Door-to- door transport systems: older people s point of view

Transcription

1 Door-to- door transport systems: older people s point of view The following document has been drawn up after consultation with a broad range of older people s organisations from the EU 25, the US and Japan. Many thanks to all respondent organisations. While most older people live active, independent lives in the community, there is a correlation between increasing years and declining physical function. Everywhere in our society the potential both of disabled people and of older people for leading a fulfilled life and contributing to their communities is increasingly appreciated. Yet, it is above all impediments to mobility which for many of them frustrate this aspiration. The importance of the role of public transport has been pointed out by all respondents to our inquiry: making public transport accessible is not a matter of being politically correct, it is a necessity. Better accessible transports are one of the main tools to ensure older people s independence and social participation. They play an increasingly important role in people s quality of life and self development, and are an essential element in that active independence which enables ALL categories of workers and consumers to contribute to society, reducing the dependence of vulnerable people on subsidies. From the individual s point of view, mobility makes at least three evident contributions to a good quality of life for all citizens: It opens the door to a wide range of familial, social, cultural, educational and occupational activities otherwise closed It promotes mental and physical health, which in turn will tend to enhance the quality and extend the length of life It enables older people with reduced mobility to be more visible both in the local community and among the travelling public, it promotes favourable change in society s perception of them. In some areas in Denmark we have door to door services and we think it is important that it continues as long as we don t have enough apartments with good accessibility and as long as the governments policy is to promote as long a possible in your own home. Without that service a lot of people would never leave their home. Especially, in old apartment buildings with staircases, a lot of

2 weak people need help to get to the front door otherwise these people would be prisoners in their own home. (Denmark) door-to-door services do not necessarily need to be applied on an automatic basis, however, such services MUST be present when needed at local level (for shopping, health care or social visits). (France). Older people s organisations are supportive of a system which would give them the opportunity to choose between both accessible public transport services and specialised transport services. Generic transport schemes Not all older people need to benefit from a specialised transport service, and the large majority of them want to be treated equally as any other users. All of them agree that accessible transport for all groups is necessary if we are to create an inclusive society which respects people s needs and differences. As pointed out, making public transport accessible for all will benefit all. We need accessibility for all in public services, not to segregate older or disabled people by special transport services. Sometimes people with reduced mobility do not want to have a special care, they want to be an integral part of society. Door to door transport services are called only for very dependant persons. (Czech Rep) Of course the ideal solution would be that public transports are as much as possible adapted to older people and disabled people s needs, in order to have a life as active as possible. However, this seems difficult to implement for very heavy disabilities (for people needing specific equipment or for people needing to lay ). (France) The best is the combination of both. People who can take the public services have to do that. (Belgium) Public transports as they are provided in most countries do not allow all older people, even people without any mobility impairment, to benefit fully from the system. The lack of accessibility of public transport has been pointed out by all respondents: even though the quality is slowly improving, a lot still needs to be done to improve the situation and make public transport a trustily alternative to private transport or specialised transport. In the new Member States and in candidate countries the situation is particularly acute: infrastructures are gradually improving, but they do not match the needs of older people. There is great need for accessible transport, especially among the older people. The people in wheelchair can't enter tram, bus or train without a back help. Also entering public buildings and crossing crossroads isn't always possible. Over the last few years the situation in this issue has been gradually

3 improving as the new building law demands to ensure access for people in wheelchair. (Estonia) Quite ironically, alternative transport services can be used by older people with no important disability, because they are a reliable means of transport. Public transports are often felt by people as being not fully accessible. They do not provide a sufficient level of safety (including psychologically) for the older users. These services are also used to palliate to gaps in the transport chain. The issue of the transport chain was pointed out many times by respondents. It is essential to establish accessible chains of transport since one weak link in a chain is enough to make a whole journey impossible. Over investment in one element of the mobility chain should be avoided. If only 80% of the chain is accessible, only 20% of the travellers will use it. Specific transport schemes In the view of older people s organisations, fully accessible public transports are not sufficient. Mobility is an issue relatively more important to older people with reduced mobility than to others. Not because it is necessarily more essential for them to enjoy it, but because they are much more likely to lose it. In general, the difference between the mobility needs of older people with disabilities and those of others with mobility handicaps may be ones of emphasis rather than categorical. In general, the provision of door-to-door transport will tend to be of greater importance to older disabled people than to others, because even where public transport is accessible to those with severe motor or visual impairments, additional frailties associated with ageing may make it impossible to walk to a station or a bus stop, or wait at a bus stop, particularly in bad weather. Specialized transport serves the needs of those older people with disabilities as well as those who are chronically ill and who may need personalized attention to travel. Fragility is an issue for the oldest old which is typically not addressed by even the most "accessible" public services. The great advantage of most public services is that they support a higher level of independence; however, they do not have capacity constraints and individuals do not have to schedule rides. Very often, the most frail older people cannot reach the public transports, be it by lack of physical or psychological ability. They need personal attention and security. (US) In majority, organisations however recommend the use of special services for older people only in exceptional cases (heavy disability) or for the very frail older old which makes up a larger and larger amount of the older people population. (UK)

