Ulrike Boppel is a staff member at the Registration Office for Accessible Intercity Buses (German: Meldestelle für barrierefreie Fernlinienbusse). REHACARE.com spoke with her about the use of mobility scouts to verify the actual levels of accessibility in these buses.
Last year, the Registration Office for Accessibility Intercity Buses was searching for so-called mobility scouts. What exactly was this about?
Ulrike Boppel: To verify the level of accessibility in intercity buses, the Registration Office has trained so-called mobility scouts. In a three-day workshop, the scouts who all have a disability, obtained the required knowledge as it pertains to accessibility and barriers in intercity buses. The scouts conduct test runs on different intercity bus routes and bus services. Not only do they check the legally required level of accessibility (two wheelchair accessible spots), but they also consider the entire travel chain from arrival to departure. They also review the benefit for people with visual or hearing impairments since accessibility and barriers are not just limited to wheelchair users but need to be seen as an issue pertaining to all types of disabilities. In addition, the scouts review the starting point and destination station for accessibility. After all, there is no point if the bus is accessible, but the bus depot isn’t and you are therefore not able to enter or leave the bus. Mobility scouts have been in the field since January 1, 2016, and are testing numerous intercity bus routes. The second workshop took place in March of 2016. More mobility scouts could be recruited during this event. Additional workshops are planned in October 20-23, 2016, in Berlin and on February 16-19, 2017 in Pforzheim.
What did the scouts learn at these workshops?
Boppel: They primarily obtained theoretical knowledge on accessibility. They also toured the Central Bus Station in Berlin (ZOB). Berlinlinienbus provided an accessible bus so that the scouts were able to review an example of an accessible bus while they practiced getting in and out using the wheelchair lifts. In addition, the scouts learned how to conduct a test drive, what they need to pay attention to and how to document everything.
What type of practical experiences were the mobility scouts able to make so far?
Boppel: The mobility scouts are hard at work. Since accessibility in intercity buses currently only applies to newly purchased buses, buses that are not accessible are still on the road, which is why the scouts also did not get picked up by some of them. However, there are intercity bus services that already feature accessible buses such as the German Postbus and Berlinlinienbus options. Here, the scouts had positive experiences during their test drives. Yet they also noticed that accessibility – if it exists – is limited to wheelchair users and does not address the needs of people with visual and hearing impairments.