Accessibility Master Plan -Guidelines for accessible interchanges to all users
Country-specific guidelines for making interchanges accessible for all passengers are a good tool for improving accessibility at interchanges in all different stages.
These guidelines are based on the legislative standards that are set at a European level (e.g. TSI-PRM) and national level, and sometimes partly on voluntary standards. These guidelines often provide a hands-on guide with a step-by-step approach for designing, operating and maintaining an accessible interchange with technical information, tips and tricks and reference documents.
The main difference with the PRM-TSI tool in this toolbox is that these guidelines are aimed at supporting the interchange manager in the whole process (design, implementation, maintenance and approach) rather than focusing on the engineering specifications.
Guidelines for making interchanges accessible provide guidance for interchange designers and managers with regard to accessibility. These guidelines not only list applicable standards, but also aim at providing support when looking at accessibility. In addition to standards, these guides often provide best practices, frequently asked questions, references to responsible authorities, references to relevant documents and applicable legislation.
Guidelines are often based on national regulation or structures and cannot always be completely transposed to another Member state, although the guiding principle is EU legislation on accessibility. Not all countries have specific guidelines for making interchanges accessible, but do have guidelines for making public spaces accessible for all.
A specific chapter on transport interchanges is included more often than not. Guidelines are a guidance and reference document for accessibility and can be used in all different stages of interchange design and management. Most effective for the day-to-day management of the interchange is their use from an early stage in the planning process.
| NODES strategic objective | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Enhance accessibility and integration | ++ |
| Enhance intermodality | ++ |
| Enhance liveability | ++ |
| Increase safety and security conditions | ++ |
| Increase economic viability and costs efficiency | ++ |
| Stimulate local economy | ++ |
| Increase environmental efficiency | 0 |
| Increase energy efficiency | 0 |
Good practice
Examples of national guidelines:
Spanish Accessibility guidelines
UK Accessibility guidelines
Belgian Accessibility guidelines
French Accessibility guidelines
Italian Accessibility guidelines
Estonian Accessibility guidelines
Austrian Accessibility guidelines
Bulgarian Accessibility guidelines
German Accessibility guidelines
Luxemburg Accessibility guidelines
Polish Accessibility guidelines
Slovenian Accessibility guidelines
Swedish Accessibility guidelines
Portuguese Accessibility Guidelines
Application in NODES sites:
This tool has been evaluated by the NODES site in Thessaloniki.
The NODES site in Thessaloniki has tested an accessibility master plan in the framework of the NODES project.
The demonstration results show that the implementation of Accessibility guidelines is an essential tool.
Indeed, the burden in terms of time and funds consumed for a design that meets the guidelines is negligible compared with the advantages and benefits that derive from the implementation of the guideline in terms of internal and external coordination of accessibility issues taken into consideration before and during the creation or the refurbishment of an interchange.
Potential interchange performance improvement
Using and implementing accessibility guidelines in the interchange will improve the accessibility of the interchange. The level of commitment with regard to non-mandatory standards will define the level and especially easy of accessibility for PRMs. The level of improvement will depend largely on the initial state of the interchange and any structural obstacles.
Resources
– Cost indication for use of tool
Using the guidelines has no cost except for the time effort.
– Other resources needed for use of the tool
No other resources are needed for using of the tool
– Indication of larger costs tool use can engender
Using and implementing guidelines can engender considerable lager costs depending on the initial stage of the interchange or plans. No realistic estimate of costs can be given and costs should be calculated on a case-by-case basis.
– Distribution of costs between stakeholders
The distribution of costs between the different stakeholders depends on the different responsibilities of the stakeholders, e.g. mode-specific platforms and making them accessible can be the legal responsibility of one stakeholder (operator or infrastructure manager). General accessibility of an interchange will, in most cases, be an equally shared responsibility of the different stakeholders participating in the interchange.
References
Spanish Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Tsjech Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Irish Accessibility guidelines [Link]
UK Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Belgian Accessibility guidelines [Link]
French Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Italian Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Estonian Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Austrian Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Bulgarian Accessibility guidelines [Link]
German Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Luxemburg Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Polish Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Slovenian Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Swedish Accessibility guidelines [Link]
Portuguese Accessibility Guidelines [Link]
UNDP Accessibility guidelines [Link]