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Physical accessibility on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA or "the T") system is incomplete but improving, with accessibility on all buses (including the Silver Line), all Orange Line stations, all but 2 Red Line stations, and all but 2 Blue Line stations. As is true for most mass transit systems, much of the Boston subway and commuter rail lines were built before wheelchair access was a requirement. The Boston system underwent significant expansion in the 1980s and 1990s, and all the new facilities are ADA compliant. The MBTA has also refurbished many stations, and these too are accessible. More improvements are in progress or expected as part of planned construction. In addition, on April 4, 2006, the MBTA announced the settlement of a class-action lawsuit, ''Joanne Daniels-Finegold, et al. v. MBTA'', under which "the T will undertake major improvements in equipment, facilities and services that promise to enhance accessibility for people with disabilities while improving service for all T passengers. ...approximately $310 million in funds will be programmed into the T's Capital Investment Program to improve services and infrastructure."〔(2006 MBTA press release on disability settlement ) Retrieved 2011 June 3〕 Accessibility on the T generally means that some combination of elevators and wheelchair ramps connect the street and station platform. The MBTA provides recorded elevator, wheelchair lift, and escalator status updates by telephone. ==Subways== * All stations on the Orange Line and Red Line are accessible and all have high level platforms on the same level as train car doors, except for Wollaston on the Red Line proper and Valley Road on the Mattapan Line (''see below''). * Stations on the Blue Line are wheelchair accessible except for Bowdoin. , Government Center station is closed for a complete rebuild, to include full wheelchair access to all platforms. Bowdoin will remain open during the Government Center rebuild, but likely will be closed permanently afterwards.All Blue Line stations have high level platforms which should be on the same level as train car doors, although in a few stations, the actual alignment between the floor of the train and the station platform may be sufficiently mismatched that a wheelchair user will need to ask the train crew for assistance. * The Green Line runs trolley cars, and only newer vehicles (MBTA Type 8, also called "Breda") have low-floor, wheelchair accessible entrances; these entrances are only wheelchair accessible at the minority of stations that have matching raised platforms, although a few stations that lack such platforms have been equipped with portable lifts or wayside ramps.The low-floor wheelchair access is by means of a bridge plate that extends from the vehicle to the platform (which requires that the platform have been upgraded to match). This is much less demanding upon the operator and requires much less time than use of the portable lifts. However, it is often necessary to remind the driver of the need for the ramp to be extended when a wheelchair passenger has reached the desired destination; the blue button with the universal disabled symbol located inside near the door is for this purpose.Low-floor Type 8 vehicles are now running on all branches after a track upgrade on the D branch to accommodate them without danger of derailment. With this upgrade, low-floor streetcar service is available on all branches of the Green Line, and all 2-car trains are supposed to contain at least one low-floor streetcar, although as noted above, this is actually usable for wheelchair access only at a minority of stations; single-car trains may still lack low-floor access, and in actual practice, occasional 2-car all-high-floor trains do run in service.Access to the older high-floor vehicles requires either a portable lift or a wayside ramp equipped with a bridge that can be lowered into the vehicle through one of the doors. Use of the portable lifts to load and unload wheelchair-using passengers requires considerable physical effort from the operator (usually the driver) and may require several minutes. * The Mattapan portion of the Red Line run runs older, high floor PCC trolley cars. Wheelchair ramps with hinged metal bridges have been installed at each station except for Valley Road, which has a long staircase from the platform to street level, which makes the platform itself inaccessible for wheelchair users. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「MBTA accessibility」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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