Final Report Summary - ACCESS 2 ALL (Mobility Schemes Ensuring Accessibility of Public Transport for All Users)
The project ACCESS 2 ALL is a two-years coordination action that aims at encouraging key players in the public transport (PT) sector within the project target group to adopt innovative technological concepts and mobility schemes that enable high quality mobility and transportation services for all, as well as to provide their personnel with the necessary knowledge on the particularities of specific user groups, such as seniors and persons with disabilities, information and communication technology (ICT)-illiterate, dyslexic and persons with cognitive and learning disabilities, etc.
The project started in December 2008, 8 partners were involved in it, namely: ERT, CERTH/HIT, Inrets, Universitas, USTUTT, Blue Point, IAS and University of Lund.
The effort was dealt in eight work packages (WPs). The first WP, devoted to user needs and wants, has produced a best practise database accessible on the website, counting about 100 good practises. A transportability model and s/w tool can also be found on the website, and priority implementation scenarios have been identified. Regarding the trends between accessibility and safety (WP2), risky situations for MI travellers have been identified, described and analysed within a risk analysis framework. Pedestrian related issues in the PT travel chain have also been identified and studied, while relevant guidelines were suggested. Through extensive review of existing and ongoing research activities as well as innovative technological achievements, novel concepts for PT services (WP3) have been highlighted within the context of WP3. Relevant implementation scenarios have been defined and policy recommendations issued. In terms of Innovative service provision and interface concepts (WP4) criteria and indicators on quality of service (QoS) have been defined and a MoU for QoS provision has been drafted. Personalised services and solutions for route guidance have been reviewed and proposed, along with accurate localisation methods and seamless service provision techniques and maintainability and service expandability concepts. As far as usability, social and cross-cultural concepts are concerned, WP5 has provided an overview of usability applications to the context of PT and the mobility impaired (MI) users in order to better understand the different issues to be considered in PT usability evaluation. Innovative concepts and solutions have also been reviewed and proposed regarding HMI and social, cross-cultural and cross generation issues.
In view of providing design guidelines and policy recommendations (WP6), human-machine interface (HMI) and specific services recommendations have been issued, along with design guidelines. In parallel, cost implications have been highlighted and a SWOT analysis performed for the top priority implementation scenarios, as emerged by the project results. Moreover, a research roadmap has been created, outlining the topics where research should be focussed within the area of accessible mobility, in the short, medium and long term. In terms of dissemination (WP7), the consortium has been very active with the production of leaflets, newsletters, the organisation of three dedicated events and the production of a project DVD. A training platform and multimedia tool, presenting and describing in detail the e-learning platform developed and adapted for hosting training sessions on accessibility issues. The last WP was dedicated to the management of the project.
Concertation has been an important part of the ACCESS2ALL project; resulting in a close collaboration with the project MEDIATE.
As ACCESS2ALL is coming to an end, the next steps towards actually implementing the necessary actions and applications have been identified by the definition of a research roadmap for a short, mid and long term horizon, so as to end up in building a PT travel chain that would meet the expectations and standards set.
Project context and abjectives:
Our society has committed itself to providing all citizens with equal opportunities. In this framework, the provision of accessible PT to all users is a matter of utmost importance; every community is well aware of the fact that certain groups of people (i.e. people with disabilities, elderly, ICT-illiterate, people with communication problems, etc.) require more extensive care and uptake of special measures to remain active in society. Given that flexible and easy mobility is one of the most important factors affecting one's independence and active living, such measures should definitely include ensuring accessibility of PT for all.
PT operators (intra and extra-city buses, trains, light rail systems, airplanes, ships, ports, etc.) should be obliged and instructed to make necessary adjustments in vehicles, so that they will be suitable for safe, independent, and dignified use by individuals with particular needs. Modifications must be made to ensure that there is no need for assistance from others in climbing stairs, manoeuvring, locating access aides, etc. Furthermore, information regarding public transportation must be presented in a clear and simple manner, enabling people to easily obtain the necessary information.
The related need is huge. According to COST 335:
- Disabled people represent around 13 % of the population of Europe. This is approximately 63 million people.
- The range of disabilities includes mobility disabled people (including wheelchair users and people unable to walk far, or at all), sensory impaired people (including people who are totally blind or deaf), people with cognitive and learning difficulties, people with communication problems, including ICT-illiterate people, dyslexic, etc., other forms of disability, such as asthma or orientation problems. Approximately half of these could be considered as mobility impaired under circumstances where literacy is required to make use of transport facilities.
Another source for the demography of people with various types of disabilities in Europe we took into consideration was a document on accessibility (by John Gill, 2004), which estimates the population in Europe with problems using information and communication technology. This population seems similar to the population targeted by ACCESS 2 ALL, as it was defined in terms of the individual functional abilities with specific emphasis on use of information and communication technology systems.
Another important aspect is that a significant part of people with disabilities or other difficulties is older people - most often defined as 65 years and older. According to a document from the INCLUDE project, about 70 % of all disabled people can also be defined as elderly. Considering that the ageing population consists of individuals of 65 years old and up, the proportion of elderly people in each Member State is always bigger than 11.
According to COST 335:
- The share of the elderly in the total population of Europe is expected to rise from 63 million now to around 75 million by 2020, and to around 88 million by 2030. Those aged 80+ are predicted to rise from 4 % of today's population to some 10 % by the year 2050. Thus, the elderly will be a larger part of the population - but with better health conditions than at present, namely with more requirements for active living and mobility.
- When we also take into account the accompanying persons and able-bodied people with temporary mobility restraints (such as young parents with baby buggies or with luggage) who would also benefit from accessible public transportation, we can see that accessibility already affects 35-40 % of the population (170 to 194 million people). This potential market for public transportation could rise to at least 200 million people by the year 2020.
However, reality is far from ideal. According to DPTAC, when asked unprompted about their local concerns, transport issues head disabled people's list (48 %) in the United Kingdom (UK). Whilst transport is also the most important local concern for the general public, disabled people are rather more likely to mention it (48 % compared with 39 %). Furthermore, according to the same study, when disabled people are asked to rate the design of a number of transport services, reactions are largely negative.
It was then evident that action must be taken to ensure accessibility of PT for All. Given the multidisciplinary nature of accessibility design, it was imperative that such an action is taken in a collaborative and coordinated manner, taking into account the know-how of all relevant stakeholders and integrating all major past research efforts.
ACCESS2ALL's objectives:
ACCESS 2 ALL aims at defining concrete mobility schemes, guidelines and policy recommendations, ensuring accessibility of PT to all users, through the coordination of current research efforts, the production of common research roadmaps, the identification of best practice models and the appropriate use of ICT aids and networks.
The main aim of making this coordination effort was to encourage Public Transport operators belonging to the project target group to adopt innovative technological concepts and mobility schemes that enable high quality mobility and transportation services for all, as well as to provide their personnel with the necessary knowledge on the particularities of specific user groups, such as the elderly and disabled, ICT-illiterate, dyslexic and illiterate people, etc. To achieve this, it was necessary to identify best practices and still existing gaps, coordinate on-going research efforts, agree on guidelines for transportation systems and services and promote these towards all-inclusive standards and policies; given that no 'magic' solution can exist, ACCESS 2 ALL also aimed at producing common research roadmaps, in cooperation with all major stakeholders, aimed at further enhancing the quality of transportation services for all users, in those cases where technological or operational gaps still exist.
The concrete project objectives are thus listed below:
- To identify the actual problems and real needs of all user groups requiring special attention in their transportation by PT and cluster them according to their relevant needs.
- To identify best practices in all-inclusive PT systems and incorporate them into a best practices benchmarking database.
- To define specific implementation scenarios, covering all the project target user groups.
- To promote the deployment of innovative technological and service provision concepts increasing the mobility of people in cities, based on new vehicle and infrastructure concepts, suitable for a barrier-free travel chain.
- To improve PT information and service provision for all passengers by means of integrated, personalised travel information systems and novel HMI concepts, using the acoustic, visual, tactile channel within the infrastructure and the vehicles and also by means of modern equipment, like handhelds, such as mobile phones and PDAs.
- To promote innovative cooperative systems enabling the optimal combination of autonomous and infrastructure based systems to the benefit of all end users.
- To enhance the security and reliability of PT for all users by identifying and promoting promising localisation technologies.
- To promote novel concepts enabling the cost-efficiency, accessibility, maintenance and expansion of PT services.
- To define a concise methodology and develop adequate tools to assess the usability and accessibility of PT systems for all users.
- To provide guidance on how to optimally incorporate cross-cultural issues into PT service provision.
- To develop design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing ones as well as new concepts proposed in the project, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information.
- To analyse existing legislation and standards in the area of PT services provision and propose new standardisation actions and policy recommendations, taking always into account the involved costs.
- To develop a research roadmap towards 2010, 2015 and 2025 on accessible PT issues, and establishes this among the major stakeholders of the field, in order to coordinate current efforts and research.
- To develop training programmes (methodology, curricula and tools) for PT operators and planners on accessible PT issues.
- To disseminate the results and create public awareness through a dedicated web site, dissemination material and two major events.
- To build a user forum to achieve wide key actors' involvement in the project.
Project results:
ACCESS2ALL is a coordination action, and as such, hasn't dealt with scientific research. However, the project has produced many outputs that will have an impact on the scientific community and on stakeholders dealing with mobility issues.
ACCESS2ALL had well defined objectives at the beginning of the project that have been fulfilled. Here is the detail of those achievements.
The first objective of ACCESS2ALL was to identify the actual problems and real needs of all user groups requiring special attention in their transportation by PT and cluster them according to their relevant needs. This objective has been reached through the users and stakeholders clustering performed, resulting in 13 main users' groups and relevant sub-groups, along with 7 stakeholders categories. Moreover, extensive research on user needs has been performed, by identifying and studying more than 55 references from the scientific literature and previous research results. These are reported in D1.1 'User needs and preferences per user group'.
The second objective of the project was to identify best practices in all-inclusive PT systems and incorporate them into a best practices benchmarking database. This objective has been reached by establishing an online database, hosted in the project website (see http://www.access-to-all.eu online) which allows inputting, editing and performing searches per different criteria (country, transport means, disability, etc.). A well structured template was defined and used for the collection of good practices and the layout of the database. The collection was ongoing throughout the duration of the project, including also good practices selected from MEDIATE project, and incorporates about 100 practices. The description of the database is reported in D1.2 'Best practices database and transportability s/w tool'.
The third objective was to define specific implementation scenarios covering all the project target user groups. 18 scenarios have originally been defined, detailed and prioritised during the 1st ACCESS2ALL workshop in Porto (September 2009). These emerged through literature review and existing research findings. Later on, 12 more scenarios emerged from the ACCESS2ALL research results. The final list of 30 implementation scenarios was subject to a prioritisation process by consortium and external experts, resulting in the final priorities. The scenarios and total procedure are included in D1.3 'Transportability model and priority implementation scenarios'
The fourth objective was to develop a holistic and modular model for the needs of each user group to be considered at the planning and operation of PT services, to enhance MI users 'transportability'. This objective has been reached through the creation of the transportability model and s/w tool, aiming to develop a comparable framework for defining the accessibility of transportation using public transport means for travellers with different needs. The tool in specific is aiming both to enable the user / traveller to find out the duration of the pedestrian route and to allow PT planners and operators to assess the accessibility level of their service and be guided to relevant best practices (through connection with the best practices database). For the enhancement of the walking speed algorithm, on-road tests with real users have been performed. This work is reported in D1.2 'Best practices database and transportability s/w tool' and D1.3 'Transportability model and priority implementation scenarios'.
The fifth objective of ACCESS2ALL was to promote the deployment of innovative technological and service provision concepts increasing the mobility of people in cities, based on new vehicle and infrastructure concepts, suitable for a barrier free travel chain. Extensive review of innovative solutions and concepts regarding vehicle and infrastructure applications for the enhancement of mobility of people in cities has been performed. In total, three new vehicle concepts and three corresponding implementation scenarios, along with seven new infrastructure concepts and four relevant implementation scenarios are suggested and thoroughly presented. Moreover, policy recommendations for these issues were suggested. These are reported in D3.1 'Vehicle concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain' and 'D3.2 Infrastructure concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain'.
The sixth objective was to improve PT information and service provision of all passengers by means of integrated, personalised travel information systems and novel HMI concepts, using the acoustic, visual, tactile channel within the infrastructure and the vehicles and also by means of modern equipment, like handhelds, such as mobile phones and PDAs. During the two years of the project, HMI aspects of accessible mobility have been highlighted and innovative solutions proposed, along with the development of a 'proof of concept' interactive HMI for visualisation purposes. A checklist on HMI issues for services providers has also been proposed (D5.2 'HMI recommendations and checklist for PT services'). Moreover, a set of dynamic and semi-dynamic parameters to be personalised for the creation of route selection profile has been defined (e.g. maximum acceptable walking distance, acceptable PT means, maximum acceptable number of transits, etc.), to be used in personal devices (mobiles, PDAs, etc.) for personalisation of provided information (D4.1 'Innovative service provision and interface concepts').
In terms of innovative information concepts (D3.3 Information concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain), review of existing solutions has been performed and four new concepts have been suggested, along with two relevant implementation scenarios.
