Accessibility of public transport for mobility-impaired groups indicator

Information needed

Possible specific sources

Costs*

Advice to fill data gaps and/ or improve data quality

Total number of ticket machines/ number of ticket machines qualified as accessible

Data on ticket machines can be obtained from transport operator companies. In many cases, the city authorities might be in possession of this data anyway, especially in case of public-owned public transport companies.

L

• As a general rule, it is advisable to promptly contact and involve public transport operators, taking into account the possibility of slow or negative replies.
• Specific on-site surveys could be considered in case of absence of data or when the operator is not publicly-owned (and cannot be forced to report the required data to a public administration).
• Where a human person (e.g. driver) sells tickets, this can count as a positive accessibility feature because it can be assumed that the driver provides assistance.
• Wherever customers can obtain a ticket from another human being (e.g. driver, salesperson, etc.), this can count as accessible because it is assumed that people are willing to provide assistance. However, it could be that a post office, tobacco shop etc. itself is not accessible. It may well be that data about the accessibility of such premises is indeed available; if this is the case by all means such ticket outlets should be fully counted with their respective accessibility rate. Where such data is not available please consider whether there are any regulations that stipulate accessibility levels any way (e.g. national regulations about the accessibility of public buildings, retail stores etc.). In that case, it can make sense to include them in the calculation. Where such data is clearly missing and no estimate with a high degree of certainty can be made, simply disregard such ticket outlets altogether from the calculation.
• The lower need for ticketing machines due to the possibility of in-app purchases is already indirectly taken into account, as there should normally be fewer of them in use; so, it is suggested to not enter the in-app purchase figures into the calculation at all.

Total number of vehicles/ number of vehicles qualified as accessible

Data on vehicles/ vessels that qualify as accessible should be straightforward to obtain from transport operator companies. In many cases, the city authorities might be in possession of this data anyway if they tendered the provision of public transport services through a public procurement process. The winning tenderer will typically be contractually obliged to meet certain quality standards (including accessibility criteria) and will have to deliver proof thereof.

M

• As a general rule, it is advisable to promptly contact and involve public transport operators, taking into account the possibility of slow or negative replies.
• It is suggested to include buses and trains that serve the functional urban area (i.e. including commuter catchment area). Trains and buses that stop only once in the functional urban area (for example, at the main station) or are not used by travellers to move from one point to another within the urban area should not be considered.

Total number of stops/ stations served by mode/ number of stops/ stations that qualify as accessible

Data on stops infrastructure can be obtained from transport operator companies as well as from specific municipal offices (i.e. the ones dealing with public works or disability).

M

• As a general rule, it is advisable to promptly contact and involve public transport operators, taking into account the possibility of slow or negative replies.
• Specific on-site surveys could be considered in case of absence of data or when the operator is not publicly-owned (and cannot be forced to report the required data to a public administration).
• Where infrastructure such as bus stops or main interchange points is utilized by multiple operators, the responsibility for each piece of infrastructure should nevertheless be unambiguously clear; the addressee of information requests about accessibility levels should therefore be equally clear.
• As regard to definitions, basically, the area where a person stands just before he or she boards the bus is a platform. What matters is simply the question whether a person can access this area without having to overcome any physical hurdle like a step: there does not have to be a platform in the sense of dedicated area that is raised above the level of the street to count the stop as accessible.

Total number of travellers per annum per mode

Information on the total number of travellers should be based on the information provided in the modal split sheet.

M/H

• See “http://ec.europa.eu/transport/node/6530{Modal split as Link}”.