no one shall be discriminated against because of his disability, it says in the basic law. Sounds good, but the everyday life in the railway traffic proves the opposite.
hurdles to overcome: Who wants to ride a rail, as here in a skating hall time strong photo: Reuters
you Know the already? BER! And then all the limp laugh. Because the best country in the art of engineering can’t get it right for the past seven years, the capital airport, ready to go. It can’t get worse? But! For instance, when edges comes to the simple height of the platform.
The set was by railway construction and operation order to 76 centimeters. And in the year 1904. Result of today, exactly 115 years later: times, times so. Here, only 55, there is a whopping 96 inches. That doesn’t sound like a trifle, but it is not. Because it is one of the reasons why people in a wheelchair is not easy in the at the platforms holding trains to get in.
Theoretically, it is conceivable that the trains will be built with variable step heights. However, in reality the cars are not even accessible, in the standard stations. Although you have to hold the rail to the benefit of that you Wheelchair hoist with a lift truck in their trains. But first of all, only after a long advance. Secondly, the customers must always bear in mind, however, to stay outside, because the staff is missing. And thirdly, you must then work with all of the lifts.
in other words: rail customers are not transported, but actively hindered. It is to Despair. And it gets worse. Because in terms of public Transport, since the railway is not alone. Yes, there are buses with fold-out ramps. Sometimes, even with drivers that support it without a murmur. Yes, it is low-floor street cars. Sometimes they grow even on the track, which could be described as accessible, if you look at the fact that a few inches of height difference for a lot of Wheelchair users are not an obstacle. In short It is Murx.
Elsewhere it works better: In Bordeaux, for example, all the trams anywhere with wheelchair access. Or in Madrid, Where you can roll in 5 percent of all taxis wheelchair in. This is not only the art of engineering there, but on a clear political targets.
no one shall be discriminated against because of his disability. It is since 1994 in the basic law. The amendment was just 25 years old. That would have taken since then, someone serious, there would be significantly less barriers. But the fact is, trains, buses, taxis are still not creates, all of which are wheelchair accessible. The worst part is: Since they are so durable, they are the people behind vehicles to 50. Anniversary of the basic law, amendment to the Land roles. The airport in Berlin will not be a joke anymore, but an old building.
