By David Haralambides
The right of disabled and deaf people to travel is one of the most important rights that they have collectively campaigned for many years and managed to achieve considerable improvements not only for them, but for other groups of people such as old people and parents with children.
Article 20, entitled “Personal mobility” of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, states that:
States Parties shall take effective measures to ensure personal mobility with the greatest possible independence for persons with disabilities, including by:
(a) Facilitating the personal mobility of persons with disabilities in the manner and at the time of their choice, and at affordable cost;
(b) Facilitating access by persons with disabilities to quality mobility aids, devices, assistive technologies and forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including by making them available at affordable cost;
(c) Providing training in mobility skills to persons with disabilities and to specialist staff working with persons with disabilities;
(d) Encouraging entities that produce mobility aids, devices and assistive technologies to take into account all aspects of mobility for persons with disabilities.
Technological advancements in the last ten years have achieved great results in helping disabled people use all modes of transport giving them the opportunity to socialize and work like everyone else. However, we should not forget the fact that these technologies are still expensive for the majority of countries and at the moment only disabled and deaf people in the West and recently in the East, enjoy the technological breakthroughs for the time being.
The UK has historically been one of the leading countries which have developed a comprehensive public accessible transport system and below I am going to sum up the most important developments in London. However, let us take a look at the broader picture first. According to “Action on Equality: TfL’s commitments to 2020”, publication, “London’s population is becoming increasingly diverse, with the proportion of BAME Londoners likely to rise to just over 47 per cent in 2040. As the city’s population becomes more diverse the transport system will need to serve a widening variety of needs. London also has a relatively youthful population, but as the city continues to grow we expect to see people living longer and, therefore, a rise in the number of older people. By 2020 almost 12 per cent of Londoners will be aged 65 or over. And, as the likelihood of becoming disabled increases with age, there are also likely to be more disabled and mobility impaired Londoners in the future. A growing population is also likely to lead to more families with small children, who will require accessible travel. All of these factors will increase future demand for accessible travel.”[1]
TfL (Transport for London) is the integrated transport authority responsible for delivering Mayor of London Shadiq Khan’s strategy and commitments on transport has the overall responsibility of the day-to-day operation of the capital’s public transport network as well as managing London’s main roads.
So, these are the main accessible features at the main transport modes in London: Every London bus route is wheelchair accessible, with automatic ramps and designated wheelchair spaces. The bus drivers are trained to park their vehicles as near to the curbside of the pavements as possible and to operate the ramps effectively. Each bus has a special place for the wheelchair user.