For Official Use

CEMT/CM(2001)15/FINAL/CORR1

Conférence Européenne des Ministres des Transports
European Conference of Ministers of Transport

26-Jul-2001___________________________________________________________________________________________English - Or. English

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTCOUNCIL OF MINISTERS

CEMT/CM(2001)15/FINAL/CORR1For Official Use

Council of Ministers

CONSOLIDATED RESOLUTION No 2001/3 ON ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTThis Corrigendum concerns the paragraph "Taxis", page 6, alinea 5.
This Resolution was adopted by the Council of Ministers’ meeting in Lisbon on 29-30 May 2001.

English - Or. English

JT00111198

Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d’origine
Complete document available on OLIS in its original format

CEMT/CM(2001)15/FINAL/CORR1CONSOLIDATED RESOLUTION No 2001/3 ON ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORTThe ECMT Council of Ministers, meeting in Lisbon on 29th-30th May 2001,
CONSIDERING that the integration of older and disabled people in the occupational and social life of thecommunity very closely depends on whether they are able to move about freely and easily forjourneys to and from work or for any other purpose.
NOTING THAT:−

demographic changes will result in a significant increase in the number of older people in
ECMT Member and Associate countries in the coming years;−

there is a growing demand for travel among older and disabled people and others whose
mobility is impaired;−significant progress has been made to render some modes of transport more accessible toeveryone;−despite this progress much remains to be done.

AGREES THAT in order to give a new impetus to improving the situation across all Countries it isuseful to consolidate previous Ministerial Resolutions and other relevant work in a single
document (see Annex).
RECOGNISING THAT:−accessibility contributes significantly to the welfare and comfort of the entire population andconstitutes an important element in the promotion of public transport and in theimplementation of sustainable development;−difficulties in mobility may be due to a permanent disability (sensory, physical or cognitive)
or to a temporary condition or disability (pregnancy, accident) or to external circumstances(accompanying young children, carrying luggage, etc) or age; this resolution concerns allthese categories but for simplicity, the term “older and disabled people is used” in the text;−

well designed accessibility of buildings, the environment, roads and transport, whether public
or private, enables people with mobility difficulties to move freely and independently;−

more accessible transport increases educational, employment and recreational opportunities
and can reduce social services and welfare costs to governments and communities;−

accessibility is not only a social issue but also a very important commercial issue, and thepopulation in question, which is significantly larger than the number of disabled people,
represents considerable commercial potential.

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EMPHASISES the following principles:−

all policy initiatives or developments in transport and land use planning should include anevaluation of their potential impact on safety and accessibility of older and disabled people;−

all links in the transport chain need to be improved so that an accessible environment iscreated door-to-door and increased efforts must be made to connect the different means oftransport and thereby create an integrated, safe and accessible transport system;−in particular, all new investments in transport must take account of and plan for the needs ofolder and disabled people in accordance with the Charter adopted by Ministers in Warsaw in1999;−

close co-operation between governments, public authorities, manufacturers, operators andthe people concerned is essential.

MAKES THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS:
Governments should:
GenerallyObjectives−

define clear, concrete and measurable objectives to improve safety and accessibility of older
and disabled people, with a programme of specific actions;

Training− work with transport authorities and companies, tour operators, travel agents and others toensure that staff who are in contact with the public are aware of and sensitive to the problems
encountered by older and disabled people when using transport;− ensure that the designers and decision-makers in all relevant transport fields are trained in theprinciples and requirements of accessibility;
Information and Communication− use their influence to improve systems of information provision for older and disabled people
and ensure that all those concerned by the issue are consulted;− endeavour to ensure that transport authorities and companies, tour operators and travel agentsinclude, as an integral part of their services, information for older and disabled people on thefacilities available to them, including the different links in the mobility chain;− continue to make efforts to improve the clarity of signing and signalling systems and toharmonise at international level, particularly where safety is an issue;− work towards introducing dynamic, audible and visual announcements capable of providing
information in real time;3

CEMT/CM(2001)15/FINAL/CORR1
Research−endeavour to strengthen their research and development activities in relation to the accessibility
and safety issues for an ageing population;

Transport planning−work to improve co-ordination between the competent authorities at national, regional andlocal level in order to assure a coherent approach to the accessibility and safety of transport
infrastructure and pedestrian facilities;−

together with governments and international organisations a set of guidelines on good practice
should be developed including on the function and design of the road system, as well as
lighting, intersections and pedestrian facilities;

Personal vehicles:
Parking facilities−

enable people with severely reduced mobility who have difficulty in moving about and using
public transport to park their vehicles where parking is otherwise restricted;−

where necessary, provide reserved parking spaces for such people by means of appropriate
road signs. These spaces should be designed in accordance with recognised design criteria;−

provide those eligible for such facilities with a parking badge in accordance with (for EUmember states) or similar to (for non-EU member states) that of the model defined by the EU;
as a minimum the badge should contain the international symbol for disabled people and thename of the badge holder;−

give the same parking facilities to holders of this document coming from another Member or
Associated member country as they do to their own nationals;−

take the necessary steps to ensure that police and other parking enforcement authorities arefully informed about the nature of this arrangement;

