Barcelona
- Tourist
Information - Disabled Travellers
Moving around Barcelona for disabled people
By
Car
Major car rental
companies such as Avis and Hertz have hand-controlled vehicles for
hire. Drivers exempt from using seat-belts should carry at all times
a Spanish translation of their exemption certificate validated by
the Spanish Consulate.
Hertz rents
out cars which can be driven with hand controls (the company does
not provide for any other kind of disability), and the cars are
only available from agencies in Barcelona and Madrid.
Hertz
Estació de Sants
Tel: +34 93 490 8662
Tuset 10
Tel: +34 93 217 3248
Jacometrezzo 15, 4e
28013 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 542 1000
The other major
car hire company in the country, AVIS, is considering the possibility
of adapting some of its vehicles shortly, and in the meantime performs
alterations "to order" with several months' notice.
Avis
Casanova 209
Tel: +34 93 209 9533
Aragó 235
Tel: +34 93 487 8754
Agustin de Foxa 27
28036 Madrid
Tel: +34 91 348 0100
There is a taxi
service (Eurotaxi) with vehicles suitable for the wheelchair bound.
Details should be requested from the provincial delegations of the
Spanish Red Cross.
Parking
The orange badge
scheme is not recognised in Spain. However, holders of the EU document
(blue, depicting a photograph of the authorised person) will be
entitled to the same parking provisions as local residents, provided
that the relevant autonomous governments adhere to the EU regulations
on this matter.
In each municipality
there are regulations concerning parking spaces reserved for people
with reduced mobility. However, it is necessary to acquire an identification
plate specifying disabled status and registration in each of the
municipalities where such regulations exist.
By
Air
Iberia offers
a service known as "Red Jacket" free of charge, in which
passengers are assisted from the time they arrive at the airport
and check-in until they are settled in their seat on the plane;
and also from the time of landing until the passenger leaves the
airport building. Red Jacket staff are on hand at airport information
desks.
IBERIA reservation
number (Madrid)
Tel: +34 91 587 8100 / 91 587 4736
Fax: +34 91 58 74741
Iberia has also
produced a small information leaflet for "Passengers with reduced
mobility", which includes advice for the trip. This is available
from the airline's sales offices. Also, according to data from the
National Airport Organization, any work carried out on a Spanish
airport must now include the removal of architectural barriers.
This applies to Barcelona
El Prat Airport.
By
train
The high speed
trains AVE and Talgo services are all accessible to wheelchair users
and the Spanish
State Railway RENFE provides wheelchairs at main city train
stations.
Both the Sants
(Tel: +34 93 409 38 55) and França railway stations provide
an escort and wheelchair service for disabled people. Train travel
for blind people and a companion or guide dog is governed by an
international agreement: the blind traveller pays the normal train
fare and the companion/guide dog travel free of charge, but the
ticket must be bought in the country of residence.
By
ferry
Cabins accessible
to wheelchair-users can be booked in advance on ferries operating
from England. The Brittany Ferries crossing from Plymouth to Santander
offers good facilities (as do most cross-Channel ferries and hydrofoils).
At the ports in the UK and Spain there are minibuses available to
assist travellers with disabilities with transfer from the terminal
to the ferry and viceversa.
By
Bus
Barcelona has
buses or microbus services suitable for disabled people. There are
"low-floor" city buses running on 9 routes. Although not
all of the buses on these routes are adapted, those that are do
pass at regular intervals and reasonably often. There is also the
"Aerobus", which links the city with El Prat Airport and
is accessible to disabled people (for further information call +34
93 412 00 00).
By
Taxi
Special taxis
for people with reduced mobility
Tel: +34 93 420 8088
Tel: +34 93 358 1111
