PRESENT STATE AND ISSUES CONCERNING BARRIER-FREE TRANSPORTATION IN JAPAN AS OF 2006
Yoshiaki IMAFUKU, Transportation Affairs Officer, DPI-Japan
TASKS AND OUTLOOK
Thus, measures towards accessibility in public transportation in Japan are becoming increasingly diversified. However, the problem of regional disparity is becoming serious.
In urban areas, barrier removal in railroads and buses is progressing. On the other hand, in local areas, a state of no public transportation is occurring due to the abolition or decrease of railroad and bus lines.
Furthermore, there are serious cases of refusal to give services to persons with disabilities in cars, planes, boats, facilities, and accommodations, due to the lack of understanding, prejudice and discrimination towards them.
Also, wheelchair users meet accidents often when using equipments for traffic accessibility. For example, there are accidents such as falls and turnovers from a wheelchair-accessible escalator or from 'Chair Mate' (a caterpillar type of lift for going up and down a staircase). Falls from platforms at railroad stations among persons with visual impairments and wheelchair users are still occurring.
We also have an issue wherein persons with disabilities using an electric wheelchair with a steering wheel are refused to enter into facilities and vehicles which accessibility should be guaranteed. This is not logical. The rights of mobility of persons with disabilities and the elderly to get around using public transport seems violated by the arbitrary policies of railroad companies.
Furthermore, it was revealed that Toyoko Inn Co.,Ltd., a major business hotel chain, illegally renovated its facilities and violated both the 'Heart Building Law (Law for Building Accessible to and Usable by the Elderly and Physically Disabled Persons)' and the ordinance to build a comfortable living environments for persons with disabilities. This has made persons with disabilities and the elderly aware of being consumers as hotel guests.
We have been working so that those who have difficulties in transferring such as persons with disabilities and the elderly will become more aware of their rights as passengers, thereby truly ensuring their free, safe, and smooth participation in society.
Moreover, aiming for information accessibility, railroad, bus, airline, and shipping companies has made information on accessible facilities open and public through homepages and at stations. This has been promoted increasingly after the establishment of the Traffic Barrier-Free Law. However, access to the information we need is not sufficient enough yet. It is necessary that we demand more accessibility to information which we need.
We also need to actively cooperate in deciding the basic concepts under the New Traffic Barrier-Free Law and also participate from the planning stage in creating accessible transportation carried out by various companies. Once a traffic barrier-free project is accomplished, it will be used for tens of years. Therefore our participation carries heavy responsibility. Under the concept of universal design, it is necessary to strive for accessibility through 'spiral-up*' development so that anyone can move and use facilities safely and smoothly.
*spiral-up : It is a staged and continuous process in which users participate actively from the preliminary study stage to the post-project evaluation stage and share knowledge obtained through their participation process to apply it to other projects.