Legal Requirements for Seat Belt Wearing−

mutually recognise exemptions from wearing seat belts for disabled nationals from othercountries;

Design of vehicles−facilitate and encourage the design of vehicles for all which take into account the needs of anageing population;−

work together with other governments, ECMT and industry to draw up a set of designguidelines for vehicles;

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Driving licences−

study and draw up guidelines on the conditions for issuing and retaining driving licences forolder and disabled drivers;

Air Travel− improve access to air travel by•implementing the ECAC guidelines on aviation and airport access; and•focusing more attention on improving transport links to airports;

Rail, Light Rail and Tram Systems−

make renewed efforts to stimulate improved accessibility to railways as well as light rail andtramway systems by:•implementing the COST 335 guidelines for heavy rail in both domestic and cross-borderservices;•

ensuring that all new tram and light rail systems build in full accessibility from the outset;

Public TransportBuses−

continue to facilitate and stimulate the positive trend towards the introduction of fully
accessible buses by:•implementing the recommendations of the COST 322 report on low-floor buses;•assisting the competent authorities to provide the conditions whereby buses can get close tostops and the resources to implement and enforce this;•continuing to work with people with disabilities and industry to implement appropriate
solutions to the requirements both of wheelchair users and other older and disabled;

Coaches−urge manufacturers and operators to develop, provide and use vehicles capable of meeting theneeds of older and disabled people;−

ensure that coach classification systems include a set of criteria for levels of accessibility
provided;More Flexible Public Transport Services−promote the development of new types of intermediate services between public transport andspecialised services such as demand responsive public transport services which can be used bythe general public but are especially planned to meet the needs of older and disabled people;

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Specialised Transport Services−

assist in providing specialised door-to-door transport services for those most severely disabledpeople who experience particular difficulties and who cannot use public transport;−

implement the recommendations agreed by the Joint IRU-ECMT Task Force for taxi services,and in particular:Taxis•

encourage regional and local authorities to secure the provision of accessible services intheir areas;•at national, regional and local levels as appropriate investigate the need for direct andindirect subsidies to enable people with mobility handicaps to make use of taxis where
there is no accessible alternative;•at national, regional and local level consider the possibility of incentives (financial and/orlegislative) to encourage the purchase and operation of accessible vehicles;•in cooperation with other Governments and international bodies and in consultation withindustry and with older and disabled people, draw up design parameters for accessible
taxis (based on ISO standards for wheelchair dimensions).

REQUESTS:
Member countries to:−disseminate this Resolution widely in their countries;−

implement this Resolution and the related documents to which it refers;−

report regularly on progress towards implementation and on general improvements inaccessibility;

Associate countries to:−

subscribe, as far as possible, to the principles and recommendations contained in thisResolution;−

discuss implementation and other policy issues with ECMT Member countries;

The Committee of Deputies to:−continue to work closely with governments, industry, older and disabled people to review
progress on implementing these recommendations;−

update regularly the Guide to Good Practice and other reports;−take new initiatives, wherever needed, to improve safe and accessible mobility for older anddisabled people.

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ANNEX

Previous ECMT Resolutions superseded by present consolidated text *97/4

Reciprocal Recognition of Parking Badges for Persons with Mobility Handicaps.

97/3

Comprehensive Resolution on Transport for People with Mobility Handicaps.

94/2Access to Taxis for People with Reduced Mobility.

91/8

Information and Communication.

90/4

Access to Buses, Trains and Coaches for People with Mobility Handicaps.

89/68

Access for Pedestrians.

87/63

Transport for Disabled People.

85/54

Transport for Disabled People.

81/45

Transport for Handicapped Persons Obliged to Use Wheelchairs.

78/38

Transport for Handicapped Persons.

Other documentation

Charter on Access to Transport Services and Infrastructure, adopted by ECMT Council in 1999.
“Improving Transport for People with Mobility Handicaps: A Guide to Good Practice
ECMT, Paris, 1999.
Cost 322: Low Floor Buses. The Low Floor Bus System, EC DG VII, Brussels 1995.
Cost 335: Passenger’s accessibility of Heavy Rail Systems, EC DGVII, Brussels, 1997.
(Forthcoming) ECAC Charter on Passenger Rights.
“Facilitation” ECAC.CEAC Doc 30, Part 1, Seventh Edition, 1998
(ECAC Policy statement in the field of aviation facilitation).
Joint ECMT-IRU Study on Economic Aspects of Taxi Accessibility.

*.

Resolutions available at http://www.oecd.org/cem/resol/disabled/index.htm

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