Barrier Free Travels

Good news - the amended Air Carrier Access Act has been published in the Federal Register. Seems the folks at the DOT do a quicker turn around on things than the Access Board, who is still trying to decide on the guidelines for passenger vessels.

But I digress.

The new rules don't offer any startling changes, but they are in an easier-to-reference Q&A format and they offer some sense of order to the mish-mash of letters, amendments and clarifications that have been issued since the law first took affect in 1990. With all the changes over the years the old document was getting difficult to reference and I have to say that the reorganization helps a lot.

As for the specifics, the document goes into some detail about how the ACAA applies to foreign air carriers. There are some exceptions, but generally speaking the nondiscrimination aspect applies to flights beginning or ending in the US on a commercial carrier. 

Probably the biggest change to the existing law is in regards to Portable Oxygen Concentrators  (POCs). The new law requires air carriers to allow FAA approved POCs on board and to operate during all phases of air travel. The airlines mainly objected to this because it's very expensive to get the testing done. The DOT solved that problem by shifting the burden of testing to the manufacturers of the devices. Seems fair to me; after all they are the ones that will financially benefit from it. The DOT stopped short of requiring manufacturers to have their devices tested, but strongly recommend it.

The new law also addresses new technology - specifically wesbites and airport kiosks. Although it doesn't mandate airline websites to be accessible, it does require that web only fares and other specials on inaccessible websites be offered to disabled passengers by phone or other reservation method.  And it requires the airlines to provide physical help at inaccessible kiosks.

The new ACAA provisions are set to take effect in May 2009.

All in all it's a good document, written in very clear and understandable language. 

As I was answering an e-mail from a reader, I just had one of those great "aha moments" and realized what strides we have made in access in just 10 years.

I was telling the reader about the "access maps" that cruise ships used to have. The premise was pretty simple - since there were only a few accessible pathways on the ships, the cruise lines made up these access maps so disabled customers could get from point A to point B with a minimum of muss and fuss. They were a pretty low tech solution to a very frustrating problem. But hey, they worked.

But today the access maps are gone - I can't recall the last time I saw one - and that's a very good thing.  Why?  Because  they are building accessible ships these days. We don't need access maps because all of the pathways are accessible. And that's a very good thing.

Now that's progress!

I've received a flood of e-mail about the May/June issue of National Geographic Traveler, as my latest book --101 Accessible Vacations; Travel Ideas for Wheelers and Slow Walkers -- is featured on page 33. And you'll even find a few quotes from me there, from an interview I gave to the columnist.

Of course that's great for me; however it's also is great for the niche - or should I say former niche -- to be featured so prominently in a mainstream travel publication.

The times they are a changing. So give it a read, and if you like the coverage, let the editors know. After all, they're very responsive to their readership.

Although I'm technically on holiday, I just can't resist blogging. It's somewhat addictive; plus I've received quite a lot of mail asking me to post my impressions about access in Ireland.

And to be honest, it's hard for me to go anywhere and not take note of the access. Such was the case when we landed at Belfast City Airport and noticed accessible taxi cabs at the taxi queue. And I have to say that I'd recommend that airport as an entry point, as it's easy to navigate and nicely accessible. Plus the employees were quite punctual at providing assistance - wheelers weren't left waiting (and waiting) on planes to disembark.

As far as physical access in the cities goes, well it's pretty typical of Europe - meaning that curb cuts are not ubiquitous and steps up to shops are found - but with a little planning it's possible to navigate. I'm in Westport today and certainly the city has a few hills, so it wouldn't be the best choice for wheelchair-users; however Belfast was pretty level and parts of it made for a nice walk. In fact, walking in Belfast is much easier than driving.

As far as the attractions go, a good lot of them feature accessible parking and ramped entrances, although the accessible entrance may not always be in the front, especially at historic attractions.

Contemporary attractions are a mixed bag. At Bushmills Distillery there are many steps and steep inclines on the tour, so it's really not doable for wheelers or even slow walkers. But Belleek Pottery offers great access. They have accessible parking near the entrance, a barrier-free pathway to the visitors center and level access throughout the factory tour. And if you can't manage distances, they have a free loaner wheelchair on hand. I highly recommend the tour as it allows you to get up close and personal (and even talk to) the craftsmen.

So if Ireland is on your wish list, I encourage you to pursue it. Like many other destinations these days, it's most certainly very doable.

Mark McClenaghan had a very bad day last week, when he tried to board a Scotrail sleeper in Aberdeen with his service dog, Friday. Apparently Friday was barred from boarding because he might have "fleas, germs or mites."

So Mark had to find another way to get back to Edinburgh, and in the end he had to fork over an additional £95 for a taxi. Ouch!

So what went wrong? Well according to Scotrail, they welcome service animals on all their trains and they have clear guidelines for their staff about this policy.

Apparently the Scotrail employee that barred Mark from the rail car didn't see those guidelines. She claimed that if she let Friday aboard then they would have to deep clean the train afterwards.

And when Mark spoke to her supervisor, he backed up his employee. After all, he trained her.

In the end Mark did everything he could, but they still wouldn't budge.

Scotrail is looking into the matter, so hopefully Mark will be compensated. Personally I put the blame on the supervisor. He's in charge of training his employees and for making them familiar with all Scotrail regulations. It's quite obvious that he was unfamiliar with the access laws and issues, and apparently he passed along that ignorance to at least one of his employees.

So it just goes to prove that you can have the best access laws in the world, but if you don't train employees and educate them about those laws, access goes to Hell in a hand basket rather quickly.

Hopefully Scotrail will move just as quickly to rectify their training problem at the Aberdeen station.