The seventh objective was to promote innovative cooperative systems enabling the optimal combination of autonomous and infrastructure based systems to the benefit of all end users. At the end of the project, existing and ongoing research findings on cooperative systems have been reviewed and three innovative concepts involving cooperative systems have been suggested and thoroughly presented. Moreover, four relevant implementation scenarios were defined and policy recommendations issued. These are reported in D3.4 'Cooperative concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain'.
The eighth objective was to enhance the security and reliability of PT for all users by identifying and promoting promising localisation technologies. Risky situations for MI travellers have been identified, described and analyzed within a risk analysis framework in terms of wheelchair restraint systems, stability of vulnerable travellers in vehicles and pedestrian safety. Relevant guidelines have also been issued. Details of this work and framework are available in D2.1 'Safety consideration for travellers with disabilities in public transport' and D2.2 'Safe cities for all: safety option for pedestrians with disabilities'.
Accurate localisation and seamless service provision techniques have been looked into and the most promising applications have been highlighted in D4.1 'Innovative service provision and interface concepts'.
The ninth objective was to promote novel concepts enabling the cost-efficiency, accessibility, maintenance and expansion of PT services. In order to reach this objective, criteria and indicators on quality of service (QoS) have been defined and a MoU for QoS provision between users and PT providers has been drafted. Maintainability and service expandability concepts have also been elaborated, for an optimum PT service provision. This work is reported in D4.1 'Innovative service provision and interface concepts'.
The 10th objective was to define a concise methodology and develop adequate tools to assess the usability and accessibility of PT systems for all users. PT usability monitoring and enhancement methodology along with a relevant checklist have been produced within ACCESS2ALL. It proposes methods and techniques for usability evaluation aiming at directing the choice of the relevant ones according to the different elements of PT involved in the travel chain and providing recommendations for the assessment of each of the usability quality factors. These are reported in D5.1 'PT usability monitoring and enhancement methodology and checklist'.
The 11th objective was to provide guidance on how to optimally incorporate cross-cultural issues into PT service provision. This objective has been reached through the development of concepts and recommendations on successfully tackling social, cross-cultural and cross-generational issues in PT services. 47 solutions were proposed for integrating socio-cultural and cross-generational issues on PT services, along with a relevant checklist for the PT operators. These are reported in D5.3 'Concepts and recommendations on successfully tackling social, cross-cultural and cross-generation issues in PT services'.
The 12th objective was to develop design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing ones as well as new concepts proposed in the project, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information. This objective has been successfully accomplished by issuing 42 design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing good practices identified within the project, as well as novel concepts arising through the ACCESS2ALL work, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information. These can be found in D6.1 'Design guidelines, standardisation and policy recommendations towards an accessible PT framework'.
The 13th objective was to analyse existing legislation and standards in the area of PT services provision and propose new standardisation actions and policy recommendations, taking always into account the involved costs. This objective has been successfully accomplished by issuing 290 recommendations, addressing policy, standardisation, HMI and specific services.
Among these, 11 general recommendations were given for appropriate disability legislation on the European and local level, 10 issues that should be standardised have been identified, while recommendations of several European standards for several parameters of public transport (e.g. step height, height of handrails, etc.) were benchmarked and recommendations towards the change of different standards were proposed, by using the results of new studies.
These can be found in D6.1 'Design guidelines, standardisation and policy recommendations towards an accessible PT framework'.
The 14th objective was to develop a research roadmap towards 2010, 2015 and 2025 on accessible PT issues and establish this among the major stakeholders of the field, in order to coordinate current efforts and research. A research roadmap in the area of accessible public transport has been proposed, taking into account existing roadmaps and ongoing research activities. The existing EU legislation framework has been also reviewed and taken into account, while a questionnaire survey among related stakeholders has taken place, in order to incorporate also their views. The resulted research roadmap is discerned in the short (up to 2015), mid (up to 2020) and long (up to 2030) term, also reported in D6.2 'Research roadmap towards accessible PT'.
The 15th objective was to develop training programmes (methodology, curricula and tools) for PT operators and planners on accessible PT issues. In order to support the training delivery in the frame of ACCESS2ALL project, a web based training platform has been customised to host all the training content delivered during the course of the project. The platform was installed and parameterized according to the user needs, is intuitive and allows enough flexibility to embed various additional supporting training material, ranging from streamed videos, images, documents to emulators, and document repositories.
The training material is presented in the form of 17 courses, which have been grouped in 8 subjects. The courses are described in D7.4 'Training curricula and dissemination activities' while the training platform is described in detail in D7.5 'Training platform and multimedia tool'.
The sixteenth objective was to disseminate the results and create public awareness through a dedicated web site, dissemination material and two major events. Dissemination has been of major interest within ACCESS2ALL and a relevant plan was drafted early in the project (D7.1 'Dissemination plan'). The project website (see http://www.access-to-all.eu online) has been established since the beginning of the project and been continuously updated throughout its duration (D7.3 'Project website'). In terms of dissemination material, two newsletters have been issued and broadly distributed (available also at the project website), two leaflets were created (D7.2 'Dissemination materials'), a project DVD has been created (D7.6 'Project DVD on accessible PT'), including project results and interviews with users and stakeholders on PT accessibility. Moreover, three events were organised: the first ACCESS2ALL Workshop in Porto, Portugal in September 2009, the ACCESS2ALL Transed pre-Conference Workshop in Hong-Kong, China, in June 2010 and the MEDIATE-ACCESS2ALL final conference, in London, UK, in November 2010; the last co-organised with MEDIATE project. Throughout the duration of the project, presentations in several workshops and scientific papers in conferences and journals have been undertaken by project partners (D7.4 'Training curricula and dissemination activities').
The 17th objective was to build a user forum to achieve wide key actors' involvement in the project. A user forum has been built early in the project, through contacts with key actors in the area of accessible PT. The list of participants has been enriched throughout the duration of the project, finally encompassing over 70 members. The user forum members have been receiving the ACCESS2ALL dissemination material, invitations to the project events as well as news on the project findings. Also, an electronic user forum has been created, hosted in the ACCESS2ALL website, providing the space for discussions, brainstorming and ideas exchange on topics related to the project aims.
We can conclude that the objectives set at the begining of the project have been fulfilled according to plan. In reaching the project's goal, ACCESS2ALL's partners have also achieved concertation with other projects in its field. The fact that ACCESS2ALL's partners have been widely sollicitated to present their work at various events is a token of the interest of the stakeholders for our efforts.
Potential impact:
Creating the framework for an attractive, inclusive urban transport system with better access for all has been the core objective of the ACCESS2ALL project and the primary impact that the project is aiming to achieve. Improving PT operation performance and reducing operational costs, while promoting the synergies between PT operators and between them and the rest of the transport system stakeholders have also been determining factors towards this goal.
