Subway tries to improve ride for the disabled

By Huang Yuli (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-03-30 07:53

The newly constructed subway lines will have ticket windows accessible to wheelchair users in accordance with the specifications for the barrier-free traffic facilities that will be implemented from April 1.

Aside from the ticket windows, other barrier-free facilities to be introduced include broader passages for the ticket gates, and barrier-free carriages and toilets.

There were 999,000 disabled people in Beijing at the end of 2009, almost 5.6 percent of the total population of the city, according to the municipal government.

Due to traditional beliefs and limited financial investment, disabled people are often severely disadvantaged when using public transport so many people are confined in their own communities or even their apartments.

But Beijing is committed to building a barrier-free city for the disabled, and incorporating better facilities on the subway for disabled people is high on the agenda. Subway stations under construction will be built with non-barrier facilities while newly built ones will be modified. The government is also studying how to add non-barrier facilities to older stations.

At the subway station Haidianhuangzhuang on Line 4 there is one barrier-free passage that is broader than the others, "it's especially for disabled people," a ticket inspector surnamed Wang told METRO.

Haidianhuangzhuang is the transfer station between Line 4 and Line 10.

"The trains of Line 10 have two carriages for the disabled and those of Line 4 have six. On the door of these carriages there are clear signs announcing it is a carriage for disabled, " said a subway worker surnamed Fan.

He also explained that the barrier-free toilet for the disabled is separated from that of men and women. There is one toilet seat inside. The space is broad enough to accommodate a wheelchair and the gate opens outward.

"We have very few disabled passengers out of a total of tens of thousands of passengers, so we have the necessary facilities and workers to help them complete their trip without a hitch," Fan said.