SBB’s delay in implementing the Disability Equality Act (BehiG) – keyword barrier-free stations – calls for disability associations to plan. They demand the consequences of the delay in transforming platforms, stops and information systems.
“We better be able to sue SBB,” says Anita Wymann (42). She works at the helm of Agile.ch, an organization for people with disabilities. Problem: SBB will likely settle it in court. “You can justify almost anything with proportionality,” adds Raphaël de Riedmatten (52), Managing Director of Agile.ch, Wymann’s boss.
In March 2019, the SBB website was approved by the “Access for All” foundation. Therefore, most of the content is accessible without hindrance.
“We’re working nonstop where we need to close the gaps,” says Andrés Doménech Nothhelfer, 54, who is responsible for implementing the Disability Equality Act (BehiG) at SBB. Some areas are not yet barrier-free, such as the Snow’n’Rail range.
For whom accessibility is particularly important as a blind person, René Jaun (41) finds his way around the internet and the “SBB Inclusive” app. SBB implemented the application specifically for the disabled.
Thanks to the app, Jaun finds out which train he is about to take. “The app communicates with the train via Bluetooth. It works great on some trains, but sometimes it doesn’t work at all,” says Jaun.
In March 2019, the SBB website was approved by the “Access for All” foundation. Therefore, most of the content is accessible without hindrance.
“We’re working nonstop where we need to close the gaps,” says Andrés Doménech Nothhelfer, 54, who is responsible for implementing the Disability Equality Act (BehiG) at SBB. Some areas are not yet barrier-free, such as the Snow’n’Rail range.
For whom accessibility is particularly important as a blind person, René Jaun (41) finds his way around the internet and the “SBB Inclusive” app. SBB implemented the application specifically for the disabled.
Thanks to the app, Jaun finds out which train he is about to take. “The app communicates with the train via Bluetooth. It works great on some trains, but sometimes it doesn’t work at all,” says Jaun.
Caroline Hess-Klein, 49, head of the equality department at the Inclusion Handicap umbrella organization, takes a different view: “Organizations can complain if there is discrimination, both for people with disabilities and for people with disabilities.” The chances of success aren’t bad. Hess-Klein says that disability organizations have already exercised the association’s right to lodge a complaint during the BehiG period, and they have already managed to achieve success “as with Dosto double-decker trains or at the Bahnhofplatz in Basel”.
“Follow the developments closely”
Currently, Inclusion Handicap wants to “continue to monitor developments closely.” Meanwhile, a popular initiative to achieve legal equality for people with disabilities is also discussed. Hess-Klein: “We’ll probably communicate formally in January.”