At the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s latest annual meeting in Las Vegas, a case was presented that found that the Washington, D.C. Metro system, although a work in progress, still has many barriers for handicapped riders. This is contrary to Metro spokesman Dan Stessel, who claimed that after pouring a significant amount of investments into the Metro system, it is now ADA-compliant.
Two ergonomics consultants from California assessed both the Takoma Park and Dupont Stations, and found quite a bit of features that weren’t accessible, including entrances, vending machines, gaps between the trains and the platforms, fast-closing doors, and more. These inaccessible features would either make travel more tedious for, or totally eliminate a person with mobility hindrances from using the service all together.