PRESENT STATE AND ISSUES CONCERNING BARRIER-FREE TRANSPORTATION IN JAPAN AS OF 2006
Yoshiaki IMAFUKU, Transportation Affairs Officer, DPI-Japan
THE NUMBER OF RAILROAD STATIONS EQUIPPED WITH ELEVATORS
Working toward "public transportation that is easy for anyone to get on and off," we have implemented simultaneous activities to demand barrier-free transportation once a year jointly with many various organizations for persons with disabilities and negotiated our requests with regional railroad and bus companies, local governments, and the national Government for many years.
We were deeply involved in the Traffic Barrier-Free Law (Law for Promoting Easily Accessible Public transportation Infrastructure for the Elderly and Disabled Persons) that was enacted in 2000. With this law, the accessibility of public transportation has effectively increased compared with the time before the enactment of this law.
The number of railroad stations with elevators, which we have endeavored to enhance most, has significantly increased. For example, four out of ten major subways in Japan have equipped all their stations with elevators (*1).
(*1) These four are the subways of Sendai City, Kyoto City, Kobe City, and Fukuoka City. The rest are the subways of Yokohama City, Sapporo City, Nagoya City, Tokyo Metropolitan, Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd., and Osaka City. They intend to secure at least one route which is thoroughly barrier-free from outside station to a platform ('one barrier-free route', hereunder) in all the stations by the year 2010 (*2).
(*2) Yokohama City, Sapporo City, and Osaka City are most likely to secure 'one barrier-free route' by installing elevators. According to information sources, however, Nagoya City, Tokyo Metropolitan, and Tokyo Metro Co., Ltd. include wheelchair-accessible escalators and other lifts such as stair-lifts (called Escal) etc. as the measures to guarantee 'one barrier-free route.'
492 out of a total of 600 subway stations have elevators (82%).
As for all the railroad stations in Japan including subways, 1,762 out of a total of 9,566 stations have elevators, (18%).
Wheelchair-accessible toilets are installed at 2,388 out of a total of 9,566 stations (25%). As to subway stations alone, 508 out of a total of 600 (85%) stations have toilets for wheelchair users.
MAKING THE LEVEL DIFFERENCE AND THE GAP BETWEEN PLATFORMS AND TRAINS BARRIER FREE
The wheelchair users, the elderly and those with baby carriages have difficulties when transferring. The level difference and the gap between a platform and a train is a big barrier when they are transferring from a station building to a train. Especially, with such barriers, wheelchair users require the help of station attendants in getting on and off a train, which is a big factor in preventing them from moving independently. Barrier-Free Standard (Smooth Moving Standard) of the aforementioned law is set to clear the level difference and the gap between a platform and a train. Due to the effect of this standard, some railroad lines have accomplished removing this barrier as seen in Nanakuma Line of Fukuoka Municipal Subway, opened on February 3, 2005, which we can be proud of to the world. In this aspect, currently, we do not have goal indicators including numerical targets to indicate removal of barriers. In this regard, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, in annual meetings with us, avoids disclosing their numerical targets, including the setting of objectives regarding this issue.
According to the verbal response received from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the first time last year, as an effective measure to provisionally clear the level difference and the gap between a platform and a train, portable ramps are used at over 6,000 out of 9,566 stations in Japan.
PLATFORM GATES (THE BEST MEASURE TO PREVENT PERSONS WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS FROM FALLING OFF PLATFORMS)
The most effective facilities to prevent persons with visual impairments from falling off platforms are the platform door and the platform gate. New transport systems, monorails, and subways are more inclined to install such facilities.
There is a tendency that these facilities are installed at newly established lines among regular railroad lines. Currently, 304 stations of 26 lines in Japan have introduced them, which cover only 3% of all the railroad stations.
It is desirable that many platform gates be installed as soon as possible so that there will be no more accident where persons with visual impairments die from falling off platforms.
