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Swiss public transport will not meet disability access deadline

wheelchair sign
© Keystone / Christian Beutler

With the deadline fixed for the end of the year, only three out of five train stations and a third of bus and tram stops have been adapted.

Public transport in Switzerland has until the end of 2023 to become barrier-free accessible to people with disabilities, as required by law.  Despite some progress, public transport companies, cantons, towns and municipalities are not ready “because of the complexity and scale of the task”, their umbrella organisations emphasised in Bern on Friday. The Law on Equality for People with Disabilities came into force on January 1, 2004.

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For buses and trams, a third of the more than 23,000 stops in Switzerland will be compliant by the end of 2023. On the railways, around 60% of stations will be barrier-free, benefiting some 80% of rail passengers.

There are many reasons for these delays, often linked to funding. Alternative or transitional measures will be proposed, in the form of staff assistance or shuttles, for example.


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