Monitoring eAccessibility in Europe: 2011 Annual Report

USA and Spain scored the highest, followed by United Kingdom, Portugal and Canada. Conversely, Greece seems not to have any specific requirement or obligation under national legislation to ensure the accessibility of the technologies analysed in the urban environment: it is only voluntary for the banks, for example, to install accessible ATMs or provide customer information about accessible ATMs.

Figure . Status of urban environment accessibility policy in EU and non-EU countries

Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages

Figure . Status of urban environment accessibility policy, by country

Source: Own elaboration, 2011. Unit: Percentages

Scoring for requirements to ensure accessibility to ATMs is based on the following two questions:

1. 
   Are retail banks required to provide accessible ATMs (e.g. accessible to wheelchair users, incorporation of assistive technology, etc.) under national legislation?
   
2. 
   Are retail banks required to provide customer information about accessible ATMs under national legislation?
   

Most countries appear to have adopted some, albeit modest, policy measures to promote or ensure accessibility to ATMs. Spain, Norway and USA are the only countries where the retail banks are required by law, regulations or by licence or contract to provide accessible ATMs and customer information about accessible ATMs. United Kingdom and Canada also have high scores because of their requirements to ensure accessibility to ATMs.

The main function of a vending machine is to sell products (e.g. drinks, food, snacks, DVDs) as a self-service. This does not include entertainment and gambling machines. Scoring for requirements to ensure accessible vending machines (e.g. accessible for persons with reduced mobility or visual impairment) is based on the following two questions:

1. 
   Are manufacturers of vending machines required to ensure accessibility to the service under national legislation?
   
2. 
   Are manufacturers of vending machines required to provide accessibility information to customers with specific needs under national legislation?
   

Spain and the UK are the only countries where the providers of vending machines are required under national legislation to ensure the accessibility of the vending machines or provide accessibility information to customers with specific needs. The Netherlands, Australia and Canada (50%), followed by Portugal (30%) appear to have adopted more modest requirements. The remaining countries in the study appear not to have introduced any requirements in this domain.

The main function of virtual kiosks (e.g. virtual ticketing, public information kiosks, digital photo printing) is to provide information or a service (in self-service mode) and can be for both free and pay services. Scoring for requirements to ensure accessible virtual kiosks is based on the following two questions:

1. 
   Are deployers of virtual kiosks required to ensure accessibility to the service under national legislation?
   
2. 
   Are deployers of virtual kiosks required to provide accessibility information to customers with specific needs under national legislation?
   

Once again, the United Kingdom, Spain, Norway and USA repeat its advanced position in adopting the strongest requirements to ensure accessible virtual kiosks. Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada appear to have adopted more modest requirements in this domain. The remaining countries have hardly established any requirements in this regard.

Public announcement systems cover technologies used to provide information in public places both in audio (e.g. public address systems) and video (e.g. public address systems) mode. Scoring for requirements to ensure accessibility to public announcement systems in transport facilities is based on the following question:

• 
  Are provisions to ensure accessibility to public announcement systems in transport facilities (bus station/ train station/airports) in place? (No requirements or assumed role / Only voluntary or assumed role / Required by law, regulations or by licence or contract).
  

Scoring for use of certification or labelling of accessibility of self-service technology is based on the following two questions:

1. 
   To what extent is certification or labelling accessibility of self-service technology in use in public consumer protection policy or equivalent programmes? (Certification or labelling not yet playing a significant role / Accessibility certification or labelling is an integral part of policy approach).
   
2. 
   What kind of certification or labelling of accessibility to self-service technology is most common in your country? (No certification / self-declaration / NGO certification or label / Third-party certification).