ACCESS2ALL has been focusing on this aim through different perspectives, addressing the needs of the several affected bodies, such as the MI travellers, the PT operators and the relevant authorities. The main impacts that are envisaged to be achieved from the work performed in ACCESS2ALL, along with the corresponding project results, are summarized in the following:
1. Promote PT use by all society members, including the less privileged ones in terms of mobility through the investigation of their needs and the suggestion of ways to overcome them
The groups of PT users that face problems with their mobility have been identified through a relevant users clustering and their needs for overcoming their problems have been specified. Special attention has been put to safety issues. Moreover, cross-cultural, cross-generational and social issues have been looked into and relevant solutions suggested. By implementing the suggested solutions and satisfying the needs of the users, the PT system will become more attractive to them and more easy to use in their everyday life, regardless of their special needs or condition.
2. Assist the PT operators in decision making in terms of applying innovative solutions for the needs of their system
PT operators have been one of the stakeholder groups that ACCESS2ALL has particularly addressed. A best practices database has been created, including about 100 existing and emerging good practices regarding accessible PT. This database allows users to perform searches with a series of criteria, such as the country, the PT mode, type of accessibility, etc. in order to identify the solution that fits best their needs. Additionally, a software tool has been created, which allows PT planners and operators to assess the accessibility level of their service and be guided to relevant best practices through the ACCESS2ALL database. Last but not least, a set of 30 implementation scenarios has been defined, which have also been prioritised, pointing out the current emerging technologies and scenarios of actual implementation for creating a more accessible PT chain.
3. Promoting the formulation of a more accessible, reliable and user friendly PT travel chain.
Within ACCESS2ALL, this has been the main axis for the development of its work. All the activities performed in the course of the project aimed to contribute in this from different perspectives. Indicatively, new technological concepts for accessible PT vehicles, infrastructure, information provision as well as cooperative systems have been proposed, along with analysing HMI issues and issuing relevant guidelines. Moreover, the suggested priority implementation scenarios are also considered as a step towards this goal. Services personalisation is also another important aspect. Methods and technologies that would promote the adaptation of provided services according to the needs of each user group are suggested. Last but not least, in terms of quality of the provided service to the users, ACCESS2ALL has proposed relevant criteria as well as a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between PT service providers and users organizations, in order to secure a minimum level of service for the affected users.
4. Encouraging software and equipment developers to adopt a more user oriented approach when designing and producing elements of the travel chain (such as vehicles, personal devices, travel information systems, etc.)
Design guidelines for all elements of the travel chain have been proposed, along with HMI guidelines, aiming to present the ways in which these elements could be adapted in order to meet the needs of the users. Moreover, concepts for the design and application of services in a personalised manner, matching the needs of each user group have been presented. Localisation, seamless service provision as well as roaming applications have also been looked into.
5. Suggesting ways to enhance the overall performance of the PT travel chain, also in terms of implied costs
Apart from the already mentioned concepts and guidelines that have been elaborated within ACCESS2ALL, issues of PT services expandability and maintainability have also been tackled, e.g. in terms of information update, infrastructure maintenance, etc., thus ensuring the provision of a high quality PT service to its users, without it being depreciated over time. Costs are also taken into account, both in terms of the ones involved in maintenance and those implied by the implementation of the suggested priority scenarios.
6. Assisting policy making towards a more sustainable, accessible, inclusive and user-oriented PT chain.
Policy makers have been another key stakeholder group that ACCESS2ALL aims to address through its results. Existing standards have been reviewed, gaps in standardisation have been identified and 10 proposals for the need of new standards have been made. Moreover, 11 general recommendations for appropriate disability legislation on the European and local level have been issued. In total, 290 recommendations have resulted from the project, addressing policy, standardisation, HMI and specific services.
7. Encouraging training activities for PT personnel and operators (and not only) in order to make the people actually interacting with MI travellers aware of their needs and the prospects for providing an optimal service adaptable to their specific requirements
Adopting new concepts and technologies and innovative equipment is a significant step to be made for an accessible PT system. However, their proper use and application is an issue that needs the synergies of various actors, among which are the PT personnel and operators. Training is crucial for their familiarization with the new systems as well as with the options there are for improving their system, interacting with the users, etc. ACCESS2ALL has proposed a training curriculum including relevant issues, as emerged from the project results, while a training platform has adequately been adapted for enabling e-learning activities based on this curriculum.
8. Making the project activities visible and increasing awareness in the society through numerous dissemination actions, bringing all related stakeholders in touch with the project and with each other, to share views and experiences, as well as actually contribute to the project itself.
Within the two years of the project, numerous dissemination activities have been undertaken by the ACCESS2ALL consortium. Dissemination material has been produced and widely disseminated, while the project website has been operating since the beginning of the project and continuously updated. The project findings have been presented in major international conferences (Transed, AHFE, TRB, etc.), workshops and other occasions. Three events have been organized by the project and attended by involved stakeholders: the first ACCESS2ALL workshop in Porto, Portugal (September 2009), the ACCESS2ALL Transed pre-conference workshop in Hong Kong, China (June 2010) and the joint ACCESS2ALL - MEDIATE final conference in London, UK (November 2010). These events, apart from presenting the project findings, also included interactive sessions, where the participants were encouraged to contribute to the project work.
9. Enhancing a common and synchronised approach in research in the field and establishing the ground for further cooperation in research in this domain
ACCESS2ALL has been in close cooperation with several other ongoing research initiatives in the field of accessible mobility. Mediate has been the most outstanding example, with which a MoU has been signed since the beginning of both projects, according to which results exchange and contributions to each others' work have taken place, along with joint dissemination activities. Moreover, a concentration meeting with representatives of many other projects has taken place on November 2009 (in the framework of the OASIS conference in Florence) where cooperation was established with projects like OASIS, ACCESSIBLE, etc. The overall aim has been to promote a common approach regarding elaborated research in the area of accessible mobility, as well as to establish the ground for future cooperation for the continuation and further elaboration of the conducted research.
10. Setting out the framework for further research in the area, by highlighting the most prominent research items and promising applications
ACCESS2ALL has defined a research roadmap in the area of accessible mobility for the short (up to 2015), mid (up to 2020) and long term (up to 2030). To do this, relevant research initiatives, the legislative and standardization framework as well as experts in the area have been consulted, to come up with the most prominent research topics, the goals to be set and the intermediate actions to be taken for their achievement. The overall aim is that in the following years, research in the field would take advantage of the current achievements and progress towards the formulation of a sustainable, accessible and friendly PT travel chain for all its users.
