Many of you will know about the Americans with Disabilities Act and maybe its equivalents elsewhere in the world. There are certain requirements that a transit vehicle needs to meet in order to comply with that act. But is that act enough, or do rail transport operators, in particular, need encouragement to do better, and cater more for the disabled than is required by law?
According to this blog entry, the A.D.A requires level boarding. But that may not be enough. Apparently it is preferable for the disabled, at least in street transit, for there to be no steps anywhere in the floor area, and in case of (street running) light rail, that means 100% low floor. This way, the wheelchair bound, those with walking frames and even able-bodied people with strollers (like prams and shopping trolleys) and heavy items, don't have to worry about where the low floor area is.
Entrance doors need to be painted in different color from the main exterior scheme. For example, if the main scheme is white, black is the best color for entrance doors, including any door for both entrance and exit. Most rail vehicles with stepless entrances also have sliding doors, most often outward fold and slide doors on newer ones. In this case, the should be two audible warnings:
*A continuous tone at least 3 seconds long before the door opens or in case of button operated doors, before it becomes openable.
*A pulsated tone at least three seconds long before the door begins to close.
This should apply for any door for entry, exit or both.
Destination blinds must have characters contrasting with the background and the display must at least be capable of being illuminated. By default, they will be in Roman letters, in which case they need to be in mixed case.
Hand rails should also be brightly colored. And there also needs to be non-slip flooring everywhere where passengers may go.
So basically, the needs of the disabled (I mean mobility impaired) need to go before purchase price, maintenance costs, capacity relative to vehicle length, and various technological aspects such as ride quality. And the needs of those with vision problems need to go before aesthetics.
Remember, the mobility and sensory challenged will be better off and most certainly be happier if all these criteria are met, and most able bodied people with no vision problems won't be any less happy, if, say, the doors are color contrasted. Things like level boarding and color contrasted doors don't affect the quality of life of able bodied people with healthy eyes, nor the standard of living without these disabilities or impairments.
According to this blog entry, the A.D.A requires level boarding. But that may not be enough. Apparently it is preferable for the disabled, at least in street transit, for there to be no steps anywhere in the floor area, and in case of (street running) light rail, that means 100% low floor. This way, the wheelchair bound, those with walking frames and even able-bodied people with strollers (like prams and shopping trolleys) and heavy items, don't have to worry about where the low floor area is.
Entrance doors need to be painted in different color from the main exterior scheme. For example, if the main scheme is white, black is the best color for entrance doors, including any door for both entrance and exit. Most rail vehicles with stepless entrances also have sliding doors, most often outward fold and slide doors on newer ones. In this case, the should be two audible warnings:
*A continuous tone at least 3 seconds long before the door opens or in case of button operated doors, before it becomes openable.
*A pulsated tone at least three seconds long before the door begins to close.
This should apply for any door for entry, exit or both.
Destination blinds must have characters contrasting with the background and the display must at least be capable of being illuminated. By default, they will be in Roman letters, in which case they need to be in mixed case.
Hand rails should also be brightly colored. And there also needs to be non-slip flooring everywhere where passengers may go.
So basically, the needs of the disabled (I mean mobility impaired) need to go before purchase price, maintenance costs, capacity relative to vehicle length, and various technological aspects such as ride quality. And the needs of those with vision problems need to go before aesthetics.
Remember, the mobility and sensory challenged will be better off and most certainly be happier if all these criteria are met, and most able bodied people with no vision problems won't be any less happy, if, say, the doors are color contrasted. Things like level boarding and color contrasted doors don't affect the quality of life of able bodied people with healthy eyes, nor the standard of living without these disabilities or impairments.
Also known as Myrtonos
