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THE PARLIAMENT IMPROVES THE JOURNEY OF 65 MILLION PASSENGERS WITH DISABILITIES

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6 July 2009 /// Freedom of movement for all citizens is guaranteed by the Treaty of the European Union. Too many barriers prevent persons with disabilities from using existing transport networks. Today, the European Parliament approved two important proposals on passenger rights including specific rights for passengers with disabilities travelling by bus and by boat. The question is how passengers with disabilities will benefit from such regulations.
The disability movement is fighting for an accessible Europe free of barrier
 
 
Freedom of movement
 
 
The disability movement believes that all forms of transport should be accessible to all. Particular measures should also be adopted in order to ensure that persons with disabilities will receive the assistance they may need during their journey by trained personnel. European law applicable in all EU countries is the best way to ensure that disabled people will enjoy a comparable travel experience as everyone else. Disabled passengers experience today a multitude of infrastructural, vehicle design and attitudinal barriers to transport services. This means that many disabled persons today are prevented from benefiting from public transportation due to a lack of information about the accessibility of the services. There is a serious lack of information available in accessible formats, poor levels of assistance, difficult physical access and limited information about accessibility of the inter-modal connections.
 
 
 

Travelling by boat

>text adopted: Maritime passengers regulation

>rapporteur: Ms Ines Ayala Sender MEP, S&D/Spain

>situation: Final version of the regulation adopted in plenary in Strasbourg on 6/07/2010

>applicable: From 2 years after the date of publication of the regulation in the official journal of the EU

>key improvements for persons with disabilities:

  1. Passengers with disabilities should not be denied boarding as the main rule unless safety requirements allow for this or whether the embarkation is physically impossible due to the design of the ship or the port terminals.
  2. Passengers with disabilities should be able to buy tickets at no additional charge and under the same conditions as other passengers.
  3. Persons with disabilities are entitled to assistance, adapted to their needs, in ports and on board ships free of charge if notification, by any means, is provided 48 hours on beforehand. The passenger shall receive a confirmation of the notification of assistance. The annexes are listing the specific assistance provided on board the ships and in the ports.
  4. Quality standards for the assistance should be elaborated, and shall be available in accessible formats and the personnel shall undergo disability-related training.
  5. Widening of the scope of application
  6. Countries can go further than the regulation so there is still scope for improving the rights for passengers further at National level.
  7. Full compensation should be provided for lost of damaged mobility equipment or assistive devices.
  8. Important information about the journey (delays, cancellations…) shall be available in accessible formats.
  9. The complaints mechanism should be accessible.
 
 

Travelling by bus

>text adopted: proposal for a regulation on the rights of bus and coach passengers

>rapporteur: Mr Antonio Cancian MEP, EPP/Italy

>situation: A wide majority of the Parliament voted in favor of the proposal in the plenary in Strasbourg. As the national governments haven’t agreed with the text yet, it has now to follow a conciliation procedure. The disability movement has to continue encouraging national governments to agree with the text as adopted in the European Parliament in order to ensure equal travel opportunities for persons with disabilities.

>applicable: The conciliation procedure should last during a few weeks. If an agreement is reached, it will have to be adopted in third reading in the EP and the Council after the summer.

>key improvements we still have to fight for:

  1. key information to be provided in accessible format
  2. lost or damaged mobility equipment under the responsibility of the operator to be fully compensated
  3. cooperation between bus operators and DPOs during the implementation of key provisions under the regulation
  4. the scope of the regulation to cover regional and local services
 
 
 
Read more on EDF website:

 
 
 
Contact EDF: Maria Nyman | maria.nyman@edf-feph.org | T +32 2 286 51 84
 
photo: Fancy taking the boat? Copyrights Emmanuelle Dal'Secco


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