EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTCONFÉRENCE EUROPÉENNE DES MINISTRES DES TRANSPORTS

CHARTER ON ACCESS TO TRANSPORT SERVICES
AND INFRASTRUCTURE

This Charter was adopted by the ECMT Council of Ministers
on 19 and 20 May 1999 in Warsaw.
It underlines the political commitment in Europe to ensuringthat all new transport infrastructure should be constructed
to take into account the needs of people with disabilities.
1. The number of disabled people is growing
Disabled people make up a significant and growing part of Europe’spopulation. With the ageing population, this number will increase
substantially over the next 50 years. By 2020, there will be twice as manypeople over 65 in Europe as there were in 1960.
2. Everyone must have an opportunity for independent living
It is an unequivocal and agreed political objective to create a Europe inwhich all citizens, regardless of disability or age, have the opportunity forindependent living. To achieve this, public buildings, the transport systems
and infrastructure must be barrier-free.
3. New infrastructure must take account of the needs of people withdisabilities
There are many new transport and infrastructure projects being plannedor constructed in Europe. The lifetime of transport equipment andinfrastructure can be extremely long and projects being considered now
will remain in service well into the next millennium. It is therefore essentialthat these are built to meet the needs of disabled people. In any case,improvements in accessibility add to the system’s quality and usually
benefit all travellers.

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF MINISTERS OF TRANSPORTCONFÉRENCE EUROPÉENNE DES MINISTRES DES TRANSPORTS

4. Governments must ensure accessAll governments have a clear responsibility to ensure that these projects
are designed and constructed to the highest standards of accessibility.
5. Accessibility principles must be followed
Fundamental principles applying to any project must include:a) All projects considered for public funding (at national or international
level) must, as a condition of this funding, agree to incorporate fullaccessibility, to approved standards or recognised best practice, into thedesign and construction.
b) The design concept, from its earliest stage and throughout the design
process, must be vetted and approved by experts in accessibility,including people with disabilities. National governments will propose
and approve suitable sources of advice. Where national governments do
not have sources of advice, the EU or the ECMT will provide them.
c) The accessibility requirements must incorporate, as a minimum:- full access for wheelchair users (up to and including those using
wheelchairs of ISO standard dimensions) including, where appropriate,accessible toilet facilities and lifts;- features to aid people with difficulties in walking, gripping, reaching orbalancing (including non-slip surfaces, hand rails and handholds);- facilities to assist blind and partially sighted people (including consistentuse of colour contrast, clear signing and lighting, non-reflective surfaces,
audible as well as visual announcements and tactile and audible
guidance and warning surfaces and systems (where appropriate);- facilities for people who are deaf or hard of hearing (including visual aswell as audible announcements, induction loops and clear signs).

6. Public funding will be conditional
Projects will be monitored for compliance with accessibility principles.
Continued public funding will be made conditional on achieving
satisfactory progress with the inclusion of access features.