Brussels, 2 December 2021: The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is a wonderful opportunity for the international community to check on progress on past commitments in advancing accessibility, course correct if necessary and start through with new energy for the next 12 months.
For the TRIPS project, this year’s IDPD marks the end of year two and the beginning of the end-spurt in living up to our aim of making public transport more accessible for persons with disabilities, elderly voyagers and really everyone. So far, we have tested a co-design approach to overcoming barriers in urban public transport, tapped into the hands-on experience of travelers with disabilities to develop new design concepts and based on the feedback of over 500 survey participants developed first policy recommendations for making public transport more accessible – in the short, middle and long term.
Thanks to our consortium member UITP, the International Association of Public Transport, we will be able to present first findings such as the White Paper on requirements for future mobility systems to human resources and product development directors of public transport operators from around the world in their upcoming committee meetings on 14-15 December in Paris. We will also use the opportunity to get feedback on new ideas such as the proposal for the creation of a European Observatory for Barrier-Free Public Transport.
“This will be a wonderful opportunity to present the mid-term results of our project to transport operators and start working with them towards a signing-off of a Memorandum of Understanding around a list of common innovation priorities and policy recommendations that can lift barriers and accelerate change,” says Tally Hatzakis from Trilateral Research and project lead.
“In a UITP-TRIPS joint session on Barrier-Free Public Transport, we will hear from public transport operators such as Wiener Linien (Vienna, Austria), who already employ co-design techniques in their network planning, and have opportunity to discuss practical issues and concerns that might arise when theory hits implementation”, says Steven Barbosa, UITP.
The TRIPS project representatives are very much looking forward to discussing with the creation of a Diversity & Inclusion Sub-Working Group on Accessibility within UITP, with the ultimate goal to support TRISP in developing down-to-earth and implementable Policy Recommendations and Industry Roadmap.
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About the TRIPS project:
TRIPS stands for “TRansport Innovation for disabled People needs Satisfaction”. The project aims at making public transport more accessible for persons with disabilities, elderly voyagers and really everyone. The consortium brings together pan- European networks of users (ENIL), transport organisations (UITP), assistive technology experts (AAATE) and municipalities to engage in open innovation on mobility. They are supported by design methodology experts (TUE), systems integration experts (TB) and privacy experts (TRI). Building on this expertise, TRIPS will deliver and deploy a Co-design- for-All methodology in 7 pilot cities – Lisbon, Zagreb, Bologna, Cagliari, Brussels, Sofia, Stockholm. More information: https://trips-project.eu/
Link to the White Paper: https://trips-project.eu/deliverables/
About UITP:
UITP (Union Internationale des Transports Publics) is the International Association of Public Transport and a passionate champion of sustainable urban mobility. Established in 1885, with more than 135 years of history, it is the only worldwide network to bring together all public transport stakeholders and all sustainable transport modes. Across the globe and every day, people rely on public transport to bring them to school, to work, to sports clubs and cafés. In using public transport millions travel more sustainably, safer and actively while bringing economic benefit to their community. UITP supports the entire sector to ultimately guarantee that public transport and its workers continue to bring cities to life. More information:
About the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD):
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) is annually observed on 3 December to promote the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities and to take action for the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society and development. More information: https://www.un.org/en/observances/day-of-persons-with-disabilities
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