuries for people with disability.Implementing/enforcing existing policies would be the first step to make the road environments safer-and more inclusive-for all road users.