Accessibility of urban buses: time to turn EU law into practice!

A Europe free of barriers is where there is freedom of movement for all. The European disability movement believes that all forms of transport should be accessible, including urban buses, which is an important element for the travel chain of passengers with disabilities.

The European Disability Forum (EDF) is the umbrella organisation representing the interests of people with disabilities in Europe. Our mission is to ensure that people with disabilities have full access to fundamental human rights through their active involvement in policy development and implementation. Urban transport is a priority area of our activities and we are involved in strengthening the rights of passengers with disabilities. In the field of transport, the advocacy efforts of EDF have been extremely successful – over the past decade we have seen significant changes and increased awareness. EDF is frequently consulted by relevant European Commission Directorates General for input and expertise and we also regularly work in partnership with other transport stakeholders such as UITP and EUROCITIES.

Societal context

There are approximately 80 million people with disabilities in Europe. As our population ages rapidly and with an increased consciousness of the essential nature of accessible transport, people with disabilities make up a significant and growing part of society. As a large majority of people with disabilities live in urban areas, it is crucial to make sure that they can benefit from urban mobility systems to the same extent as other citizens. Unfortunately, passengers with disabilities continue to face many obstacles to get access to urban transport services, including buses, which contribute to their social exclusion. Accessible urban transport can make a huge difference in these people’s lives: it is a prerequisite for them to travel inde – pendently and to study, look for a job or go to work, travel, purchase goods and services, access to cultural, recreational, leisure and sports activities. The list is endless!

Important points for accessible urban buses

Regarding accessibility of urban buses, the European disability movement systematically raises the following points in the work we produce:

Reliability

It is wrong, but all too often the reaction, for public transport operators to maintain that there is no need for accessible trams or buses within their city, because they rarely see people with disabilities travelling anyway. People with disabilities tend not to travel spontaneously because of the lack of accessibility of urban transport services; they will embark on a journey only when it is essential. The unreliability, inconsistency and inaccessibility of public transport contributes to the lack of confidence disabled passengers have in the system. This is a self-perpetuating cycle of exclusion and segregation.

Information

Accessibility of urban buses includes the issue of trip-planning and ticket reservation or purchase and real-time information about delays or cancellations. Moreover, the insufficient availability of clear displays and orientation signs within urban buses adapted to various types of disabilities, as well as the lack of training of bus drivers on the needs of people with disabilities, remain important barriers for disabled passengers. Passengers with disa – bilities are often faced with not knowing which lines, equipment and stops are accessible due to a lack of information provided by urban transport operators. People with disabilities will not have full confidence to comfortably and regularly use the urban transport system, unless all elements of the transport chain are accessible.

Equipment

Access to urban buses is undermined by infrastructure and equipment that do not correspond to the needs of people with disabilities. For instance, there are more and more stations where tickets can only be purchased from an inaccessible automated machine. In cities like Brussels, the selfticketing machines are not accessible for disabled passengers (the machine is too high or does not have spoken outputs) which can result in a financial loss for disabled customers because they then have to buy a ticket with the bus driver which is more expensive than using a self-ticketing machine.

Staff training

Accessibility of urban buses is not only a problem of insufficient equipment or infrastructure, but also insufficient empathy, which is why training personnel in disability awareness is a simple investment that can have an important outcome: where there is good training with the involvement of the disability movement, the passengers are generally very satisfied. If understanding staff are available, passengers with disabilities get a very positive travel experience, and if something goes wrong, the personnel are always prepared.

Best practice exchange

EDF praises the sharing of best practice examples between the Member States and European cities and keeps calling for discussion and cooperation between disability organisa – tions and urban transport operators in the elaboration of their local action plans on urban mobility. Unfortunately, it is still very difficult for them to be appropriately considered by transport operators/management authorities. EDF, in cooperation with AGE Platform Europe, pushes for the creation of an inclusive and effective Passenger Forum. There, the Commission would moderate a dialogue with stakeholders, including organisations representing operators, authorities, employees and user groups, in order to identify EU-wide best practices and conditions for strengthening passenger rights in urban public transport.

