Question about accessibility

[Darrin&Kim]

Hello to all,

My wife and I and some friends are planning a vacation to Spain in the first two weeks of June this year. We are starting our vacation in Madrid and then traveling to a few cities in the south. My question is about the public transportation in Spain especially in Madrid. I use a wheelchair and although I can not stand or walk, I don't let much stop me. I am very physically fit and have been known to get out of my chair and pull myself up a flight of stairs or two. What I would like to know is what the level of accessibility is on trains/buses, if any? Do any of them have lifts or ramps?


I would also like to say that over the last few weeks I have been enjoying the “Notes from Spain" Podcasts along with your other sites.



Muchas Gracias,


Darrin&Kim

[Marina]

Unfortunately, Spain in general is still not very well prepared for wheel chairs.

In Madrid, most of the metro stops with lifts are either the ones that connect with train & bus Stations (Atocha, Nuevos Ministerios, Principe Pio, Moncloa, Barajas - Airport...) or the very new ones which are on the outskirts of the city and out of the tourist tracks. In the metro webpage there is a map with complete info about stations prepared for wheelchairs you can find it in different formats in:
http://www.metromadrid.es/01_plano.asp

There are some metropolitan buses which are prepared for wheelchairs but there are still a small number and are quite random. I've tried to find more info about it in their webpage but I have to say that is quite useless. I would say that the "C" line, which is Circular around the city centre has some of these buses, but I don't know their frequency.
http://www.emtmadrid.es/index.html?lang=eng

I will say that most of the big museums, like the Prado, Reina Sofia and maybe the Thysen, are prepared for wheelchairs.

[Ben]

Another thing worth pointing out is that luckily the centre of Madrid is very compact, so it should be possible to see a lot without even using the public transport.

[Darrin&Kim]

Marina & Ben

The PDF version of the Metro map is great! It is the first one I have found that shows all the limited mobility access points.


To make things a little easier we picked a hotel located near Puerta Del Sol called the "Carlos V" (Maestro Victoria, 5, 28013). The person I talked to at the hotel was very pleasant and even took down the width of my chair to measure doorways so as to make sure that we would have no problems. From looking at the street maps we should be within easy walking/rolling distance of most of the major attractions.

We are also planning on traveling south to spend some time in Córdoba, Granada, and Sevilla. I have been told by a friend who is from Córdoba, that the south might be more challenging. We are going to be meeting up with him there.


We are also planning to blog and podcast our trip.


If you two have time, maybe we could get together while we are there (June 5-8th). With all the information we have been getting from your blog(s), Podcast(s), and now this forum, the least we could do is buy you dinner.


P.S. We also enjoyed Ben's book.


Muchas Gracias!


Darrin & Kim

[Darrin&Kim]

Hello again,

I just found out that our hotel (Best Western Carlos V near Puerta del Sol) has discontinued their reasonably priced shuttle from Barajas Airport. I have been looking at alternatives such as Metro, Bus, Taxi and Private shuttle. With the wheelchair it looks like the Metro and Bus lines are going to be very difficult so I have been looking mainly at Taxi or Private Shuttle. According to the following web site (Link from MadridMan.com):

http://www.affiliate.viator.com/brochure/product_show.jsp?ID=1010&PRODUCTID=1016&CODE=2140MADAPTHTL&AUID=3465

The cost for transporting myself and the other three people in my party using the private shuttle from the airport to the Hotel is going to total 116 US Dollars or about 92 Euros. The site says that this is cheaper than a taxi, does anyone have an estimate as to how much the taxi would cost? Has anyone had experience with this company? Any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

[Ben]

A taxi from the airport to the center of Madrid should cost around 20 euros (the occasional dishonest taxi driver will make a few circles to up this to 30 ish...). So I would say go with the taxi!

[Darrin&Kim]

Ben,

Would that be 20-30 Euros per person, or for the group(4 total)?

Darrin

[Marbella]

From the Lonely Planet website:

The Ayuntamiento de Madrid publishes a Guía de Accesibilidad which contains information on disabled access to everything from the city's cinemas through to its public service buildings. It is designed mostly for disabled residents.

I found this link but as it is aimed at residents it is only in Spanish:


http://www.famma.org/accesibilidad/guia2005.htm

[Marina]

The taxi price from the airport to Sol will be around 25 Euros for all four people. They charge about 1.85 to start with, after that they charge by kilometer and at the end the add something like 4.50 if you travel from/to the airport. Just note that if you are 4 people unless you have only two suitcases is possible that your lugagge won't fit in the boot.

I've phoned a taxi company, "Tele Taxi", and they've confirmed that they have 12 taxis prepared for wheelchairs, so if you want to use them at some point it is needed to reserve one or two days in advance. Their telephone number is 91 3712131.

I've also emailed Madrid bus company and they've confirmed that 80% of the metropolitan buses are wheelchair prepared.

Enjoy your trip!!