EMT Madrid advances bus stop accessibility improvements

Credit: Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid

The Empresa Municipal de Transportes de Madrid (EMT Madrid) has announced that it will be renovating a total of 26 stops on the municipal bus network – across 10 districts in Madrid- to make them more accessible for people with reduced mobility.

Supported by the European NextGeneration fund, the 26 stops included in this tender have been identified as priorities when it comes to improving accessibility and comfort for passengers. The works will focus on the renovation of the affected paving, sanitation and drainage, as well as the establishment and signalling of provisional stops to maintain the functionality of the affected lines during the execution of the works.

Through this renovation, EMT Madrid aims to reinforce road safety for its customers, as well as improve the road conditions for approaching buses to ensure that passengers get on and off properly, especially those with reduced mobility. The municipal company also aims to solve visual touch paving interference with the surrounding urban elements and provide adapted access when these are not properly urbanised.

In July 2021, EMT Madrid awarded the remodelling of the stops included in this tender for a value of €500,000, with financial support from Next Generation funds through the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (Mincotur). 

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The EMT Madrid bus stop network is currently made up of 5,182 nodes (stops in both directions of a street, or located in a square), of which about seven per cent are likely to undergo accessibility and comfort improvements for users of municipal buses. There are currently 4,500 canopies in the city of Madrid.

In order to guarantee accessibility and comfort, the current canopy model that the municipal company installs consists of a roof and rear and side windows that guarantee protection against inclement weather, contrasting horizontal visual bands for people with visual disabilities, ischial support and a bench with armrests that improves the conditions of accessibility and comfort for the user. It also includes timetables with the identification of EMT lines, QR codes and a braille system for people with visual impairments.

In addition, the canopy must be installed in an accessible environment and, for this, it must have a stop visual tactile detection strip and another visual tactile curb warning strip with colour contrast.

Over the last few years, EMT Madrid has promoted the execution of different projects to improve the accessibility of its network. In April 2021, the municipal company published another tender for the improvement of accessibility in a maximum number of 42 stops for 2023, a procedure that has already been awarded an amount of €500,000.