Guidelines for Accessible Maritime Passenger Transport
The Department of Transport and the National Disability Authority (NDA) have recently published guidelines entitled “Guidelines for Accessible Maritime Passenger Transport”. The Guidelines aim is to assist and support Maritime passenger transport operators in Ireland to make their services more accessible to all passengers. The document consists of two parts, Background Information which covers improving accessibility and barriers to transport and Guidelines which covers a wide range of topics such as Information Provision; Customer Relations and Vessels Access. The following are just some of the key points within the document:
- Under the Equal status Act 2000, transport operators must not discriminate against people on grounds of their disability. This applies to both public & private transport operators.
- Section 26 of the Disability Act 2005 states that public bodies are to appoint an Access Officer and to ensure that the provision of access to the particular service by people with or without disabilities is integrated.
- Under the current EU Directive 2003/24/EC on safety rules and standards for passenger vessels, the European Commission have agreed to discuss a proposed Regulation to strengthen passenger rights in the area of maritime transport. This proposed Regulation would give maritime passengers similar rights to those that air and rail passengers already have under EU law.
- Maritime passenger transport operators should consider preparing a Personal Emergency Egress Plan (PEEP) to ensure that the evacuation needs of particular passengers or staff members are planned and agreed before any emergency occurs.
- Maritime passenger transport operators should consider implementing disability equality training as part of the training programme of their job. Training should be delivered by experienced trainers in disability equality training.
Follow the link for further information or to obtain a copy of the guidelines.