Current policy opportunities

Even though urban transport is not a direct competence of the European Union, EDF has identified many opportunities at European level which could have a significant impact on the long-term accessibility of urban buses, including:

EU Structural Funds

A big part of the EU budget is devoted to the Structural Funds which play a significant role in shaping local, regional, national, as well as European, policy. Much of this public funding goes towards transport and new urban infrastructure and EDF intends to ensure that these funds are also spent on accessible urban transport for all. In this respect, EDF is campaigning for establishing accessibility criteria as requisite conditions for receiving the EU funds.

European Accessibility Act

People with disabilities just want to be able to travel like everyone else, but they are still prevented from equal travel opportunities. This is why EDF is currently campaigning on freedom of movement; in order to raise awareness on these issues. One of the topics we campaign for is the publication by the Commission of a European Accessibility Act, which could, among other things, cover transport services and address the accessibility of rolling stock, including urban buses. This Act is in the pipeline of the European Commission and an impact assessment is currently being carried out. EDF is keeps a watchful eye on this and is seeking a very ambitious and legally binding document.

UNCRPD

EDF closely monitors the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), which has been ratified by the European Union and 21 Member States and marks a radical change in thinking about disabilities. With the Convention in force, EU Member States are obliged to adopt inclusive policies also in the urban transport area and to actively involve organisations representing people with disabilities in the development of legislation and policies.

Regulation on the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport1

A main EU policy achievement in the field of urban buses was the adoption of Regulation 181/2011, which brings new rights for persons with disability such as non-discriminatory access to transport, right to accessible information before and during a journey, as well as the right to full compensation for lost and damaged wheelchairs and other assistive equipment. The Regulation also establishes compulsory disability awareness training for bus drivers.

The Regulation obliges the carriers and terminal managing bodies to cooperate with organisations representing persons with disabilities in the establishment of the nondiscriminatory access conditions for the transport. The aim is to improve the information, care and assistance offered to passengers with a particular focus on passengers with special needs due to disability and reduced mobility. It is in the interest of carriers and terminal managing bodies to seek the expertise of the disability movement, because they will be responsible in case they fail to live up to the accessible information requirements listed in the Regulation. Therefore, EDF encourages its national members to be closely involved in this process. EDF also ensures that its members lobby at national level to promote a more generous scope of application at the Member State level than mandated by the regulation’s minimum rules. EDF also calls its members to cooperate with national authorities and bus operators when there is no explicit reference to such cooperation in the Regulation.

The Regulation will come into force in 2013. EDF is worried because the Regulation gives a dangerous possibility for Member States to exempt a number of obligations and rights (e.g. driver training). We believe that such exemptions are unjustified as disabled passengers may encounter discriminatory situations even when the Regulation is applied in its other parts. A European law, which is applicable in all EU countries, is indeed the best way to ensure that people with disabilities will enjoy a comparable travel experience as everyone else. In this respect, the organisations of people with disabilities have a key role to play in order to ensure that the exemptions are not applied in Member States.

Financial interest for transport operators

EDF finally wants to insist that there are not only legal obligations as well as human rights-based and sustainability-related arguments for investing in accessible urban buses. There is also a financial value for operators and transport authorities! The features of accessible urban buses make the travel experience more enjoyable and usable for all members of the public. Investing in accessible urban buses makes good business sense – incorporating accessibility at the design stage costs very little in the overall costs of design and these additional costs can be offset by increases in revenue.

Reference

1. Regulation (EU) No 181/2011

About the author

Guillaume Dufresne is Mobility and Transport Officer at the European Disability Forum (EDF), where he is responsible for policy monitoring and relations with EU institutions, industry, and passenger organisations in the areas of transport, built environment and tourism. Before joining EDF, he worked in an EU trade association as Policy Adviser in charge of land transport. Guillaume has also worked with several NGOs in this field of social inclusion. He studied political and social sciences in Canada, and EU institutions and policies in Brussels.