4 In Sweden for instance, mainstreaming older people s issue in the regular transport services since 1998 has proved inefficient and badly adapted to older people s needs. Contrary to organisations representing disabled younger persons, older people s organisations in Sweden have been pressing for the abandon of the mainstreaming idea and for the implementation of older people s door-to-door transports. (Sweden) As population ages, more services will be needed unless generic public transports focuses more on the usability for the older, more fragile member of our communities. Door-to-Door transport services should continue to be improved so that they can meet diversified personal needs of everyone with reduced mobility, they are essential services as they provide people with opportunities of socialisation, independence and a better quality of life. (Japan) However, even in the case of specific transport services, respondents pointed out the lack of adequacy between the proposed services and the needs of people. It ranges from lack of training of staff, to limitation in the use and to cost issues. Such services should be available to all, but it is not the case because of lack of training for staff. A problem often encountered is that drivers not always have the knowledge of safe transport for people in wheelchairs, or they do not give themselves enough time to ensure safe transport of people in wheelchairs. (the Netherlands) A problem with the door-to-door transport on national scale is that the national government limits the amount of kilometres people can travel with this door-to-door transport. That is to say: people can travel as much as they want, but if they reach the limit of 450 km they have to pay a much higher price per km. So it's impossible for them to visit family on a regular basis, for instance. (the Netherlands) In most parts of the Netherlands, door-to-door transport have been developed on a regional scale. Such services also exist on a national scale. On national scale however, these services are only available for people with recognised mobility disabilities. In general, older people are satisfied with both the regional and the national door-to-door transport. But one of the major issue is that this door-to-door transport needs more subsidies than the 'traditional' public transport. Therefore, their price is higher than the price of the traditional public transport. They also lack some sort of flexibility as reservation should be done in advance. (The Netherlands) In some rural zones in Belgium, there are specific buses everyone can call. But the majority of buses are only available from 8.30 to 5 pm, and you need to book 24 hours in advance. Very often, drivers are volunteers, and lack the training, and in some cases, cars are too small to bring wheel chairs. (Belgium)

5 Different models have been devised to meet the problem of accessibility, and local market research is necessary. Subsidies from local authorities may be needed to meet the cost of adaptation or to help NGOs to run their own services adapted to people s needs. Unfortunately, there are no such services. We run our own door to door service project for people who are involved in our activities and we arrange they transport with special small bus, especially for people on wheelchair. (Czech Republic) The specific case of rural areas In rural areas, these services are often the only alternative when bus routes are suspended, or when people cannot use their car any more. The Rural Bus Initiative, introduced by the Government 4 years ago, has been transferred in the last month to Local Authorities, but with the continuance of the national Govt grant (of around 500,000 per County per annum) for another 4 years. This is to help anyone in rural areas who cannot make journeys for any reason, eg, the timetabled services do not run at the right time or to the right destinations, or the passenger is disabled. Passengers pre-book their doorto-door journeys by giving 24 hours notice, having paid an annual registration fee of 2. This flexible approach is to be applauded, and encouraged in the UK and the rest of Europe. However, it is only suitable for a bus ride length of journey, so for longer distances door-to-door is not practical. (UK) BT Pensioners is calling on the Rail Authorities to adapt the infrastructure of the railways (to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995) to give acceptable access for the disabled and frail elderly. The Federation has been assisting the Strategic Rail Authority and its predecessors since 1998 by identifying poor access cases for priority action (of which we have seen virtually none). That leaves buses in towns and cities, where many bus companies are introducing vehicles to take wheelchairs, but it is proving very difficult to stop able-bodied passengers who board the bus first to give way to the disabled ones. Door-to-door buses for the disabled in towns would add to already-overcrowded streets. The solution is to make the timetabled routes more disabled-friendly. (UK)