Protest for an accessible metro line 3

The renovation of M3 would be the perfect opportunity to make the metro accessible. However, it is not happening. A protest was organised at Ferenciek tere metro station on 20 November to make M3 accessible, Femina.hu reports. Protesters wanted to raise awareness to the importance of accessibility.

The renovation of metro line 3 started two weeks ago. Unfortunately, (unbelievably perhaps) the extensive renovation does not include the accessibility of the metro’s stations. Thus, making the lives of many disabled people even more difficult than it already is. Not to mention that accessibility is important not just for people with physical disabilities, but for parents with strollers or for people travelling with their dogs as well.

The renovation of the metro line would be the perfect opportunity to make the stations accessible. However, it is clearly not happening.

Not making the metro stops accessible is a huge problem. A civil union was formed in order to solve this problem. The collaboration is called the Teljes Értékű Metrót Akció (Fully Accessible Metro) which is an awareness raising civil initiative.

The awareness raising initiative organised a protest at Ferenciek tere station on 20 November. Their aim was to remind the “decision makers” that the current situation is unacceptable. Hvg.hu interviewed people at the protest. Many people wanted their voices to be heard.

“It is really sad that in the 21^st century, accessibility is almost a taboo word in Hungary. Everything should be accessible.”

According to the statistics, 5% of the Hungarian population is disabled, many of them are in wheelchairs. Since metro line 3 has only one accessible station (Kőbánya-Kispest), disabled people cannot use M3 at all.

“This situation is outrageous. We will not let them do this.”

A disabled man at the protest said:

“They said that they will not make the stations accessible because disabled people do not use M3. Of course we do not use M3 because we cannot use the stairs!”

People at the protest mentioned that a possible reason for not making the stations accessible could be that its costs would not be rewarding for the city administrations. This is not a really valid claim, since metro line 4 is completely accessible and a lot of disabled people use it every day.

One of the organisers of the protest, Dániel Csángó said:

“We just want to be able to use public transport. We want to be seen as equal citizens.”

If something is not done now, disabled people probably will not be able to use M3 for 30+ years, thus, making life even more difficult for them. It is important to mention that accessibility would be helpful not only to the physically disabled, but to the elderly, to parents carrying strollers all day long or to people travelling with their dogs.

Source: www.femina.hu; www.hvg.hu