Report “Moscow: Subway accessibility”

16.02.2015

A year ago we started to collect feedback from experts and general public to the draft of the upcoming research.

Since that day we received a lot of valuable information: wheelchair-users and stroller-carriers have shared with us priceless details of their experience of using the infrastructure installed to improve subway accessibility. Universal design experts explained to us controversial points of current technical standards. We collected data on all the ramps and elevators and created photo database of barriers in Moscow subway and adjacent underground network. Then we analysed all this info together with data we’ve collected beforehand, and presented it in graphics and text for everyone to read.

The result of this work is report “Moscow: Subway accessibility”, made of:
– 95 pages,
– 37 diagrams,
– 43 photos,
– 11 schemes and drawings.

The report is divided into three parts: “Infrastructure elements”, “Routes and interchanges” and “Accessibility”.

First part is dedicated to analysis of stairs, elevators, wheelchair platforms, ramps, turnstiles, doors, escalators parameters, and their compliance with technical standards. Here you can find out, for example:
– percentage of out of order elevators (30% in June 2014, this number has changed for the better in the last months),
– number of entrances and exits with turnstiles narrower than 60 cm (one third of the total number), or
– which handrails should be installed on all ramps, and why some new ramps at Novokosino and Delovoi Centr are not in compliance with current standards.

Second part includes general features of intra-station routes and interchanges: total number and distribution over lines, minimal width, stairs total length, number of elevators and escalators, etc.

Probably most interesting part of the report is the third one, which is dedicated to analysis of intra-station routes and interchanges from the accessibility angle for 3 categories of passengers with reduced mobility:
– wheelchair users,
– people with walking difficulties (elderly people, people who are sick or traumatized, pregnant women, and other people who have difficulties getting up and down the stairs) и
– people with baby-strollers and sized baggage (suitcases on whhels, carts).

The report contains both general statistics and description of specific cases of inacessibilty and violation of technical standards, and also some recommendations to the authorities. More detailed information about each station is available in interactive infographics, which shows current accessibility status of Moscow subway.

All data used for creation of the report and the infographics is open and available under Creative Commons licences. Please send your comments and questions to info@metro4all.org.

P.S. Between the completion of the report and its release there has been some changes in Moscow subway (for example, 2 new stations Spartak and Troparevo were opened) but the big picture hasn’t changed much, and all principal conclusions and recommendations of the report are still topical.