Tag Archives: TA_CocoNatta

Platform edge doors prevent passengers from falling off the platform edge onto the tracks. In my opinion, it should form a basic feature of all stations. However, while stations on the Gold and Green Lines have this safety component in place, those on the Red Line do not. While this may be due to a different service builder for each of the three lines, it raises the question whether they should all be required to comply with the same standards of the Ministry of Transport, which they are all operating under.

Since Samyan Mitrtown opening we have visited several times. We found many spots where inclined platform elevators are provided. The one linking the mall’s entrance and the MRT system is worth noting in particular. It is attached to a staircase which is as high as a two-storey building, making it totally unsafe.

On the survey undertaken on 27 November I found that the elevator between the MRT Samyan ticket office floor and the underpass leading to Samyan Mitrtown Mall is exceptionally small. I’m in my 60cm-wide wheelchair and when in the elevator there was hardly any room left. I doubt that an elevator of this size could possibly serve passengers in electric wheelchairs or with double strollers.

27 November 2020 We found this elevator not meeting the standard requirements set out by the ministry. It is hard to believe that this has escaped the authority’s attention. I have added buttons in the image as a suggestion. Buttons lined horizontally are the most convenient for everyone.

27 November 2020 As a representative of Disability Network, we joined the launch of an electric-boat service on Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem which was presided over by Prime Minister and Defense Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha this morning. There are currently seven fully electric boats servicing eleven piers along the five-kilometer route on Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem.

A quick recap and an urgent call for improvement to make the new electric-boat service on Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem accessible to all: 1. Footpath >> needs to be widened and to have curb ramps to comply with standards. Obstructions such as poles should be relocated. Connectivity with other transportation modes and to/from major locations needs to be looked at. Park and ride facilities are recommended.

23 November 2020 I have been invited by the Traffic and Transportation Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration(BMA) to join their test of an electric-boat service on Khlong Phadung Krung Kasem, on behalf of Accessibility is Freedom and Transportation for All member (T4A). Here is what we found from this first and quick survey:

This picture was taken three years ago during my Japan second trip. It was a late afternoon in Kawaguchi and we were heading back to a train station to return to Tokyo. I took this picture from a distance. We can see elementary school students wearing bright yellow hats and with their hands held high as a clear signal to coming vehicles that they want to cross the road.

9 November 2020 The survey was led by the deputy director of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s Department of Public Works and joined by relevant agencies and organisations including Accessibility Is Freedom, T4A, FD and Bangkok Bus Club. We examined a distance of 1Km of footpath between Rama IX and Thiam Ruam Mit intersections. Issues found are common for Bangkok footpaths,

Our body is susceptible to change. Nothing guarantees that your health today will stay the same tomorrow. ‘Tomorrow you may become a wheelchair user like me’. Imagine yourself in a wheelchair and come across a difference in floor height of just under two inches. I am sure that would cause you trouble.