Workshop inclusive mobility

• RYD
• Hoger onderwijs

Workshop: inclusive mobility

How to guarantee social inclusion in public transport in your city?

What is inclusive mobility? What are the things that pop into mind?

Focus on what?

Focus on what?

Physical barriers

Vehicle design 

Communication and information 

Digital access

Socioeconomic barriers

Safety and security 

Focus on who? 

Focus on who? 

Women

Poor IT literacy or digital access

Disabilities

Remote areas

Children 

Low income

Who do we take into account specifically?

Do you have examples from your city/surrounding? What measures are already put into place in order to create an inclusive and accessible transport network? 

Post-its or white bord waar iedereen zijn bevindingen op kan schrijven --> overzichtje per land maken en dan krijgen we ook al een kort overzicht welke landen er meer mee bezig zijn dan anderen en wat de verschillen zijn tussen de landen/steden. 

Do you think these are sufficient?

😒🙁😐🙂😃

• Why yes, why not?
• Are there people who we forgot? If so, how can we make sure we also take them into account? 

Accessibility 

Accessibility 

accessibility 

!! Belgian Constitution Article 22ter (2021):

“Every person with a disability has the right to full inclusion in society, including

the right to reasonable accommodation.”

Reachability 

+

transport poverty --> car becomes a standard once you move out of the city center 

Reachability =/= accessibility 

Reachability focuses on infrastructure and the economic factor: How much time are you spending? How much money are you spending to get to your location? How much effort does it take? Is it only reachable by car or also by foot etc.? 

Reachability 

+

forced car ownership 

Livability

the negative environmental impact of transportation and other activities particularly affects vulnerable groups in society. 

+

'The children of the lowest socioeconomic groups are up to 28 times more likely to be killed on the roads than those of the top socioeconomic group.'

• 1/6 bus stops are disappearing in Flanders (17%)
• More buses on the main tracks & less in village centers
• Faster buses but longer travel time
• Flexbuses (reservation up to 30 min before the ride)

• Focus on shared cars, bikes and scooters

Policy discussion 

Policy discussion: less bus stops

010

• 3000 bus stops (17%) will be eliminated and routes changed: drive less through neighborhoods and more on main lanes and more flex stops.
• Why? They want more buses on lines with higher demand.
• Routes on main lanes will be able to start earlier and end later.
• Consequence? Faster buses but longer travel time? Longer distance travel to the bus stop that will no longer pass through villages.
• In places where buses do not stop regularly, there will be flex stops  ride reservation up to 30 min before the ride.
• So travelers who want to commute to suburbs or more remote areas will be required to use flexible transportation with call/flex buses, whether or not combined with shared cars, bikes, scooters and steps.
• What about digitally illiterate people? How should they manage this?
• Maybe other solutions like for example: shared cars/bikes from the government so that it is cheaper and it always lays the same route 

How inclusive is your city transport ? Try it yourself! 

Om ter snelste opzoeken/met om ter minste kliks opzoeken hoe ze ergens moeten geraken met een rolstoel van punt A naar B. 

• Welke stappen moeten ze nemen?
• Wie moeten ze allemaal contacteren? 
• Moet je alles op voorhand reserveren? Of is dit niet nodig? 
• Kan je bepaalde regio's niet bereiken? Hoeveel op voorhand moet je telkens aanwezig zijn? Etc. 
• Zouden ouderen/minder goed zienden dit ook kunnen?
• Waren er aangepaste functies zoals zwart-wit, tekst-to-speech, etc.
• Hoeveel op voorhand moet je om assistentie vragen? Kan je overal spontaan naartoe geraken? Etc.

Availability 

There are 4 dimensions of inclusive transport:

1. Availability = presence of adequate and diverse transportation options to cater to the needs of different individuals and communities. 

•  geographical coverage (so that all citizens have access) 
• various modes of transport (busses, trams, trains, shared mobility etc.)
• diverse travel patterns (early morings, late evenings and weekends) 

Availability 

= the presence of adequate and diverse transportation options to cater to the needs of different individuals and communities. 

• Geographical coverage 
  
  
• Various modes of transport
  
  
• Diverse travel patterns

There are 4 dimensions of inclusive transport:

1. Availability = presence of adequate and diverse transportation options to cater to the needs of different individuals and communities. 

