While most in Washington, D.C., don’t brag about the Metro, there is one aspect of the rail system worth feeling positive about: its accessibility. The Guardian compared subway systems in cities like Tokyo, London, Barcelona, Paris, and New York City in order to understand just how accessible their systems are. Overall, the results are discouraging, but in D.C., specifically, there’s good news.
According to The Guardian, all 91 stations are accessible with the ability for both powered and manual wheelchair users to be able to roll on and off trains smoothly.
On the WMATA website, it reads, “Rail cars feature gap reducers between the car and the platform, barriers between cars, priority seating for people with disabilities and senior citizens, and emergency intercoms accessible to wheelchair users that also include instructions in Braille and raised alphabet.”
In comparison, only 15 out of 303 stations in Paris are listed as wheelchair-accessible. In London, only 71 out of 270 stations have fully step-free accessibility to the platforms.
To see all of The Guardian’s maps, be sure to go here.
• Access denied: wheelchair metro maps versus everyone else's [The Guardian]
• Here's what the NYC subway map looks like with just accessible stations [Curbed NY]