The Barrier-Free Transportation Scheme of Suita City with the Participation of Citizens

In order to promote the greater convenience and safety of public transportation for the aged/disabled, the Transportation Accessibility Improvement Law (TAIL), which came into force in November 2000, sets up the framework for concentrated and integrated improvement of passenger facilities, roads, and station squares in accordance with the Basic Plan. So, the Basic Plans have been drawn up by many cities in Japan. It is the point how the opinion of citizens including people suffering from difficulty on their traveling like the aged/disabled can be reflected in the decision of its plan. However, the decision process including and reflecting their opinion has not been established enough. This paper described the reflection method of citizen awareness and opinions, in the view of the improvement priority in some railroad stations and the method and validity of public/private partnership. In addition, it is clarified some issues for improvement of TAIL. In order to achieve this purpose, Suita City of Osaka Prefecture in Japan is chosen as a case study area.