COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
COM(93) 433 final 
Brussels, 26 November 1993 
Wm 
. • .if'lfcJM 
i» '.Jf-:!**?. REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
concerning the actions to be taken in the Community 
regarding the accessibility of transport to 
persons with reduced mobility 
y*** 
— <*\y 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL 
concerning the actions to be taken regarding the accessibility 
of transport to persons with reduced mobility 
1. INTRODUCTION 
1.1. In a resolution adopted on 16 December 19911, the Council and 
the representatives of the Member States meeting within the 
Council requested the Commission to submit a Community action 
programme - including proposals for concrete measures designed to 
improve accessibility to all modes of public transport and to the 
access points thereto for persons with reduced mobility. This 
action programme is among the priorities outlined in the White 
Paper on the future development of the Common Transport Policy2. 
However, several other priorities set out in the White Paper are 
concerned to some extent with the development of accessible 
transport. These are listed in the Annex to this Report. 
1.2. The Commission, in cooperation with experts from the Member 
States (including disabled people) and from international 
transport organizations, has drafted the action programme set out 
below, divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term 
measures to improve accessibility. Some of these measures 
envisage directives, others envisage guidelines or codes of 
practice, others refer to research. Some aspects of transport, 
as well as maintenance of streets, bus-stops, etc., are the 
responsibility of local authorities. Other aspects are the 
responsibIity of regional or national authorities. The 
Commission has therefore taken the principle of subsidiarity into 
account when drawing up this action programme and the expected 
level of responsibility is shown in part 5 below. 
1.3. "Improved accessibility" is not automatically assumed to refer to 
wheelchair accessibility. However, the Commission considers that 
as a long-term objective all transport modes should in principle 
be accessible for wheelchair users. It has also noted that where 
new forms of transport such as low-floor buses and light rapid 
transit provide wheelchair accessibility, all travellers benefit 
and passenger numbers increase significantly. 
Resolution of the Council and the representatives of the 
Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council of 
16 December 1991, concerning a Community action programme on the 
accessibility of transport to persons with reduced mobility, O.J. 
C 18, 24.1.1992. 
C0M(92) 494 final of 2.12.1992, point 287; and point 4 of Annex 
III, Priorities for the Common Transport Policy - social 
Protection; Improved transport for people with reduced mobility; 
accessibility requirements. 
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1.4. The Commission is well aware that for many people with 
disabilities the private car (adapted if necessary) is their 
easiest form of transport, and it has two research projects in 
its second DRIVE programme directed towards the needs of disabled 
and elderly drivers. However, in accordance with the Transport 
Council Resolution of 16.12.1991, this action programme 
concentrates on public transport (except for references to the 
European Year of Older People and the need to have mutual 
recognition of national cards for reserved parking spaces). 
2, WHO ARE THE PERSONS "WITH REDUCED MOBILITY''? 
2.1. In the absence of a uniform definition at European level of 
disabled person, and bearing in mind that not every disabled 
person has a mobility handicap, it is impossible to quantify the 
number of people with reduced mobility in the Community. 
Moreover, many more people have reduced mobility than would 
consider themselves to be disabled. However, a survey in the FRG 
during 1981-1983 revealed that out of an estimated total of 7 465 
000 disabled people (12.1% of the population), 5 290 000 were 
"mobility-handicapped"1. 
2.2. In the European Community today some 60 to 80 million people are 
disabled or elderly and form part of the population which has 
reduced mobility. These include, for example, the following 
passengers (or potential passengers): 
- people with walking difficulties 
- people with gripping difficulties (because of arthritis, for 
example) 
- people with small children in prams or pushchairs 
- people with wheelchairs 
- people who are blind, partially sighted, deaf or with talking 
difficulties, or with other problems of communication 
- people who travel with a disabled relative or friend. 
- people with a temporary disability (because of an accident or a 
sports injury, for example) 
Eurostat - Disabled Persons : Statistical Data, 1991, Vol. I 
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2.3. Therefore, for the purposes of this report, the following 
definition has been used : 
- A person with reduced mobility is understood to mean any person 
who has special difficulty when using public transport. 
Reduced mobility does not necessarily imply any form of medical 
impa i rment. 
3. BACKGROUND - COMMISSION AND EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ACTIONS CONCERNING 
ACCESSIBLE TRANSPORT AND PREVIOUS COMMISSION PROPOSALS CONCERNING 
DI SAB ILITY 
3.1. The Commission's involvement in promoting accessible transport 
was given great publicity by the European Seminar on Mobility and 
Handicap, in January 1987, as a result of which transport 
manufacturers and authorities hastened the technological 
evolution of types of public transport which were more accessible 
to people with mobility handicaps. 
3.2. On 16 September 1987, the European Parliament adopted a 
Resolution on transport for handicapped and elderly persons -
based on Mr Ramirez Heredias' report of 2 July 1987^1^. 
3.3. For several years, the Commission has made a number of successful 
proposals (in, for example, HELIOS l(2> and HELIOS l|(3>) aimed 
at improving the life - and particularly employment and training 
possibilities - of disabled people. 
3.4. The Commission's proposal for a Council directive on minimum 
requirements to improve the mobility and the safe transport to 
work of workers with reduced mobility^4), as amended^) > aims 
at ensuring that workers with reduced mobility can travel safely 
and thus make it easier for them to gain access to employment. 
It states that a worker with reduced mobility shall mean any 
worker who has special difficulty in using public transport for 
his occupational activities owing to a serious handicap of a 
physical or mental origin" (art. 2.a). The purpose of this 
directive is not to adapt all means of transport to make them 
accessible for workers with reduced mobility. It has a more 
limited aim, to enable such persons to travel safely by means of 
(1) O.J. C 281, 19.10.1987. 
(2) O.J. L 104, 23.4.1988 
(3) O.J. L 56, 9.3.1993 
(4) COM(90) 588 final. 28.2.1991 
(5) C0M(91) 539 final, 19.12.1991 
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public transport, special transport services for disabled people, 
or transport provided by employers or by other equivalent 
measures (such as subsidies for taxi fares, adaptations to 
private cars, etc.). Since this proposal contains a specific 
article regarding the elimination of any additional costs 
incurred by someone with reduced mobility assisted by an 
accompanying person, this important aspect of harmonization does 
not feature separately in the action programme set out in part 5. 
Nevertheless, the concept of no additional financial burden for 
those disabled people for whom an accompanying person is 
essential applies to the use of all modes of public transport. 
4- THE ADVANTAGES OF ACCESSIBLE PUBLIC TRANSPORT 
4.1. Accessible public transport will enable elderly people to 
continue to live in their own homes, instead of being forced to 
move into a residential home. This will reduce expenditure on 
social services - as well as being life-enhancing. Moreover, 
demographic trends indicate that the proportion of elderly and 
very elderly people in the population will rise substantially 
over the coming years (40% increase by the year 2020; there were 
68 576 000 over-sixties in the EC on 1.1.1991, of which 
11 936 000 were aged 80 and over*1)). 
4.2. It will enable many disabled people who currently have to rely on 
Special Transport Services (STS) to switch to using public 
transport (including taxis subsidized by local authorities). 
This, in turn, will enable STS - the operation of which is very 
expensive and cumbersome for voluntary organizations and local 
authorities - to concentrate on providing door-to-door accessible 
van/ambulance services for those people who are too frail or too 
severely disabled to attempt to use public transport. 
4.3. It will improve public transport, particularly by making it user-
friendly. This, in turn, will reduce traffic congestion, road 
accidents, and pollution in urban areas, as well as helping to 
reduce rural decline. 
4.4. It will help vulnerable people suffering from social exclusion 
because it will provide employment: by helping people (especially 
those who are too poor or disabled to own a car) to obtain, and 
keep, a Job; by increasing demand for the manufacture of new 
buses, trams, trains, electronic equipment for crossings, bus-
stops, etc.; by increasing the need for fully staffed public 
(1) Eurostat - Demographic Statistics Yearbook 
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transport services (including railway stations). It will provide 
a better status for transport staff, since the importance of 
their recruitment and training will be emphasized. 
4.5. It will help the tourism sector because many disabled people are 
dependent on able-bodied people, who, in turn, do not therefore 
use those transport and tourism facilities which are inaccessible 
to disabled people (see point 2.2. above). 
4.6. It will greatly increase the market potential for passenger 
travel and, in turn, the market for new public transport vehicles 
and infrastructure of all types. 
4.7. it will help to reduce the time public transport vehicles spend 
at stops. 
5. ACTIONS TO BE UNDERTAKEN 
For all these reasons the Commission welcomed the Council 
Resolution of 16.12.1991. The Community action envisaged below 
should cover a whole range of measures as well as providing a 
plan for public transport in general, because implementation of 
the measures contained in the action programme will result in the 
overall improvement of public transport (for example, all 
passengers will be able to board buses, trains, etc. more easily 
and quickly: operating times, and therefore costs, go down while 
passenger numbers go up; better and more urban public transport 
will reduce noise and pollution in cities) in line with the 
Community policy on transport as set out in the White Paper 
mentioned in point 1.1. above. 
Apart from the general EC Directive concerning minimum provisions 
for accessible transport for disabled workers, and accompanying 
persons, which is already under discussion in the Council, the 
Community action should comprise the initiatives set out below. 
Some of the actions proposed, such as directives and research 
projects are being initiated by the Commission and decided by the 
Council, but others depend on national, regional, or local 
author i t ies. 
However, implementation of the Community actions envisaged in 
this report will need to be accomplished in due time by the 
Member States - in some countries at national level, in others 
at regional level. In some Member States, local authorities aro 
responsible for some forms of transport and transport 
infrastructure, for example : airports, light railways, taxis, 
buses etc. Therefore, this report does not stipulate how 
measures should be implemented. Instead, the Commission has 
concentrated on what measures are needed, and how soon. 
In addition, it considers that it has itself an important rôle to 
play in encouraging pilot projects, exchanges of information, and 
funding of initiatives designed to enable people with reduced 
mobility to use public transport. 
_6~ 
5.1. Technical standards 
For reasons related to the construction of means of transport and 
their free movement within the Community, as well as to the 
proper functioning of the internal market, framework decisions on 
the type-approval and technical standards of means of transport 
are taken at Community level. However, the implementation 
thereof is the responsibility of Member States. 
Short-term 
* a. EEC Directive relating to special provisions for buses and 
coaches which will allow EEC type approval to be given to 
buses and coaches with ease of access for people with reduced 
mobility. This will include aspects relating to 
accessibi I itry to and within buses and coaches for people 
with mobility handicaps. 
* b. Type-approval EC Directive concerning cable-cars etc. This 
will include an annex referring to special needs of disabled 
passengers. 
* c. Type-approval EC Directive on the approximation of the laws 
of the Member States relating to railways. This is being 
drawn up according to the "New Approach" system for the 
Single Market and is based on the ECMT/UIC Guidelines for 
Improved Access to Trains which have been designed to achieve 
compatible r;tan<J.'ii d:j of <i<:<:miH l<> (rains t hr mifjhout Fur ope. 
The Directive will include lifting devices to trains, and 
also compatibility of tactile surfaces for platform edges. 
Some measures can be implemented rapidly and easily, but the 
Commission recognizes that complete implementation of other 
measures (raising platform-levels for example) will need 
several years. 
* = Work already in progress for this action 
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5.2. Access to. and funding for, transport infrastructure 
Rules concerning the accessibility to all modes of transport 
(airports, airport terminals, taxi ranks in air, rail, coach, bus 
and ferry terminals, passenger ferries, cruise-ships, liners and 
ports, underground railways, bus and tram stops etc.) should 
mainly be decided and implemented by Member States. However, 
some measures, in particular where the safety of the disabled 
traveller is concerned, could be better established in a 
Community framework resulting in the common application of best 
practices. In addition, the Community can make recommendations 
concerning funding possibilities - based on experience and a 
well-defined procedure of consultations with national and 
regional authorities and NGOS of disabled people - particularly 
in the case of projects which include full accessibility (for 
example, light railways). This procedure will cover: 
Short-term 
a. Funding (and cost/benefit factors) of accessible transport and 
associated infrastructure. These will also take into 
consideration the benefits resulting from reduced traffic 
congestion, road accidents, and pollution in urban areas. 
*b. All aspects of accessibility to and within airports and 
aircraft. These will be based on the recent Recommendations of 
the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and will cover 
access to airports by rail and within airports (including 
between air terminals); airport design; harmonization of 
technical specifications for accessibility. 
* - Work already in progress for this action. 
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c. Accessible taxis. This will include accessibility to taxi 
ranks in air, rail, coach, bus and ferry terminals. 
Med ium-term 
d. Accessibility to and within passenger ferries, cruise-ships, 
liners and ports, including emergency procedures for 
évacuât ion. 
e. Agreed codes of practice concerning: pavements, bus and tram 
stops, destination boards, etc. on buses and trams, 
maintenance of lifts, escalators, etc. 
f. EC Directive concerning accessibility to all modes of land-
based transport and transport infrastructure, including 
retrofitting where practicable. 
Long-term 
g. Accessibility in underground railways. 