•  geographical coverage (so that all citizens have access) 
• various modes of transport (busses, trams, trains, shared mobility etc.)
• diverse travel patterns (early morings, late evenings and weekends) 

Accessibility 

2. Accessibility = access in transportation systems that can easily used by all individuals (incl. people with physical, sensory or cognitive impairments) 

Infrastructure and vehicles accessible for wheelchairs, visually impaired individuals (ramps, lifts, low floor access, clear signage for illiteracy and visitors) 

Accessibble information (real-time travel updates and route planning tools) 

ex. on-site ticketing machines, signage and information, vocal announcements, visual aids. (not only digitial!) 

Accessibility 

= access in transportation systems that can easily used by all individuals (incl. people with physical, sensory or cognitive impairments) 

• Infrastructure and vehicles
  
  
• Accessibble information

2. Accessibility = access in transportation systems that can easily used by all individuals (incl. people with physical, sensory or cognitive impairments) 

Infrastructure and vehicles accessible for wheelchairs, visually impaired individuals (ramps, lifts, low floor access, clear signage for illiteracy and visitors) 

Accessibble information (real-time travel updates and route planning tools) 

ex. on-site ticketing machines, signage and information, vocal announcements, visual aids. (not only digitial!) 

Affordability 

3. Affordability = financially accessible to all socio-economic groups. Transport fares and fees are reasonable and affordable for individuals with varying income levels. 

Affordability 

= financially accessible to all socio-economic groups. Transport fares and fees are reasonable and affordable for individuals with varying income levels. 

3. Affordability = financially accessible to all socio-economic groups. Transport fares and fees are reasonable and affordable for individuals with varying income levels. 

Acceptability 

4. Acceptability = create a transport environment that is safe, secure, comfortable and respectful for all users. It adresses social and cultural factors that influence individuals' preferances and perceptions of different transport modes. Taking into account cultural norms or preferences when designing transport facilities 

Acceptability 

= create a transport environment that is safe, secure, comfortable and respectful for all users. It adresses social and cultural factors that influence individuals' preferances and perceptions of different transport modes. Taking into account cultural norms or preferences when designing transport facilities. 

4. Acceptability = create a transport environment that is safe, secure, comfortable and respectful for all users. It adresses social and cultural factors that influence individuals' preferances and perceptions of different transport modes. Taking into account cultural norms or preferences when designing transport facilities 

Innovative examples 

1. Free public transport (Luxembourg)

2. Lecco Declaration (Italy)

3. Visual impaired (Singapore) 

Transport poverty --> free public transport? 

First land in the world that has free public transport, since 2020.  In order to reach the paris agreement. Free public transportation means less spending for low-income people. The revenue loss from ticket sales (about €41 million) is absorbed by taxes.

But does it have the benefits they hoped for?

Lecco= an initiative of three international networks that work together in the TRIPS Project (TRansport Innovation for Persons with disabilities needs Satisfaction) consortium for the sake of making public transport in Europe and worldwide accessible and inclusive. 

The ‘Lecco declaration’ is a crucial framework aligning key principles that organisations can build on to improve their own implementation of accessibility and support the realisation of accessible public transport.

This declaration was signed alongside Georgios Kouroupetroglou, President of AAATE (Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology), and Laura Alčiauskaitė, Project Coordinator at ENIL (the European Network of Independent Living). Each of the organisations are partners in the EU-funded project, TRIPS, and have been actively working on co-creation with users with disabilities and public transport providers to develop new design concepts to remove barriers and make public transport more accessible.

Other examples: 

• Denmark Flexhandicap = available service for disabled people all year round, 24/7. Annual fee of €40 and all equipped with a stair climber.
• Sweden = They tested the design before the series production started in order to evaluate a number of important factors and provide the best customer experience.
• Lisbon = unlimited access for a monthly fee of €40 --> reduction in pass types and easier fare management
• Vienna = low-floor vehicles, navigation system for blind people, tactile orientation, translation of all operational and disruption information into sign language via an app + app can in black and white mode and has text-to-speech

Design your own bus/tram/train/metro stop

Design your own bus/tram/train/metro stop that is fully accessible and inclusive. 

Testing it ourselfs! 

How was the experience? You can upload your photos here!