Public Transport

The pedestrians are the natural allies of public transport. If there were no people who are willing to walk to train- and bus-stations those would circulate empty or would have to be surrounded by huge parking lots. Therefore the surroundings of stations of public transport should be designed particularly pedestrian-friendly, which is unfortunately not always the case.

Let's first think of those who are not able to walk. It is important that our cities are not full of obstacles for them. Basically we can say: The details that are essential for the mobility of the mobility impaired are features of comfort for all.

Accessibility for all - an article by Stefan van der Spek (NL) (pdf / 452.4 KB)

Of course, rail and light rail transport are essential wherever a great number of persons have to be transported along a line. However, if a large area has to be served, often bus systems are more adequate, and they may be installed much more rapidly. An article from Holland points out the advantages of a bus rapid transit system.

• Bus Rapid Transit - an article by Stefan van der Spek (NL) (pdf / 468.2 KB)
• "My Jumbo" - a short essay on the limits of Public Transport by Rudy Almeida (doc / 26 KB)

For more information on the organised passengers, see the website of the
European Passenger's Federation EPF

Many papers on public transport and walking by authors from different countries you find on the search-page of the walk21-website