Progress of Barrier-Free Initiatives in Public Transport Facilities and Their Surrounding Areas

In Japan, the percentage of elderly people in the population is increasing at a rate unparalleled in other countries. As of September 1, 2003, there were approximately 24,280,000 people aged 65 or older, constituting 19.0% of the population. It is forecast that in 2015, that figure will have increased to 32,770,000 people, or 26% of the population. Accordingly, a true “aged society” will have arisen, with one in four Japanese citizens being of age 65 or older. In addition, the concept of normalization, to achieve a society where persons with disabilities can live and be active on an equal basis to those without disabilities, is becoming widespread among the public. Accordingly, there is a need for consideration to enable disabled people receive services on the same basis as able-bodied people. According to the Annual Report on Outline Measures for the Disabled for fiscal 2001, there are about 3,516,000 disabled people in Japan. In order to respond to such circumstances, the creation of an environment that enables the elderly and disabled to manage their daily lives and public lives independently is an urgent task. In this regard, an especially large role is played by the “mobility environment” achieved through the use of public transport such as trains and buses. Accordingly, there is a need to create barrier-free transport environments by — for example — installing elevators and escalators in stations, introducing low-floor buses, and widening pathways and eliminating steps on roads, station plazas, and passageways around transport facilities. Given such a situation, for the purpose of overall implementation of policies to encourage barrier-free transport initiatives, in 2000, the Law for Promoting the Improvement of Public Transportation Accessibility to the Aged, the Disabled and the Like (“Transportation Accessibility Improvement Law”) was enacted.