Project website:
http://www.access-to-all.eu/
Contact details of the coordinator:
Juliette Renaud
ERT c/o INRETS
25 avenue François Mitterrand
69675 Bron
France
Tel: +33-472-142585
Email: juliette.renaud@ert-sas.fr
Contact details of the technical manager:
Evangelos Bekiaris
Center for Research and Technology Hellas
Hellenic Institute of Transport
6th Km Charilaou-Thermi Rd
570 01 Thermi,
Thessaloniki
Greece
Tel: +30-210-9853194
Email: abek@certh.gr
The project started in December 2008, 8 partners were involved in it, namely: ERT, CERTH/HIT, Inrets, Universitas, USTUTT, Blue Point, IAS and University of Lund.
The effort was dealt in eight work packages (WPs). The first WP, devoted to user needs and wants, has produced a best practise database accessible on the website, counting about 100 good practises. A transportability model and s/w tool can also be found on the website, and priority implementation scenarios have been identified. Regarding the trends between accessibility and safety (WP2), risky situations for MI travellers have been identified, described and analysed within a risk analysis framework. Pedestrian related issues in the PT travel chain have also been identified and studied, while relevant guidelines were suggested. Through extensive review of existing and ongoing research activities as well as innovative technological achievements, novel concepts for PT services (WP3) have been highlighted within the context of WP3. Relevant implementation scenarios have been defined and policy recommendations issued. In terms of Innovative service provision and interface concepts (WP4) criteria and indicators on quality of service (QoS) have been defined and a MoU for QoS provision has been drafted. Personalised services and solutions for route guidance have been reviewed and proposed, along with accurate localisation methods and seamless service provision techniques and maintainability and service expandability concepts. As far as usability, social and cross-cultural concepts are concerned, WP5 has provided an overview of usability applications to the context of PT and the mobility impaired (MI) users in order to better understand the different issues to be considered in PT usability evaluation. Innovative concepts and solutions have also been reviewed and proposed regarding HMI and social, cross-cultural and cross generation issues.
In view of providing design guidelines and policy recommendations (WP6), human-machine interface (HMI) and specific services recommendations have been issued, along with design guidelines. In parallel, cost implications have been highlighted and a SWOT analysis performed for the top priority implementation scenarios, as emerged by the project results. Moreover, a research roadmap has been created, outlining the topics where research should be focussed within the area of accessible mobility, in the short, medium and long term. In terms of dissemination (WP7), the consortium has been very active with the production of leaflets, newsletters, the organisation of three dedicated events and the production of a project DVD. A training platform and multimedia tool, presenting and describing in detail the e-learning platform developed and adapted for hosting training sessions on accessibility issues. The last WP was dedicated to the management of the project.
Concertation has been an important part of the ACCESS2ALL project; resulting in a close collaboration with the project MEDIATE.
As ACCESS2ALL is coming to an end, the next steps towards actually implementing the necessary actions and applications have been identified by the definition of a research roadmap for a short, mid and long term horizon, so as to end up in building a PT travel chain that would meet the expectations and standards set.
Project context and abjectives:
Our society has committed itself to providing all citizens with equal opportunities. In this framework, the provision of accessible PT to all users is a matter of utmost importance; every community is well aware of the fact that certain groups of people (i.e. people with disabilities, elderly, ICT-illiterate, people with communication problems, etc.) require more extensive care and uptake of special measures to remain active in society. Given that flexible and easy mobility is one of the most important factors affecting one's independence and active living, such measures should definitely include ensuring accessibility of PT for all.
PT operators (intra and extra-city buses, trains, light rail systems, airplanes, ships, ports, etc.) should be obliged and instructed to make necessary adjustments in vehicles, so that they will be suitable for safe, independent, and dignified use by individuals with particular needs. Modifications must be made to ensure that there is no need for assistance from others in climbing stairs, manoeuvring, locating access aides, etc. Furthermore, information regarding public transportation must be presented in a clear and simple manner, enabling people to easily obtain the necessary information.
The related need is huge. According to COST 335:
- Disabled people represent around 13 % of the population of Europe. This is approximately 63 million people.
- The range of disabilities includes mobility disabled people (including wheelchair users and people unable to walk far, or at all), sensory impaired people (including people who are totally blind or deaf), people with cognitive and learning difficulties, people with communication problems, including ICT-illiterate people, dyslexic, etc., other forms of disability, such as asthma or orientation problems. Approximately half of these could be considered as mobility impaired under circumstances where literacy is required to make use of transport facilities.
Another source for the demography of people with various types of disabilities in Europe we took into consideration was a document on accessibility (by John Gill, 2004), which estimates the population in Europe with problems using information and communication technology. This population seems similar to the population targeted by ACCESS 2 ALL, as it was defined in terms of the individual functional abilities with specific emphasis on use of information and communication technology systems.
Another important aspect is that a significant part of people with disabilities or other difficulties is older people - most often defined as 65 years and older. According to a document from the INCLUDE project, about 70 % of all disabled people can also be defined as elderly. Considering that the ageing population consists of individuals of 65 years old and up, the proportion of elderly people in each Member State is always bigger than 11.
According to COST 335:
- The share of the elderly in the total population of Europe is expected to rise from 63 million now to around 75 million by 2020, and to around 88 million by 2030. Those aged 80+ are predicted to rise from 4 % of today's population to some 10 % by the year 2050. Thus, the elderly will be a larger part of the population - but with better health conditions than at present, namely with more requirements for active living and mobility.
- When we also take into account the accompanying persons and able-bodied people with temporary mobility restraints (such as young parents with baby buggies or with luggage) who would also benefit from accessible public transportation, we can see that accessibility already affects 35-40 % of the population (170 to 194 million people). This potential market for public transportation could rise to at least 200 million people by the year 2020.
However, reality is far from ideal. According to DPTAC, when asked unprompted about their local concerns, transport issues head disabled people's list (48 %) in the United Kingdom (UK). Whilst transport is also the most important local concern for the general public, disabled people are rather more likely to mention it (48 % compared with 39 %). Furthermore, according to the same study, when disabled people are asked to rate the design of a number of transport services, reactions are largely negative.
It was then evident that action must be taken to ensure accessibility of PT for All. Given the multidisciplinary nature of accessibility design, it was imperative that such an action is taken in a collaborative and coordinated manner, taking into account the know-how of all relevant stakeholders and integrating all major past research efforts.
ACCESS2ALL's objectives:
ACCESS 2 ALL aims at defining concrete mobility schemes, guidelines and policy recommendations, ensuring accessibility of PT to all users, through the coordination of current research efforts, the production of common research roadmaps, the identification of best practice models and the appropriate use of ICT aids and networks.
The main aim of making this coordination effort was to encourage Public Transport operators belonging to the project target group to adopt innovative technological concepts and mobility schemes that enable high quality mobility and transportation services for all, as well as to provide their personnel with the necessary knowledge on the particularities of specific user groups, such as the elderly and disabled, ICT-illiterate, dyslexic and illiterate people, etc. To achieve this, it was necessary to identify best practices and still existing gaps, coordinate on-going research efforts, agree on guidelines for transportation systems and services and promote these towards all-inclusive standards and policies; given that no 'magic' solution can exist, ACCESS 2 ALL also aimed at producing common research roadmaps, in cooperation with all major stakeholders, aimed at further enhancing the quality of transportation services for all users, in those cases where technological or operational gaps still exist.
