Introducing and Sustaining Accessible Transport: Social and Physical Challenges

Improvements in transportation accessibility are being made in the Netherlands. The Ministry of Transport issued leaflets with suggestions to direct development, and Delft University of Technology was asked to illustrate these suggestions with practical examples. In the course of this effort, enough material was collected to present a comparative state of the art. Bus systems in seven areas were critiqued. The assessment showed that progress in certain aspects was more prominent than in others. Low-floor buses are being introduced nearly everywhere, but the adaptation of bus stops is lagging behind. Ideas about bus interiors are rather confused. One essential feature, the seat, is treated unsatisfactorily. The driving behavior of bus drivers often does not take vulnerable passengers into account. Accessibility actually decreases in some cases because of insufficient specifications in contracts. Further progress in accessibility seems to require more guidelines and information campaigns.