URBAN, INTERURBAN AND SUBURBAN TRANSPORT

When speaking about accessibility for disabled people, public transport operators mostly think to provide their lines with equipped vehicles.
Actually, there are at least three fundamental aspects that need to be taken into consideration in order to grant full accessibility of public transport lines: bus stop accessibility, the reliability of the information given to users and staff training for the use of all devices for disabled people.
So, factors contributing to make a bus line accessible to people with disabilities can be summarized as follows:

presence of equipped vehicles for the transport of disabled passengers;
bus stop accessibility;
reliable information concerning the arrival/departure time of equipped vehicles.
staff training focusing on how to use devices for disabled people

Now, let’s analyse these aspects in detail.

Equipped vehicles for the transport of disabled passengers
In order to be fully accessible to people with disabilities, vehicles should have the following minimum characteristics:

step-free entrance (low floor bus)
Extractable platform to fill the gap between the entrance and the platform
specially allocated wheelchair spaces
Acoustic and visual signals to announce stops
Clear bus number, name or destination displayed on all sides of the vehicle.

From the interviews we made to public transport operators emerge that their equipped vehicles generally have the characteristics mentioned at points 1, 2 and 3 while just in few cases vehicles have the devices for sensory impairments mentioned at points 4 and 5. These two devices are in fact important and can contribute to improve service accessibility to all kind of users, both disabled and non disabled.
Some public transport operators admitted that several devices for disabled people often break down (this is particularly true for extractable platforms). This fact suggests the importance of regular services of devices.
Users noticed that sometimes the driving staff can’t make devices for disabled people work. This underlines the need for operators to improve this aspect in the training process.

Bus stop accessibility
In order to grant good accessibility of public transport lines, it is not enough to have equipped vehicles but it is essential that bus stops have, considering the needs of users, the following characteristics:

Step-free platforms or platforms with ramps
When the platform is a “traffic-island”, it is necessary that it is wide enough for a wheelchair to get on it
Platform height should correspond to the height of vehicles
No fixed barriers on the floor or other kind of obstacles preventing wheelchair movements
Presence of tactile paths in order to reach stops
Presence of seats or bearing surfaces
Presence of platform roofing
Presence of reliable, clear and readable information concerning next stops and departure and arrival timetable
Presence of acoustic and visual signals concerning arriving vehicles.

Most of the interviewed operators were not able to provide information on bus stop accessibility. They said that the City Council or the Province, depending on whether urban or suburban lines were concerned, were competent on the subject.
It is thus almost impossible to have a reliable picture of the real accessibility of bus stops, thus preventing disabled people from using public transport.
It is thus necessary a higher collaboration between public transport operators and public bodies in order to find a solution to this situation, representing an obstacle to the use of public transport by disabled people.

Reliable information for disabled passengers
Some of the interviewed operators complain of the scarce use of their means of transport by disabled people, thus not allowing them to pay off the investments made to improve vehicles’ accessibility.
Actually, one of the main obstacles to the use of public transport by disabled passengers is the lack of reliable information concerning arrival and departure time of equipped vehicles.
Generally, equipped vehicles correspond to a small percentage of the total amount of vehicles and operators do not have an official timetable where equipped vehicle trips are clearly pointed out.
In some cases, if informed in advance, public transport operators allow a disabled passenger to have an equipped vehicle for a certain trip. In other cases, by calling the operator in the morning, a passenger can know the availability and timetable of equipped vehicles for that day.
These two solutions can partly get around the lack of an official timetable for equipped vehicles. However, this information is not spread and so in many cases potential disabled passengers just do not know.
Briefly, to promote a real use of public transport by disabled passengers, operators should improve the quality and quantity of information concerning the service offered. Without a clear and sharp communication policy, disabled passengers will not be in the condition of using such services that are at their disposal.

Staff training focusing on the use of devices for disabled people
The use of equipped vehicles for transporting disabled passengers implies specific service procedures and technical devices. Experience shows that sometimes the staff is not prepared to face these aspects and this can jeopardize the possibility for disabled people to travel. For example, there has been cases of drivers of equipped bus who didn’t know how to take the bus close to the sidewalk or platform and didn’t know how to make the platform go out thus complicating the operations of getting on and off of a disabled passenger in a wheelchair.
We suggest following staff training carefully as far as travelling needs of disabled people are concerned.

When speaking about urban transport, a separated reasoning should be made for Metropolitana Milanese (Milan’s underground), operated by ATM and Passante Ferroviario, whose stations are operated by RFI, part of the Ferrovie dello Stato group.

Metropolitana Milanese
The crucial points concerning accessibility by disabled passengers are the following:

underground stations accessibility
direction signs inside stations
wheelchair locking systems inside trains

Let’s analyse them in detail.
All stations of Line 3 (yellow line) are accessible thanks to lifts while most stations of Lines 1 and 2 (red and green lines) only have stairlifts, that most of the times are out of order and obsolete. Full accessibility of Milan’s underground system should depend on a program of substitution of all stairlifts with lifts.
ATM is trying to equip all underground stations and platforms with direction signs for the sensory impaired (tactile paths, tactile maps, visual and acoustic signals at stops). At present, these direction signs haven’t been introduced in all stations, so a disabled passenger doesn’t know if he/she’ll find such devices at the departure and arrival station. In order to grant a real independence and safety of a disabled person’s journey, it is fundamental that all stations are equipped with these devices.
Wheelchair locking systems used on trains do not secure stability and safety of disabled people and this is particularly true for the system used on lines 1 and 2 (red and green lines) using a chain. It is necessary to equip all trains with more functional and safer locking devices.

Passante Ferroviario
The use of Passante Ferroviario points out a number of meaningful problems for people with disabilities.
Stations are operated by RFI, a company of the “Ferrovie dello Stato” group, while Trenitalia and Ferrovie Nord Milano operate trains passing through the Passante.
Because of this situation, it seems that there is no office or call center that mighr give information concerning station accessibility and the characteristics of the service offered to disable people who, finally, cannot get information directly in order to use the service. It is fundamental to satisfy this need for information in favour of all passengers, disabled and not.
Stations are equipped with lifts. Certain large stations, with different exits, just have one exit equipped with only one lift, thus obliging a disabled passenger to walk through various corridors in order to reach the equipped exit.
Inside the stations it is essential to improve the direction system: direction signs are lacking and are often not very clear, while visual and acoustic signals on platforms are often out of order.
Passante has modern TAF trains (equipped for disabled people) and older and non accessible trains. An official timetable pointing out arrival and departure time of trains equipped for disabled people does not exist. It is not even clear if it is possible to book assistance service for boarding operations.
It will be very difficult for a disabled passenger to use Passante Ferroviario, until this gap of information will be filled.