Overview
The Accessibility strategy of the Ministry of Transport and Communications ("Towards Accessible Transport") was compiled in 2003. The ELSA research and development programme for Accessibility (2003-2006) was launched to support the implementations of the accessibility strategy. The goal of the programme was to increase awareness in the municipal sector and among transport service providers, authorities and the public of the importance of accessibility. It aimed to promote the introduction of accessibility in daily work, and to produce and disseminate information of good practices. Special focus areas were public transport and pedestrian environments.
One of the results of the ELSA programme was the recommendation that the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the State Provincial Offices, the Finnish Rail Administration and the Finnish Road Administration should be more active in demanding and following the accessibility of public transport.
The aim of this research was to examine the current situation and development needs of follow-up and measurement of accessibility in public transport as well as documentation of accessibility information. Especially, the focus of the report was how the progress of accessibility in public transport could be best evaluated in the activities of the traffic departments in the State Provincial Offices, the Finnish Rail Administration and the Finnish Road Administration, and how this evaluation could be integrated into a natural part of the performance guidance process and activities of the offices.
The research consisted of proposals and arguments for indicators describing the accessibility of different parts of public transport system. A final opinion on the precise indicators was not made, but those issues were defined which are worth monitoring and which can be monitored today.
A more detailed specification of input indicators should be made in organisations responsible for follow-up considering the possibilities of data collection and the relevance of an input indicator for the operation and guidance of an organisation.
Funding
Results
The examination was limited to travel chains in bus and rail traffic. A proposal for organising the follow-up of accessibility in public transport at four different levels was made in the work. Furthermore, the essential indicators describing the state of accessibility in public transport were defined.
The first level of the follow-up is intra-administrative and it serves the information needs of the Finnish Rail Administration, the Finnish Road Administration and the State Provincial Offices in monitoring and developing their own areas of responsibility.
The second level serves general follow-up of accessibility at the national level. The proposed indicators of general follow-up have been selected from administration-specific indicators so that they provide a good overview of the development of accessibility or describe the most essential parts of public transport system with regard to promoting accessibility.
The third level includes a proposal on the most essential indicators applicable as tools of performance guidance.
The fourth form of follow-up is more informal and is based on compiling user feedback from passengers with mobility impairments, for example by disabled groups in cooperation with service providers.
Technical Implications
The public transport accessibility indicator categories proposed for railway traffic were:
Trip planning
- Advance information on the accessibility of trip
Railway stations (stations and stops)
- Accessibility of station
- Ticket purchase
- Passenger information in station
- Accessibility in station building
- Accessibility of platforms
- Availability of personal assistance
- Accessible station
Trains
- Information in trains
- Entrance and interior
Service know-how
- Quality of training
Passenger satisfaction
- Feedback from passengers
- Satisfaction surveys
The public transport accessibility indicator categories proposed for bus traffic were:
Trip planning
- Advance information on the accessibility of trip
Bus stations
- Accessibility of station
- Passenger information in station
- Accessibility in station building
- Accessibility of platforms
- Availability of personal assistance
- Accessible station
Bus stops
- Accessibility of bus stop
- Dimensioning and markings
- Street furniture
- Information
- Accessible bus stop
Buses
- Information in bus
- Entrance and interior
Service transport
- Share of municipalities, which have accessible service transport
Service know-how
- Quality of training
Passenger satisfaction
- Feedback from passengers
- Satisfaction surveys
Policy implications
The responsibility for public transport system has been divided into several organisations which makes it more difficult to obtain a full overview of the state of accessibility.
It is proposed in the work, that the Finnish Rail Administration will be given the responsibility for the follow-up of accessibility in railway traffic and the State Provincial Offices as licensing and subsidising authorities of bus traffic will be given the responsibility for the follow-up of accessibility in bus traffic.
Thus, the Finnish Rail Administration and the State Provincial Offices take care of compiling follow-up data describing those parts of transport system, which are under responsibility of other organisations.
The responsibility of the Finnish Road Administration is to produce follow-up data on roads for the use of the State Provincial Offices. At the national level, the Ministry of Transport and Communications has the responsibility for organising follow-up of accessibility of the transport system.