5.3. Informat ion/signs 
In order to be effective, certain aspects of (a) the provision of 
information to travellers, for and from travel agents, and to 
Member States, and (b) signs, should best be organised at 
Community level, either by the Community itself or through close 
cooperation between Member States. This is particularly 
necessary in the case of international journeys and when 
information on a uniform basis is needed (i.e., audible signals 
for blind people). Member States' authorities are better placed 
to decide about the provision of information with a view to 
taking into consideration specific local and/or regional 
realities (i.e., bus-stops, pedestrian areas with tramways). 
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Short-term 
*a. Rules concerning accessibility to and within airports and 
aircraft (see point 5.2.b above): harmonization of information; 
international signs- passenger information before and/or during 
flight. 
*b. Guidelines on the provision of information for disabled 
travellers (for all modes of transport, both local and long 
distance) in order to maximise usage of whatever accessible 
transport is available already. 
c. Cooperation between the Member States regarding the 
harmonization of audible signals at pedestrian crossings. This 
should eliminate the present safety hazard for blind people 
caused by conflicting meanings of identical signals in 
different countries. 
*d. Handbook for disabled travellers, giving guidelines to 
information - Community wide - on accessible tourism facilities 
(including transport). 
5.4. Training 
Training courses on disability awareness and needs for transport 
operating staff and for architects, transport planners, tourist 
operators/travel agents, etc. can profit from experience gained 
at Community level, but should be planned and implemented by 
national bodies - after consultation within the EC Advisory 
Committee on Education and Training in the field of Architecture 
(for example). 
Short-term 
*a. Rules concerning accessibility to and within airports and 
aircraft (see point 5.2.b above): training of airport, airline 
and travel agency personnel. 
Medium-term 
b. Inclusion of a specific training course on disability awareness 
and needs as part of the formal qualifications required for 
architects, transport planners, tourist operators/travel 
agents, etc. (sensibilization for the problems and for the 
needs of disabled people). 
* - Work already in progess for this action 
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Code of practice for training in disability awareness of all 
transport staff who work with the public (sensibilization for 
the problems and for the needs of disabled people). 
5.5. Research and development 
The Community can help the Member States through research 
programmes (i.e., COST 322, TIDE and DRIVE, EURET II) and studies 
concerning common problems regarding (in)accessibiIity, the 
results of which can then be exploited in more detail and for 
specific purposes by Member States, transport operators, 
designers, etc, while benefiting from economies of scale. 
Short-term 
*a. COST 322 research project on low-floor buses and suitable 
stops. This recently-approved project includes the safety 
aspects of wheelchair-transport, a review of current 
experience, the design of bus (and tram) stops, safe approach 
of the bus to the stop. 
Medium-term 
*b. TIDE research on wheelchairs, including transferability into 
vehicles and in buildings. 
Long-term 
c. Implementation of future transport research concerning urban 
air/maritime/inland waterway transport accessibility, including 
emergency procedures for evacuation. 
d. Implementation of the output of the DRIVE and TIDE research 
projects concerning disabled and elderly people. 
5.6. Other actions to help disabled people 
European Year of Older People, regulations to reduce smoking in 
all areas of transport, mutual recognition of national cards for 
reserved parking places involve both the Commission and national 
autor i t ies. 
* - Work already in progress for this action 
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Short-term 
Campaign within European year of Older People and Solidarity 
between Generations (1993) for no more parking at bus-stops, 
pedestrian crossings, etc. 
Med iurn-term 
Enlarged scope of regulations banning/reducing smoking in all 
areas of transport (including as a workplace) in accordance 
with Council Resolution No. 89/C 189/01 of 18.7.1989 on banning 
smoking in places open to the public. 
Mutual recognition of national cards for reserved parking 
spaces. 
* - work already in progress for this action 
At-
ANNEX 
Priorities set out in the White Paper on the Future Development of the 
Common Transport Policy - a global approach to the construction of a 
Community framework for sustainable mobility [C0M(92) 494 final of 
2.12.1992] 
Several priorities are concerned to some extent with the development of 
accessible transport (see pt. 1.1.1. of this Report concerning the 
actions to be taken regarding the accessibility of transport to persons 
with reduced mobility). These are listed below-. 
1.a. Freedom to provide international services in the taxi sector. 
1.b. Technical harmonization of road vehicles. 
I.e. Establishment of a coherent transport related R&D approach in 
the fourth framework programme. 
1.d. Guidelines for conventional railways. 
Guidelines for a "Citizens' Network" of intermodal passenger 
serv ices. 
3. Encouragement and promotion of safe public transport and support 
for local initiatives in favour of cyclists and pedestrians to 
make a contribution to the quality of urban environment. 
— 1 *} 
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COM(93) 433 final 
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