Accessibility Barriers Continue to Plague Some Metro Systems

Most metro systems in the United States tend to score high on accessibility, while European systems have mixed results.

1 minute read

September 28, 2017, 5:00 AM PDT

By jwilliams @jwillia22


Disable Access

Simon Smiler / Flickr

Of 270 London Tube stations, only 50 provide full accessibility to people using wheelchairs without assistance. Reporting in The Guardian, Nick Van Mead, Harvey Symons, and Aghnia Adzkia write that older systems, including the London and Paris metros, have some of the worst accessibility ratings of the systems looked at. In Paris, only nine out of the system's 303 stations were identified as fully accessible (15 stations provide elevator access, but six of those require ramps and assistance). The New York subway system also falls well short of being accessible; however other systems across the United States, including Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, are 100 percent accessible. The article notes that the Los Angeles Metro system started operation in 1990, the same year the Americans with Disabilities Act became law.

Despite being the third busiest subway system in the US after New York and Chicago, and with large sections built in the 1970s and 80s, DC’s metro is widely lauded as one of the most accessible in the world.

All 91 stations – including the brutalist masterpieces of Harry Weese – and all trains are accessible, according to operator WMATA (the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority).

Thursday, September 21, 2017 in The Guardian

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight