Is the fuck cars ethos ableist?

„It depends“, I guess…? I think just getting around locally you have more autonomy in Europe, but there’s many places that are simply inaccessible, whereas in the US many places are more accessible, but you need help to get there.

I can’t speak for all of Europe, and I don’t know about the laws and regulations in the US, but from my experience (mostly California), Europe in is way behind in terms of general accessibility. If accessibility exists, it’s often more like an afterthought and shoddily retrofitted, whereas in the US I don’t think I ever saw e.g. a restroom that was not spacious and clearly made with wheelchairs in mind.

For instance, there is still quite a number of public transport stations in Berlin that have no elevator at all and getting on board of a long distance train in Germany is… well see for yourself: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BgtEVjdmPNc (This is the latest iteration of Germany’s ICE 4, and they’re promising a solution to this fuckup for five years now…). Trams and Buses are usually low-floor in major cities, but then you’ll find cities/countries where they have e.g. old timey Trams you need to climb up.

But on a strictly local level I see many people getting around on their own, e.g. with a tram or on the sidewalk.

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