Candy B Harrington - Barrier-free travel: a nuts and bolts guide for wheelers and slow-walkers

Barrier-Free
Travel

A NUTS AND BOLTS GUIDE

FOR

WHEELERS

AND

SLOW WALKERS

A NUTS AND BOLTS GUIDE

FOR

WHEELERS

AND

SLOW WALKERS

THIRD EDITION

Candy B. Harrington

PHOTOGRAPHS BY

CHARLES PANNELL

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING IN PUBLICATION DATA

Harrington, Candy.

Barrier-free travel : a nuts and bolts guide for wheelers and slow-walkers / Candy B. Harrington ; Photographs by Charles Pannell. 3rd ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 9781932603835

1. People with disabilitiesTravel. 2. Barrier-free design. I. Title.

HV3022.H37 2009

910.87dc22 2009020762

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Made in the United States of America
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TO
Charles

A project like this doesnt happen in a vacuum, so indeed there are many people to thank. However, in keeping with my own personal tradition, Ill keep it short and sweet and offer a special word of thanks to the following folks.

To Diana for having the vision.

To Connie George for meeting me at the virtual water cooler.

To Bonnie Lewkowicz for again helping me sort out the finer points of accessible travel.

To Noreen Henson for her insight, encouragement, and above all, her level head in stressful times.

To Steve Pisano for creating such a wonderful cover out of Charles photo.

To Gary Karp, for setting the bar high.

To the hundreds of Emerging Horizons readers who shared their experiences, hints and travel resources with me. Keep em coming!

And most importantly, to Charles Pannell, for his ongoing support, valuable input, and wonderful photos. And for being the house-husband extraordinaire when my deadline was moved up and my domestic duties fell by the wayside. Yes, I did notice! And thank you for looking the other way when I was on deadline, and my personal hygiene perhaps took a back seat to clean copy. Thanks for not noticing too much!

I can hardly believe its been eight years since the first edition of Barrier-Free Travel. Back then, in September 2001, the title to my preface was Its a Jungle Out There. And thinking back, it certainly was.

Some folks say that timing is everything, and if thats the case, then I had nothing going for me with the timing of that first edition. It was released a few days prior to the catastrophic events of September 11, a time when travel would soon be the furthest thing from anyones mind. And Charles and I would be stuck in London for two weeks. Indeed, it was a very dubious beginning for this title.

But despite my less than optimal timing, the book took off. Truth is, people were hungry for the information and resources I presented, and they were ready to travel. As more people got out there, access improved. Some of it was mandated, but some was market driven.

I have to admit that Im very happy we have access laws and guidelines, but Im just tickled pink whenever I hear of a small property that makes access upgrades not because they have to, but because they see it as a marketing advantage. Thats real progress. And its something I hear more and more about these days.

Yes, things certainly have changedfor the bettersince the first edition of Barrier-Free Travel. And thats why Ive titled the preface to this third edition, Theres a Clearing in the Jungle.

People often ask me about the changes Ive seen in accessible travel; in fact, its a very popular interview question. My favorite reply is to tell them to just look around the next time they are at an airport and see how many people roll by in wheelchairs. I fly often and I cant recall the last flight I was on that didnt have at least a few wheeler passengers. That wasnt the case 15 years agowhen I first started to cover accessible travel.

Certainly the Baby Boomers have added to the mix, and thats a good thing. With more wheelers and slow walkers out there, theres not only more sensitivity to their needs, but also more recognition of this group as a market share.

Although many years ago, someone who tired easily when walking distances might have been hesitant about requesting an airport wheelchair, thats not the case today. And thats a very good thing. The services are there, and you should take advantage of them if you need them. And in the end, what benefits wheelchair users also benefits slow walkers. Things like ramps, curb cuts, and even cart transportation in airports all serve to make our society more accessible. And they are very positive changes.

There have also been huge changes in some access laws since the last edition of this book:

The Air Carrier Access Act was revised on May 13, 2009.

Canadas One-Person/One-Fare ruling went into effect January 10, 2009.

The European Union Passengers with Reduced Mobility regulations covering air travel went into full effect July 26, 2008.

These regulations all make the world more accessible, and the changes are highlighted in this edition of Barrier-Free Travel.

Also new to this edition is an expanded ground transportation chapter with contact information for accessible van rental firms around the world. As well, it includes a completely new chapter on accessible shore excursions, which includes contact information for 45 companies that provide accessible shore tours. Both of these inclusions will be equally useful to travel agents.

Of course some things remain the same in this third edition. As I said in the preface of the first edition, There are, of course, also some things this book wont do. It wont patronize you or give you simplistic advice like wear comfortable shoes. That remains true. Ive never written about footwear, and I dont intend to start now.

Another thing that remains the same in this edition is that I got a lot of help with it. As the editor