The goal of the Elsa- programme is to activate the municipal sector, producers of transport services, authorities and the general public to see the importance of accessibility, to motivate to take it into account in their daily work and to produce and disseminate information about good practices. The focus of the programme is especially on the accessibility of public transport and pedestrian environment.

Elsa consists of several large projects, which are totally or partially financed via Elsa –programme. 10 of the projects are finished and rest of them will come to end  in 2006.

Items of finished and nearly finished projects are following:

• Transfer of passengers to the aircraft
• Winter maintenance
• Accessible Buss Lines in two cities
• Development of Public Transport Quality Corridors – Transport System Planning and Accessibility (two case studies)
• The Development of the Accessible, Future Coach
• Development of Lighting and Colours in Public Transport Terminals and related Environment
• LED –Lights and allocated Announcements as a means for better Orientation and  safe Environment
• Development of Impact Assessment of Accessible Pedestrian Environment and Public Transport
• Accessibility as a part of the Municipal Road Safety Plans
• Further Development of the Service Routes in Helsinki
• Accessibility in Construction Planning
• Accessibility Surveys and Implementation Programmes in five Municipalities (Kotka, Järvenpää, Hyvinkää, Sonkajärvi ja Kiuruvesi)
• Promoting Accessibility in Land use Planning Processes
• Evaluation of Personal Service Profiles and Database of Travel Dispatch Centres in Finland
• Accessible Inland Water Transport and  Tourist Service
• Action Plan for more Userfriendly and Accessible Passenger Information for Helsinki City Transport
• Environmental Products for Accessible Construction

In addition to Elsa–projects three academic master theses have got support from Elsa programme. These master thesis are also finished. The topics were:
• Accessible and easy information on public transport services (including an estimation of implementation of the present guidelines by MTC)
• The impact of changed traffic environment on elderly people´s ability to car driving
• Accessibility in land use planning processes (related to the project mentioned above).

7 projects were launched in the beginning of 2006:

• Action plan for accessible bus terminal in the City of Espoo
• Accessibility Survey and Implementation Programme in train terminal in the City of Helsinki (Pasila)
• Promoting accessible public transport in the city centres of middle large cities, Case City of Oulu
• Accessibility Survey and Implementation Programme in the City of Forssa
• Development of service routes in the city of Kotka
• User test of accessible bus stops and education plan for the drivers of accessible bus route, Case city of Espoo
• Data input of service routes in to the database of public transport, case City of Helsinki

Network for Accessible Municipalities

A network for Accessible Municipalities disseminates information on good solutions on accessible transport. The network creates a discussion forum for the municipalities and other actors. Also the provincial state offices and their persons in charge are linked to work with municipalities. The network has (situation in February 2006) 37 member municipalities from all parts of Finland.

Disabled and ageing people in the regions and nationally, administratives in the region.

The partners in Elsa programme are the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities and public organisations operating within the administrative sector of the Ministry of Transport and Communications as well as organisations of the disabled and aged.

The Ministry of Transport and Communications
Mrs. Irja Vesanen-Nikitin, tel. + 358 9 1602 85 44

01/09/2003

case

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Integration of social groups

Disabled people