Up to the year 2022, the public transport in Germany needs to be accessible. This is hardly to create.
Not to get wheelchair access: Elevator to the Berlin Südkreuz is broken photo: care/imago
For people who must use a wheelchair, it’s with the flyers is much easier than with the railway, for example, from Munich to Hamburg. “I would recommend to fly,” says Dominik, Peter, Chairman of the Berlin disabled Association “For self-determination and Dignity”.
unlike the German Railways, airlines and ports in Europe have built up a well-functioning infrastructure for disabled people, is Peter’s experience. “Sometimes you have to wait a bit, but all in All it runs beautifully,” says the 55-year-old in a wheelchair.
At the track, he is instructed to service personnel – is none available, come in the train in or out. The lack of staff at the railway limits the flexibility of travel for persons with a disability. Travel must be made long in advance.
to, however: people with a corresponding entry in the disability card can free take an accompanying person. In Europe, the aircraft shall not be regarded differently than, for example, in Australia. And yet a disadvantage is a lack of plane in addition to the bad eco-balance: disabled toilets.
Approximately 10 percent of the citizens in Germany are on a barrier-free public transport dependent, because they are visual or mobility impaired, or otherwise impaired. However, many transport companies are not set.
Today, people with a wheelchair from the long-distance bus transport – the cheap Alternative to train and plane, in fact, excluded. The market leader, Flixbus, after their own information, only a few barrier-free buses. The majority of the German long-Distance bus stops and highway rest disabled not be equipped to be suitable, it shall notify the company.
After all: long-distance buses have to provide beginning in 2020 at least two places for wheelchair users and a entry-level help feature. Whether this is actually implemented, is to be seen. Of the social Association VdK calls for a Central control of the Federal-wide vehicle stock and new anzuschaffe vehicles in the long-distance bus transport.
in the Future, should it be for people in a wheelchair, with a Walker or stroller is easier to take the Bus, the streets or the subway. The public transport has to be by the year 2022 fully accessible. The the 2013, the revised passenger transport act.
“the year 2022 will pass, and we will not have complete accessibility,” says Peter. In Berlin, the situation is comparatively good, he finds. Here also the associations of the Disabled were strong and were at the Senate hearing. “But nationwide, much too little is being done,” says Peter.
Still buses are not set up nationwide for the Transport of wheelchair users. Still, transport companies, vehicles are not to create are for people with wheelchair usable, and criticized Peter. “In Hamburg, S are not ordered-Bahn trains are accessible,” he says.
Nevertheless, Compared with the Deutsche Bahn, has happened in many of the municipal transport company a lot, in order to create accessibility, says Matthias Gastel, railway spokesman and member of the German Bundestag by the Greens. “The buses we are quite far, especially where the driver can always help you get started with folding ramps.”
on the railway, a lot of the track in the next few years with lifts or ramps will be increases in equipped. “The web says that today 70 percent of passengers to reach wheelchair access to the platform, but when is the last station accessible will be, is written in the stars”, writes Gastel. Especially at stations with less than 1,000 passengers a day, far too little happens.
