Rapid Transit Not Very Accessible, Riders with Disabilities Find
Posted by Matt Hagg on Thu, Jan 26, 2012 @ 11:00 AM
In Montreal, a human rights complaint was recently filed over the inaccessibility of the city's Metro subway system. Most of Montreal’s Metro stations are in deep tunnels underground, and so far only 7 of the 68 Metro stations are accessible to people with mobility devices. The lack of accessible Metro stations forces users to take adapted transit (which is not generally an option for visitors to the city), or wait for alternative surface routes which generally run far less frequently. In addition, maintenance and other issues often mean that riders with disabilities are left behind when attempting to ride surface routes: two thirds of buses surveyed in Montreal in September could not take on riders with disabilities due to issues such as inoperable ramps.
Accessibility issues are not unique to Montreal’s Metro, although accessibility improvements are generally progressing at a faster rate elsewhere. In Toronto, for example, 30 of the TTC’s 69 subway stations in Toronto are now fully accessible, and more stations are being retrofitted with elevators every year in order to meet the TTC's goal of making every station accessible by 2025. However, TTC riders are still struggling with the new “Toronto Rocket” trains on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line that are not always level with the platform, which can create an insurmountable barrier for users with mobility devices, forcing these riders to wait until an older train comes along.
In a survey of subway systems around the world, Montreal’s metro ranked last in terms of accessibility. In comparison, London, which has one of the oldest subway systems in the world, provides step-free access to the platform at 63 of the Underground's 270 stations, with 100 stations slated to be fully accessible by 2020, while 89 of New York’s 468 MTA stations are accessible.
Despite the various accessibility issues faced by public transit riders, there are also plenty of examples of good public transit accessibility practices. In the Greater Toronto Area, both Toronto and Mississauga have recently retired their last non-accessible buses, while Toronto has also ordered new accessible streetcars and light-rail vehicles for delivery over the next few years. In Vancouver, the entire transit system, including the SkyTrain, is fully accessible. Another success story is the metro in Washington D.C., which is 100% accessible. In addition, when elevators are out-of-service for repairs in Washington, shuttle buses are deployed to ensure that riders with disabilities can easily get to the next closest metro station and board a train towards their destination.