The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

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.

+ Swiss citizens with disabilities push for political rights

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.


This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. You can find them here

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Aargau police continue to search for escaped prisoner

More

Swiss police still hunting handcuffed escapee

This content was published on A prisoner who escaped on Thursday in Baden, canton Aargau, is still on the run. The 23-year-old Albanian, who was in custody for burglary, was wearing handcuffs when he escaped.

Read more: Swiss police still hunting handcuffed escapee
Switzerland reinforces its ground-air defence with German systems

More

Swiss reinforce ground-air defence with German systems

This content was published on Switzerland has purchased five IRIS-T SLM systems for ground-based air defence from Germany, the Federal Office for Defence Procurement (armasuisse) said on Monday.

Read more: Swiss reinforce ground-air defence with German systems
Deer return to Winterthur cemetery

More

Evicted deer return to Swiss cemetery

This content was published on Individual deer are continuing to return to the Rosenberg cemetery in Winterthur, northeastern Switzerland, even after an eviction campaign last winter.

Read more: Evicted deer return to Swiss cemetery
You hardly earn any interest on savings accounts in Switzerland anymore

More

Hardly any interest earned on savings accounts in Switzerland

This content was published on Interest rates on savings accounts in Switzerland have fallen significantly. The brief high in savings interest rates is over, according to a study by online comparison service Moneyland.

Read more: Hardly any interest earned on savings accounts in Switzerland
Nazis

More

Nazi hikers questioned by Swiss police

This content was published on A group of around 25 men in uniforms of the Wehrmacht – the army of Nazi Germany – crossed the Wildhorn massif on Saturday and were questioned by Bern cantonal police.

Read more: Nazi hikers questioned by Swiss police

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR