Accessibility for wheelchair users and the

capability model: implications for planning and

modelling

Catherine Holloway

Email: c.holloway@ucl.ac.uk

Twitter:cathyholloway1

ESRC Modelling on the Move 5: Participatory Modelling

University of Birmingham 20th November 2013

Persons with disabilities in the UK

• Approximately 20 % of the population

• Majority of impairments are not visible – less than 8% of

disabled people use wheelchairs

• Only 17% of disabled people were born with disabilities

• Majority (83%) of disabled people acquire their disability

during their working lives

• Disability is strongly related to age – 2.1% of 16-19 year

olds are recorded as having a disability; 31% for those

between the ages of 50-59 years; and 78% of people aged

85 or over

http://www.papworth.org.uk/downloads/disabilityfactsandfigures2010_100202152740.pdf

CONVENTION on the RIGHTS of PERSONS

with DISABILITIES

Article 9: Accessibility

• “…States Parties shall take appropriate measures

to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on

an equal basis with others, to the physical

environment, to transportation… and to other

facilities and services open or provided to the

public, both in urban and in rural areas.”

• “… These measures, which shall include the

identification and elimination of obstacles and

barriers to accessibility..” (http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/conventionfull.shtml )

Example Guidance

Images taken from Inclusive Mobility

Capability Model

• Requires Capabilities

Activity

• Requires Capabilities

Environment • Provides

Capabilities

Person

• If Provided ≥ Required

Solution

This is what

I want to do

This is where I

want to do it

This is what I

can do

This is

how I do it

Wheelchair User Injuries

Injury/Pain site Self-propulsion Carer-propulsion1

Shoulder up to 100% 48%

Wrist up to 75% 40%

Hand up to 40%

Back 72% (compared to 52% of

general public

Knee 54%

1(Roberts et al 2012)

HOW CAN WE MEASURE

MICRO-ACCESSIBILITY?

GETTING ON THE BUS

Wheelchair accessibility

Footways

"Almost all journeys start and finish by walking or

wheeling. No matter how accessible transport

itself may be, if the walking [or wheeling]

environment contains barriers to movement than

the usability of transport services is largely

negated"

(European Conference of Ministers of Transport 1999, Pg. 19)

Designing Pedestrian Environments

Inclusive Mobility

• Longitudinal Slopes (1m or less)

– 10% (1 in 10) as a maximum

– 8% (1 in 12) as a general rule

• Crossfalls

– 2.5% (1 in 40) as a maximum

– 1 and 2% if possible

How Hard?

Research Question

What capabilities are required by a wheelchair

user when travelling on a footway

Phone: +81 (0) 6 6368 0803 Phone: +81 (0) 6 6368 0803

PAMELA set-up

3 lanes 2.4 m wide x 10.8 m long

0%, 2.5% & 4%

Concrete interlocking paving stones

SmartWheel

Fx Fy

Fz

Ft

Self-propulsion push cycle

Start of

Push

End of

Push

Start of

Push

Push Phase Recovery Phase

Hands are released from

handrim…wheelchair is free to roll

down slopes

Upslope and Downslope

Upslope Downslope

Would expect:

decreased

force/braking with

increased crossfall

Would expect:

increased force with

increased crossfall

`

Provided Capabilities

Flat minimum push force

Crossfall

minimum push force

Minimum force difference

Self-propulsion on a 4% Crossfall

Self-propulsion: effects of crossfalls

• Easy

• All push force

• No controlling force

• Harder

• Mixture of pushes and

controlling forces

• Even harder

• More controlling forces

than push force

Sapey, Stewart, Donaldson .”The Social Implications of Increases in Wheelchair Use”

Attendant Wheelchair Propulsion

408,000

Provided Capabilities

Flat minimum push force

Crossfall

minimum push force

Minimum force difference

Equipment

Standard NHS UK issue wheelchair for attendant propulsion

3-dimentional forces

Rear wheel velocity

Total weight of wheelchair, equipment & dummy = 104kg

Sample Data

Fhor Right [N]

Fhor Left [N]

Average Velocity x 10 [m/s]

Forc

e [N

] /

Velo

city [

m/s

]

Time [s]

Start

Phase

Stop

Phase

Going

Phase

No change in sum of force used by attendants

Increase in difference of force used by attendants

Guidelines taken from Snook & Ciriello 1991

GETTING ON THE BUS

Bus Accessibility

Boarding a bus

How volunteers saw themselves within a research context

1. The Giver: a source of knowledge

2. The Collaborator: worried about the quality of

data they are giving, taking an active role in

improving data collection

3. The Guinea-Pig: the volunteer feels as though

they are solely there to do as the researchers

ask the to do

4. The Representative: acts as a speaker for others

in their situation

Old System Travel Survey Assessment Footway Standards disability focus

New Approach Value engineering assessment Smart Assistive Technology Citizen

Science capability focus

ARGMap

Current map database

Micro level accessibility information

User information

Interaction effects of environment +wheelchair+user

ARGMap and SenseWheel

Input from user reviews (via survey) and data from SenseWheel (via bluetooth)

are collected by the smartphone application, stored in a database, and mapped

again by the application, available for users to see.

ARGMap and SenseWheel

• Linking rehabilitation and accessibility on an

individual level

• Building a mobility map for all people

• Feedback loop

http://www.cege.ucl.ac.uk/arg/Pages/TARSAN.aspx

Thank you for your attention…

…Any Questions?