ITSP MISSION EXAMINES TRANSIT ACCESSIBILITY IN EUROPE
How
are European transit systems serving people who have special mobility
needs, such as the elderly, disabled, and low-income individuals living
beyond major urban centers?
The TCRP International Transit Studies Program (ITSP) set out to answer this question, and other queries centered around the theme of "coordinated transportation services," on its most recent study mission, held in May.
Under
the direction of team leader J. Barry Barker (Executive Director, Transit
Authority of River City, Louisville, Kentucky), the mission team of 11
transportation professionals from the United States visited with officials
in eight European cities - London, the Hague, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Stockholm,
Gothenburg, Grenoble, and Paris - to review their comprehensive approaches
for making transit services more accessible, along with the partnerships,
technologies, communications, financing, and 
politics
associated with the strategies.
Among
the team's observations:
- More user input
resulted in better services. Some of the best accessibility examples
- e.g., Hackney Community Transport for bus, taxi service in London;
Grenoble's new tram line - were aided by outreach to special needs
communities to see how design elements and routes could be shaped
to achieve mobility goals.
-
Fewer paratransit services are available in Europe, compared to the U.S.
-
European legislation on accessibility takes a more permissive, "thou should" approach, in contrast to the "thou shalt" provisions contained in the Americans With Disabilities Act.
- In general, new tram and subway lines being built are accessible, but older metro systems (e.g., London, Paris) are struggling to make necessary infrastructure upgrades.
"The
challenge that much of Europe has is the same challenge facing New York
City, for example," said Barker, referring to the older transit systems.
"They have an aging, extensive infrastructure, and to fully equip
those systems with elevators and the like, is an enormous investment."
A final report summarizing the spring 2006 mission team's findings will
be published later this year.
The ITSP
missions, conducted twice a year, are managed by the Eno Foundation under
a contract with the National Academy of Sciences. The next mission, scheduled
for October 12-28, will focus on Rail Passenger Safety. Thomas Margro,
general manager of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District,
will lead the mission team.
ITSP Announces Mission Themes for 2007
The ITSP has announced themes for the two overseas missions it will conduct in 2007.
The spring 2007 mission, "Emergency Preparedness, Response, and Recovery in the Transit Industry," will explore coordinated approaches to disaster planning, with a focus on ensuring business continuity and providing effective evacuation support. Mission team members will travel to the Asia/Pacific region to learn about transit preparedness programs and actual experiences in response and recovery.
In the fall, the program's "Transit Workforce Development" mission will focus on innovative approaches to workforce development. The mission team will meet with transit professionals who are implementing creative programs to retain valued employees and to recruit, train, and integrate into the organization new candidates with needed skills. Cities in Canada and in several European countries are under consideration for the itinerary.
Applications
for the team leader positions were due by September 5; the team leaders
will be selected and announced before the end of the year. Calls for team
member nominations will be issued several months in advance of each mission's
departure date. For more information about the program, contact ITSP Manager
Janet Abrams at janet.abrams@enotrans.com.