Fundación ONCE

What are the challenges in creating accessible public transportation? Fundación ONCE, Spain’s largest organisation for people with disabilities, tackled this question with our multidisciplinary design team.

In order to better serve their member organisations and the people they represent, Fundación ONCE wanted to find a standard way to detect real user needs and execute agile solutions. We needed to define and test a pilot methodology that could be scaled to help Fundación ONCE in a range of fields, from healthcare to education. Enhancing access to public transportation was the focus of the pilot program, with an eye towards how it would eventually be applied to all of Fundación ONCE’s initiatives.

The image displays a blurred section of a map with various lines, possibly indicating roads or transit routes, and some areas are marked with numbers. The focus is on the central part of the map where colors appear more vivid, suggesting it might be a downtown or central business district.

We divided the project into four phases – qualitative research, finding opportunity spaces with Fundación ONCE’s technicians, ideation with accessibility experts, and a development plan to prioritise next actions. In order to understand the obstacles of public transportation access from all angles and forms of disability – visual, aural, mental, intellectual, physical, and those with multiple impairments – we created six focus groups of under ten people with a mix of different disabilities.

The image is split into two sections. On the left, there is a view of a public transportation vehicle’s fare display showing the amount “J: €1.00” above a yellow and blue machine, possibly for ticket validation. A no smoking sign and instructions for contacting staff are visible in the background. On the right, a hand is holding two cards; one red with white text reading “Consorcio Transportes Madrid” and another with a blue corner and what appears to be part of a wheelchair accessibility symbol.
The image displays a side view of a modern tram with its doors closed, stationed at what appears to be an indoor tram stop or depot. The tram is predominantly white with blue and yellow accents running along its exterior. The flooring suggests a designated area for the tram, marked by yellow safety lines.

Our research revealed four main opportunity spaces that we turned into an impact diagram for each disability. The diagram has three different levels:

1) This stops me from traveling
2) This makes traveling difficult
3) This makes traveling uncomfortable

This deliverable can be read on two different levels – the opportunity spaces presented for Fundación ONCE, and the challenges faced by each group of persons with disability.

The image is a graphic slide titled “Lines of work” with a subtitle “Opportunity spaces.” It features an illustration of a turnstile gate, indicating barrier-free access, with two bullet points beneath. Point 01/A states “Streamline the number and transportation of cards in Madrid,” and point 01/B says “Manage transportation cards autonomously and safely.

We built connections between Fundación ONCE and their member organizations to facilitate communications, and we created a common framework that addresses all the barriers to making public transportation accessible. Going forward, Fundación ONCE will be able to push initiatives and projects on the same path.

‘Working with everyone from managers, designers, and users has been essential in defining our challenges and future avenues of research. Designit has been crucial in identifying future opportunities and user needs.’

Jose Luis Borau Jordán

Architect and Head of Physical Accessibility Department, Fundación ONCE

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Through its programs and partnerships, Fundación ONCE is helping create more accessible and inclusive services in Spain.

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Details

Client

Fundación ONCE

Industry

Nonprofit

Studio

Madrid

Project team

Naty Gomes

Jesús Sotoca

Estíbaliz Franco

Fredi Vallina

Julián Giménez

Offerings

Design Research

Service Design

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Fundación ONCE

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