Barrier Free Travels

I'm somewhat disappointed, if not a bit surprised by the American Hotel and Lodging Association's (AHLA) recent response to the proposed changes in the American with Disabilities Act Architectural Guidelines (ADAAG). OK, maybe not that surprised, but definitely disappointed.

In accessible travel news from across the Big Pond, scooters are now prohibited on the the Tyne and Wear Metro system. Apparently this new regulation is the result of several near misses with scooter-users. The ban replaces a temporary regulation enacted in April, which required scooter-users to travel with a companion.

Even with all of our access regulations and enforcement agencies here in the west, we still have to be careful when we travel to some areas of the world, especially when air travel is involved. That's a point I really try and impress upon folks setting off for Asia or Africa or even the Caribbean; yet I'm often accused of being ethnocentric for the mere suggestion.

Jane Oppermann addresses barrier-free travel today, in her Prime Times column in the Chicago Daily Herald.

I have to admit that Bahrain isn't the first place that comes to mind when somebody asks about wheelchair access; which is why an article touting the upcoming delivery of 300 accessible taxis to a new government-backed taxi service in that locale really wowed me.