Overview
The main aim of making this coordination effort was to encourage Public Transport operators belonging to the project target group to adopt innovative technological concepts and mobility schemes that enable high quality mobility and transportation services for all, as well as to provide their personnel with the necessary knowledge on the particularities of specific user groups, such as the elderly and disabled, ICT-illiterate, dyslexic and illiterate people, etc. To achieve this, it was necessary to identify best practices and still existing gaps, coordinate on-going research efforts, agree on guidelines for transportation systems and services and promote these towards all-inclusive standards and policies; given that no 'magic' solution can exist, ACCESS2ALL also aims at producing common research roadmaps, in cooperation with all major stakeholders, aimed at further enhancing the quality of transportation services for ALL users, in those cases where technological or operational gaps still existed.
The concrete project objectives are listed below:
- To identify the actual problems and real needs of all user groups requiring special attention in their transportation by PT and cluster them according to their relevant needs.
- To identify best practices in all-inclusive PT systems and incorporate them into a best practices benchmarking database.
- To define specific implementation scenarios, covering all the project target user groups.
- To promote the deployment of innovative technological and service provision concepts increasing the mobility of people in cities, based on new vehicle and infrastructure concepts, suitable for a barrier-free travel chain.
- To improve PT information and service provision for all passengers by means of integrated, personalised travel information systems and novel HMI concepts, using the acoustic, visual, tactile channel within the infrastructure and the vehicles and also by means of modern equipment, like handhelds, such as mobile phones and PDAs.
- To promote innovative cooperative systems enabling the optimal combination of autonomous and infrastructure based systems to the benefit of all end users.
- To enhance the security and reliability of PT for all users by identifying and promoting promising localisation technologies.
- To promote novel concepts enabling the cost-efficiency, accessibility, maintenance and expansion of PT services.
- To define a concise methodology and develop adequate tools to assess the usability and accessibility of PT systems for all users.
- To provide guidance on how to optimally incorporate cross-cultural issues into PT service provision.
- To develop design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing ones as well as new concepts proposed in the project, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information.
- To analyse existing legislation and standards in the area of PT services provision and propose new standardisation actions and policy recommendations, taking always into account the involved costs.
- To develop a research roadmap towards 2010, 2015 and 2025 on accessible PT issues, and establish this among the major stakeholders of the field, in order to coordinate current efforts and research.
- To develop training programmes (methodology, curricula and tools) for PT operators and planners on accessible PT issues.
- To disseminate the results and create public awareness through a dedi
The achievement of all above stated objectives was measured and verified through well specified milestones and specific success assessment criteria.
Funding
Results
Accessibility Level of PT Vehicles, Stations and Hubs
The user can find the accessibility level of pedestrian routes, bus and tram stops and transportation hubs and terminals. The accessibility levels are:
- Green: fully accessible
- Orange: partially accessible
- Red: inaccessible
The accessibility level is estimated according to the input, for the following three user categories: wheelchair user, lower limb impaired user and visual impaired user.
Innovation aspects
- Bringing all key actors together, starting from the local site communities and moving to a Pan-European scale. Activities enabling active third party involvement and multi-actors view are innovative.
- Holistic view of Public Transport and Accessibility needs of all user groups.
a) Increasing awareness of public transport operators regarding needs and requirements of MI travellers.
b) Increasing autonomy of MI people during the trip. - Benefiting from world-wide best practices, with key experience in issues related to each end user category.
- Barrier free travel chain, including the infrastructure, vehicles and relevant travel information.
- New vehicle concepts, including lifts/ ramps as onboard solutions, controlled and operated by the mobility impaired people themselves.
- New integrated travel information systems, using the acoustic, visual and tactile channels and also by means of modern equipment like handhelds (e.g. mobile phones, PDAs, wireless equipment).
- Strong involvement of the mobility impaired persons (representatives) for achieving the project goals (by means of the network planned).
- Creation of a new, high quality research network.
- Concrete accessibility guidelines for PT operators.
- Development of training methodology on accessibility for all, curricula and tools for the PT operators and various other related stakeholders.
- Recommendations of International validity, covering accessibility needs of all main types PT end users, especially those who face MI problems.
- Creation of a commonly agreed Research Roadmap, for lasting integration of relevant knowledge and tools, as well as for coordinating research initiatives in the area and for active promotion of the project results after the end of the project.
Strategy targets
Innovating for the future: technology an behaviour: 2.3 Integrated urban mobility
Readiness
Significant research and implementation effort is still needed to address all MI needs regarding equal rights and opportunities while travelling. Indicative areas:
- MI adapted PT information services
- Accessible infrastructure at PT stops and hubs as well as at the vehicles
- In-vehicle safety devices and design for MI users
- Cooperative systems for VT/vehicle communication as well as V2V communication
- Equal rights supportive PT network infrastructure
- Multimedia training tools and schemes for relevant stakeholders
- Holistic safety of the transportation chain