Improved Management of Accessibility
If passengers require an elevator due to mobility limitations (crutches, walker, baby carriage), this information should be displayed in the trip planner. MENTZ Asset Management helps transport authorities manage stop information for improved barrier-free accessibility. Now there is even a separate app for that.
“In order to provide as many people as possible with barrier-free access to public transport (PT), the government in Germany created the “Passenger Transportation Law” (NTL). The aim of this law is to ensure as much accessibility in public transport as possible by 1 January 2022,” explained Günther Gruber, project manager at MENTZ.
What does “barrier-free accessibility” mean exactly?
According to German law, “barrier free accessibility” is […] “the findability, accessibility and usability of common areas designated for public use by all people”. With the NTL, transport authorities are given the task of removing as many of these barriers as possible and making universal access to public transport as easy as possible.
In order to use public transport, wheelchair users must first know where to find suitable access to a bus or train (“findability”). Not all stops are fully wheelchair-accessible. Some platforms are only accessible by stair and sometimes the vehicles on said platforms cannot always be boarded at the same level. In the long term, the primary task of the stop owners is to make as many stops as possible barrier-free and accessible. German law also recognizes that this ideal is not immediately feasible everywhere and mentions an alternative: any remaining barriers for riders of public transport must be clearly marked and “alternative solutions (alternative routes and/or trips)” must be indicated. “In short, if all stops cannot be made wheelchair-accessible, at least all accessibility information for public transport should be made available,” said Gruber.
In order to consider accessibility criteria in routing, all necessary stop data and information needs to be collected. A number of stop areas and stop platforms may have different accessibilities. Also, the capacity of people with disabilities to overcome different obstacles varies. For these reasons, high precision is required when capturing data.
The MENTZ Asset Management App Helps When Capturing Data of Local Barriers
MENTZ already provides a comprehensive and powerful tool to capture the data of stop assets: MENTZ Asset Management (AM). However, capturing data for stop areas and stop points is not an easy task. Many of these properties are difficult to determine from a distance. Structural properties such as platform height, ramp incline, conditions of elevators, escalators etc. may not be digitally captured and must be checked and measured on site. This is exactly why we have enhanced MENTZ Asset Management with a brand new, comprehensive and practical app! With this app employees can conveniently and efficiently record and save various structural attributes directly on site. This data can then be sent electronically to a server at any time which processes the data and makes it available to electronic trip planners. If interested in how MENTZ Asset Management and its app can make trip planning more accessible, please get in touch with our support team!
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