INTRODUCTION

The present survey, carried out in order to obtain a real picture of the accessibility of public transport in the Lombardy Region, is made up of a series of consecutive steps:

Definition of the subject of the survey: analysis of the accessibility of public transport for disabled passengers in the Lombardy Region;
Identification of the working tool: the questionnaire on accessible transport;
Operative step: interviews and direct surveys;
Data processing and creation of a database for their recording in an electronic format;
Communication of the survey: creation of a website in order to communicate the methods used and the result of the survey.

We started by identifying the forms of transport on the territory, then the companies to interview and the railway stations, airports and terminals to survey. Then we created the questionnaire.
The choice between telephone or in person interview was made according to the amount of information to obtain and the importance of the company to interview.
Telephone interviews were used for extraurban and urban transport companies (apart from ATM Milano) for practical reasons, that is they are about one hundred all around the Region.
Trenitalia, Ferrovie Nord Milano and ATM Milano were directly interviewed also because of the complexity of the services offered.
Where necessary, in order to verify the accessibility of the infrastructures (railway stations and airports), we went on the spot.
Once gathered all data, we created a database in order to record all information and, consequently, a website where it is possible to consult data and communicate the methods used in the survey and the following results.