INTRODUCING AND SUSTAINING ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORT: SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CHALLENGES
Document Type
Journal Article
Publication Date
2004
Subject Area
infrastructure - stop, infrastructure - vehicle, ridership - drivers, ridership - behaviour, policy - disability, policy - disability, mode - bus, mode - mass transit
Keywords
Visually impaired persons, Transit buses, Transit, Stop (Public transportation), Seats, Seating, Public transit, Physically handicapped persons, People with visual disabilities, People with disabilities, Netherlands, Mass transit, Low floor vehicles, Local transit, Interior design, Human behavior, Handicapped persons, Disabled persons, Bus stops, Bus operators, Bus drivers, Behaviour, Behavior, Accessibility
Abstract
Improvements in transportation accessibility are being made in the Netherlands. The Ministry of Transport issued leaflets with suggestions to direct development, and Delft University of Technology was asked to illustrate these suggestions with practical examples. In the course of this effort, enough material was collected to present a comparative state of the art. Bus systems in seven areas were critiqued. The assessment showed that progress in certain aspects was more prominent than in others. Low-floor buses are being introduced nearly everywhere, but the adaptation of bus stops is lagging behind. Ideas about bus interiors are rather confused. One essential feature, the seat, is treated unsatisfactorily. The driving behavior of bus drivers often does not take vulnerable passengers into account. Accessibility actually decreases in some cases because of insufficient specifications in contracts. Further progress in accessibility seems to require more guidelines and information campaigns.
Recommended Citation
de Boer, E, (2004). INTRODUCING AND SUSTAINING ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORT: SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL CHALLENGES. Transportation Research Record, 1885, p. 15-20.
