Legal frameworks and formal accessibility requirements are failing to translate into real-world mobility for millions of people worldwide, according to a groundbreaking report released today by the International Transport Forum (ITF).
The report highlights a critical flaw in global transit systems: the “accessible travel chain” frequently breaks down due to everyday operational failures. When a single passenger lift is out of order, digital information is unclear, or a transport hub is physically unreachable, the entire journey becomes impossible. For persons with disabilities, these systemic gaps do more than cause inconvenience—they severely restrict access to employment, education, and vital healthcare.
Drawing on insights from a specialized expert Roundtable and real-world international case studies, the ITF report aims to help policymakers, transit authorities, and operators bridge the gap between mere legal compliance and actual, dependable usability.
“True accessibility means ensuring a journey works in practice, not just on paper,” the report emphasizes, urging a shift toward continuous, lived-experience integration rather than one-off consultations.
To establish transport environments that work in real-world conditions, the ITF outlines four core recommendations for global decision-makers:
-
Implement and Maintain Universal Design: Adopt universal design principles across all transit environments, backed by rigorous, routine maintenance and monitoring to ensure infrastructure remains functional.
-
Embed Lived Experience Through Co-Creation: Establish permanent, sustained co-creation processes with disabled persons to ensure system designs meet actual user needs.
-
Strengthen Governance and Training: Create clear governance structures that define institutional roles, foster coordinated action, and provide sustained staff training to make accessibility operational.
-
Secure Sustainable Financing: Utilize targeted financial instruments and strategic procurement to make accessibility both financially viable for operators and commercially attractive.
By distilling international best practices into these clear, actionable principles, the ITF provides a practical roadmap for authorities to build seamless, inclusive transit networks that empower all passengers.
The International Transport Forum (ITF) is an intergovernmental organisation with 66 member countries. It acts as a think tank for transport policy and organises the Annual Summit of Transport Ministers. ITF is administratively integrated with the OECD, yet politically autonomous.