The concrete project objectives are thus listed below:
- To identify the actual problems and real needs of all user groups requiring special attention in their transportation by PT and cluster them according to their relevant needs.
- To identify best practices in all-inclusive PT systems and incorporate them into a best practices benchmarking database.
- To define specific implementation scenarios, covering all the project target user groups.
- To promote the deployment of innovative technological and service provision concepts increasing the mobility of people in cities, based on new vehicle and infrastructure concepts, suitable for a barrier-free travel chain.
- To improve PT information and service provision for all passengers by means of integrated, personalised travel information systems and novel HMI concepts, using the acoustic, visual, tactile channel within the infrastructure and the vehicles and also by means of modern equipment, like handhelds, such as mobile phones and PDAs.
- To promote innovative cooperative systems enabling the optimal combination of autonomous and infrastructure based systems to the benefit of all end users.
- To enhance the security and reliability of PT for all users by identifying and promoting promising localisation technologies.
- To promote novel concepts enabling the cost-efficiency, accessibility, maintenance and expansion of PT services.
- To define a concise methodology and develop adequate tools to assess the usability and accessibility of PT systems for all users.
- To provide guidance on how to optimally incorporate cross-cultural issues into PT service provision.
- To develop design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing ones as well as new concepts proposed in the project, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information.
- To analyse existing legislation and standards in the area of PT services provision and propose new standardisation actions and policy recommendations, taking always into account the involved costs.
- To develop a research roadmap towards 2010, 2015 and 2025 on accessible PT issues, and establishes this among the major stakeholders of the field, in order to coordinate current efforts and research.
- To develop training programmes (methodology, curricula and tools) for PT operators and planners on accessible PT issues.
- To disseminate the results and create public awareness through a dedicated web site, dissemination material and two major events.
- To build a user forum to achieve wide key actors' involvement in the project.
Project results:
ACCESS2ALL is a coordination action, and as such, hasn't dealt with scientific research. However, the project has produced many outputs that will have an impact on the scientific community and on stakeholders dealing with mobility issues.
ACCESS2ALL had well defined objectives at the beginning of the project that have been fulfilled. Here is the detail of those achievements.
The first objective of ACCESS2ALL was to identify the actual problems and real needs of all user groups requiring special attention in their transportation by PT and cluster them according to their relevant needs. This objective has been reached through the users and stakeholders clustering performed, resulting in 13 main users' groups and relevant sub-groups, along with 7 stakeholders categories. Moreover, extensive research on user needs has been performed, by identifying and studying more than 55 references from the scientific literature and previous research results. These are reported in D1.1 'User needs and preferences per user group'.
The second objective of the project was to identify best practices in all-inclusive PT systems and incorporate them into a best practices benchmarking database. This objective has been reached by establishing an online database, hosted in the project website (see http://www.access-to-all.eu online) which allows inputting, editing and performing searches per different criteria (country, transport means, disability, etc.). A well structured template was defined and used for the collection of good practices and the layout of the database. The collection was ongoing throughout the duration of the project, including also good practices selected from MEDIATE project, and incorporates about 100 practices. The description of the database is reported in D1.2 'Best practices database and transportability s/w tool'.
The third objective was to define specific implementation scenarios covering all the project target user groups. 18 scenarios have originally been defined, detailed and prioritised during the 1st ACCESS2ALL workshop in Porto (September 2009). These emerged through literature review and existing research findings. Later on, 12 more scenarios emerged from the ACCESS2ALL research results. The final list of 30 implementation scenarios was subject to a prioritisation process by consortium and external experts, resulting in the final priorities. The scenarios and total procedure are included in D1.3 'Transportability model and priority implementation scenarios'
The fourth objective was to develop a holistic and modular model for the needs of each user group to be considered at the planning and operation of PT services, to enhance MI users 'transportability'. This objective has been reached through the creation of the transportability model and s/w tool, aiming to develop a comparable framework for defining the accessibility of transportation using public transport means for travellers with different needs. The tool in specific is aiming both to enable the user / traveller to find out the duration of the pedestrian route and to allow PT planners and operators to assess the accessibility level of their service and be guided to relevant best practices (through connection with the best practices database). For the enhancement of the walking speed algorithm, on-road tests with real users have been performed. This work is reported in D1.2 'Best practices database and transportability s/w tool' and D1.3 'Transportability model and priority implementation scenarios'.
The fifth objective of ACCESS2ALL was to promote the deployment of innovative technological and service provision concepts increasing the mobility of people in cities, based on new vehicle and infrastructure concepts, suitable for a barrier free travel chain. Extensive review of innovative solutions and concepts regarding vehicle and infrastructure applications for the enhancement of mobility of people in cities has been performed. In total, three new vehicle concepts and three corresponding implementation scenarios, along with seven new infrastructure concepts and four relevant implementation scenarios are suggested and thoroughly presented. Moreover, policy recommendations for these issues were suggested. These are reported in D3.1 'Vehicle concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain' and 'D3.2 Infrastructure concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain'.
The sixth objective was to improve PT information and service provision of all passengers by means of integrated, personalised travel information systems and novel HMI concepts, using the acoustic, visual, tactile channel within the infrastructure and the vehicles and also by means of modern equipment, like handhelds, such as mobile phones and PDAs. During the two years of the project, HMI aspects of accessible mobility have been highlighted and innovative solutions proposed, along with the development of a 'proof of concept' interactive HMI for visualisation purposes. A checklist on HMI issues for services providers has also been proposed (D5.2 'HMI recommendations and checklist for PT services'). Moreover, a set of dynamic and semi-dynamic parameters to be personalised for the creation of route selection profile has been defined (e.g. maximum acceptable walking distance, acceptable PT means, maximum acceptable number of transits, etc.), to be used in personal devices (mobiles, PDAs, etc.) for personalisation of provided information (D4.1 'Innovative service provision and interface concepts').
In terms of innovative information concepts (D3.3 Information concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain), review of existing solutions has been performed and four new concepts have been suggested, along with two relevant implementation scenarios.
The seventh objective was to promote innovative cooperative systems enabling the optimal combination of autonomous and infrastructure based systems to the benefit of all end users. At the end of the project, existing and ongoing research findings on cooperative systems have been reviewed and three innovative concepts involving cooperative systems have been suggested and thoroughly presented. Moreover, four relevant implementation scenarios were defined and policy recommendations issued. These are reported in D3.4 'Cooperative concepts as part of the barrier free travel chain'.
The eighth objective was to enhance the security and reliability of PT for all users by identifying and promoting promising localisation technologies. Risky situations for MI travellers have been identified, described and analyzed within a risk analysis framework in terms of wheelchair restraint systems, stability of vulnerable travellers in vehicles and pedestrian safety. Relevant guidelines have also been issued. Details of this work and framework are available in D2.1 'Safety consideration for travellers with disabilities in public transport' and D2.2 'Safe cities for all: safety option for pedestrians with disabilities'.
Accurate localisation and seamless service provision techniques have been looked into and the most promising applications have been highlighted in D4.1 'Innovative service provision and interface concepts'.
The ninth objective was to promote novel concepts enabling the cost-efficiency, accessibility, maintenance and expansion of PT services. In order to reach this objective, criteria and indicators on quality of service (QoS) have been defined and a MoU for QoS provision between users and PT providers has been drafted. Maintainability and service expandability concepts have also been elaborated, for an optimum PT service provision. This work is reported in D4.1 'Innovative service provision and interface concepts'.
The 10th objective was to define a concise methodology and develop adequate tools to assess the usability and accessibility of PT systems for all users. PT usability monitoring and enhancement methodology along with a relevant checklist have been produced within ACCESS2ALL. It proposes methods and techniques for usability evaluation aiming at directing the choice of the relevant ones according to the different elements of PT involved in the travel chain and providing recommendations for the assessment of each of the usability quality factors. These are reported in D5.1 'PT usability monitoring and enhancement methodology and checklist'.
The 11th objective was to provide guidance on how to optimally incorporate cross-cultural issues into PT service provision. This objective has been reached through the development of concepts and recommendations on successfully tackling social, cross-cultural and cross-generational issues in PT services. 47 solutions were proposed for integrating socio-cultural and cross-generational issues on PT services, along with a relevant checklist for the PT operators. These are reported in D5.3 'Concepts and recommendations on successfully tackling social, cross-cultural and cross-generation issues in PT services'.
The 12th objective was to develop design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing ones as well as new concepts proposed in the project, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information. This objective has been successfully accomplished by issuing 42 design guidelines on accessible PT services, based on existing good practices identified within the project, as well as novel concepts arising through the ACCESS2ALL work, covering all aspects of operation: infrastructure, vehicles, information. These can be found in D6.1 'Design guidelines, standardisation and policy recommendations towards an accessible PT framework'.
The 13th objective was to analyse existing legislation and standards in the area of PT services provision and propose new standardisation actions and policy recommendations, taking always into account the involved costs. This objective has been successfully accomplished by issuing 290 recommendations, addressing policy, standardisation, HMI and specific services.
Among these, 11 general recommendations were given for appropriate disability legislation on the European and local level, 10 issues that should be standardised have been identified, while recommendations of several European standards for several parameters of public transport (e.g. step height, height of handrails, etc.) were benchmarked and recommendations towards the change of different standards were proposed, by using the results of new studies.
These can be found in D6.1 'Design guidelines, standardisation and policy recommendations towards an accessible PT framework'.
The 14th objective was to develop a research roadmap towards 2010, 2015 and 2025 on accessible PT issues and establish this among the major stakeholders of the field, in order to coordinate current efforts and research. A research roadmap in the area of accessible public transport has been proposed, taking into account existing roadmaps and ongoing research activities. The existing EU legislation framework has been also reviewed and taken into account, while a questionnaire survey among related stakeholders has taken place, in order to incorporate also their views. The resulted research roadmap is discerned in the short (up to 2015), mid (up to 2020) and long (up to 2030) term, also reported in D6.2 'Research roadmap towards accessible PT'.
The 15th objective was to develop training programmes (methodology, curricula and tools) for PT operators and planners on accessible PT issues. In order to support the training delivery in the frame of ACCESS2ALL project, a web based training platform has been customised to host all the training content delivered during the course of the project. The platform was installed and parameterized according to the user needs, is intuitive and allows enough flexibility to embed various additional supporting training material, ranging from streamed videos, images, documents to emulators, and document repositories.
The training material is presented in the form of 17 courses, which have been grouped in 8 subjects. The courses are described in D7.4 'Training curricula and dissemination activities' while the training platform is described in detail in D7.5 'Training platform and multimedia tool'.
The sixteenth objective was to disseminate the results and create public awareness through a dedicated web site, dissemination material and two major events. Dissemination has been of major interest within ACCESS2ALL and a relevant plan was drafted early in the project (D7.1 'Dissemination plan'). The project website (see http://www.access-to-all.eu online) has been established since the beginning of the project and been continuously updated throughout its duration (D7.3 'Project website'). In terms of dissemination material, two newsletters have been issued and broadly distributed (available also at the project website), two leaflets were created (D7.2 'Dissemination materials'), a project DVD has been created (D7.6 'Project DVD on accessible PT'), including project results and interviews with users and stakeholders on PT accessibility. Moreover, three events were organised: the first ACCESS2ALL Workshop in Porto, Portugal in September 2009, the ACCESS2ALL Transed pre-Conference Workshop in Hong-Kong, China, in June 2010 and the MEDIATE-ACCESS2ALL final conference, in London, UK, in November 2010; the last co-organised with MEDIATE project. Throughout the duration of the project, presentations in several workshops and scientific papers in conferences and journals have been undertaken by project partners (D7.4 'Training curricula and dissemination activities').
The 17th objective was to build a user forum to achieve wide key actors' involvement in the project. A user forum has been built early in the project, through contacts with key actors in the area of accessible PT. The list of participants has been enriched throughout the duration of the project, finally encompassing over 70 members. The user forum members have been receiving the ACCESS2ALL dissemination material, invitations to the project events as well as news on the project findings. Also, an electronic user forum has been created, hosted in the ACCESS2ALL website, providing the space for discussions, brainstorming and ideas exchange on topics related to the project aims.
We can conclude that the objectives set at the begining of the project have been fulfilled according to plan. In reaching the project's goal, ACCESS2ALL's partners have also achieved concertation with other projects in its field. The fact that ACCESS2ALL's partners have been widely sollicitated to present their work at various events is a token of the interest of the stakeholders for our efforts.
Potential impact:
Creating the framework for an attractive, inclusive urban transport system with better access for all has been the core objective of the ACCESS2ALL project and the primary impact that the project is aiming to achieve. Improving PT operation performance and reducing operational costs, while promoting the synergies between PT operators and between them and the rest of the transport system stakeholders have also been determining factors towards this goal.
ACCESS2ALL has been focusing on this aim through different perspectives, addressing the needs of the several affected bodies, such as the MI travellers, the PT operators and the relevant authorities. The main impacts that are envisaged to be achieved from the work performed in ACCESS2ALL, along with the corresponding project results, are summarized in the following:
1. Promote PT use by all society members, including the less privileged ones in terms of mobility through the investigation of their needs and the suggestion of ways to overcome them
The groups of PT users that face problems with their mobility have been identified through a relevant users clustering and their needs for overcoming their problems have been specified. Special attention has been put to safety issues. Moreover, cross-cultural, cross-generational and social issues have been looked into and relevant solutions suggested. By implementing the suggested solutions and satisfying the needs of the users, the PT system will become more attractive to them and more easy to use in their everyday life, regardless of their special needs or condition.
2. Assist the PT operators in decision making in terms of applying innovative solutions for the needs of their system
PT operators have been one of the stakeholder groups that ACCESS2ALL has particularly addressed. A best practices database has been created, including about 100 existing and emerging good practices regarding accessible PT. This database allows users to perform searches with a series of criteria, such as the country, the PT mode, type of accessibility, etc. in order to identify the solution that fits best their needs. Additionally, a software tool has been created, which allows PT planners and operators to assess the accessibility level of their service and be guided to relevant best practices through the ACCESS2ALL database. Last but not least, a set of 30 implementation scenarios has been defined, which have also been prioritised, pointing out the current emerging technologies and scenarios of actual implementation for creating a more accessible PT chain.
3. Promoting the formulation of a more accessible, reliable and user friendly PT travel chain.
Within ACCESS2ALL, this has been the main axis for the development of its work. All the activities performed in the course of the project aimed to contribute in this from different perspectives. Indicatively, new technological concepts for accessible PT vehicles, infrastructure, information provision as well as cooperative systems have been proposed, along with analysing HMI issues and issuing relevant guidelines. Moreover, the suggested priority implementation scenarios are also considered as a step towards this goal. Services personalisation is also another important aspect. Methods and technologies that would promote the adaptation of provided services according to the needs of each user group are suggested. Last but not least, in terms of quality of the provided service to the users, ACCESS2ALL has proposed relevant criteria as well as a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between PT service providers and users organizations, in order to secure a minimum level of service for the affected users.
4. Encouraging software and equipment developers to adopt a more user oriented approach when designing and producing elements of the travel chain (such as vehicles, personal devices, travel information systems, etc.)
Design guidelines for all elements of the travel chain have been proposed, along with HMI guidelines, aiming to present the ways in which these elements could be adapted in order to meet the needs of the users. Moreover, concepts for the design and application of services in a personalised manner, matching the needs of each user group have been presented. Localisation, seamless service provision as well as roaming applications have also been looked into.
5. Suggesting ways to enhance the overall performance of the PT travel chain, also in terms of implied costs
Apart from the already mentioned concepts and guidelines that have been elaborated within ACCESS2ALL, issues of PT services expandability and maintainability have also been tackled, e.g. in terms of information update, infrastructure maintenance, etc., thus ensuring the provision of a high quality PT service to its users, without it being depreciated over time. Costs are also taken into account, both in terms of the ones involved in maintenance and those implied by the implementation of the suggested priority scenarios.
6. Assisting policy making towards a more sustainable, accessible, inclusive and user-oriented PT chain.
Policy makers have been another key stakeholder group that ACCESS2ALL aims to address through its results. Existing standards have been reviewed, gaps in standardisation have been identified and 10 proposals for the need of new standards have been made. Moreover, 11 general recommendations for appropriate disability legislation on the European and local level have been issued. In total, 290 recommendations have resulted from the project, addressing policy, standardisation, HMI and specific services.
7. Encouraging training activities for PT personnel and operators (and not only) in order to make the people actually interacting with MI travellers aware of their needs and the prospects for providing an optimal service adaptable to their specific requirements
Adopting new concepts and technologies and innovative equipment is a significant step to be made for an accessible PT system. However, their proper use and application is an issue that needs the synergies of various actors, among which are the PT personnel and operators. Training is crucial for their familiarization with the new systems as well as with the options there are for improving their system, interacting with the users, etc. ACCESS2ALL has proposed a training curriculum including relevant issues, as emerged from the project results, while a training platform has adequately been adapted for enabling e-learning activities based on this curriculum.
8. Making the project activities visible and increasing awareness in the society through numerous dissemination actions, bringing all related stakeholders in touch with the project and with each other, to share views and experiences, as well as actually contribute to the project itself.
Within the two years of the project, numerous dissemination activities have been undertaken by the ACCESS2ALL consortium. Dissemination material has been produced and widely disseminated, while the project website has been operating since the beginning of the project and continuously updated. The project findings have been presented in major international conferences (Transed, AHFE, TRB, etc.), workshops and other occasions. Three events have been organized by the project and attended by involved stakeholders: the first ACCESS2ALL workshop in Porto, Portugal (September 2009), the ACCESS2ALL Transed pre-conference workshop in Hong Kong, China (June 2010) and the joint ACCESS2ALL - MEDIATE final conference in London, UK (November 2010). These events, apart from presenting the project findings, also included interactive sessions, where the participants were encouraged to contribute to the project work.
9. Enhancing a common and synchronised approach in research in the field and establishing the ground for further cooperation in research in this domain
ACCESS2ALL has been in close cooperation with several other ongoing research initiatives in the field of accessible mobility. Mediate has been the most outstanding example, with which a MoU has been signed since the beginning of both projects, according to which results exchange and contributions to each others' work have taken place, along with joint dissemination activities. Moreover, a concentration meeting with representatives of many other projects has taken place on November 2009 (in the framework of the OASIS conference in Florence) where cooperation was established with projects like OASIS, ACCESSIBLE, etc. The overall aim has been to promote a common approach regarding elaborated research in the area of accessible mobility, as well as to establish the ground for future cooperation for the continuation and further elaboration of the conducted research.
10. Setting out the framework for further research in the area, by highlighting the most prominent research items and promising applications
ACCESS2ALL has defined a research roadmap in the area of accessible mobility for the short (up to 2015), mid (up to 2020) and long term (up to 2030). To do this, relevant research initiatives, the legislative and standardization framework as well as experts in the area have been consulted, to come up with the most prominent research topics, the goals to be set and the intermediate actions to be taken for their achievement. The overall aim is that in the following years, research in the field would take advantage of the current achievements and progress towards the formulation of a sustainable, accessible and friendly PT travel chain for all its users.
Project website:
http://www.access-to-all.eu/
Contact details of the coordinator:
Juliette Renaud
ERT c/o INRETS
25 avenue François Mitterrand
69675 Bron
France
Tel: +33-472-142585
Email: juliette.renaud@ert-sas.fr
Contact details of the technical manager:
Evangelos Bekiaris
Center for Research and Technology Hellas
Hellenic Institute of Transport
6th Km Charilaou-Thermi Rd
570 01 Thermi,
Thessaloniki
Greece
Tel: +30-210-9853194
Email: abek@certh.gr
