Kashiwabara Station has no lift.
The platforms are reached by stairs, so by public transport the only option is a taxi from Maibara Station. I have never seen a universal-design taxi waiting in front of the station.
Care taxis must be booked in advance, and sometimes cannot be booked straight away. They also count as a care service, so 500 yen is added.
Thanks to the efforts of the care-taxi operators, who coordinate with each other, we have so far never failed to get a booking.
Installing and maintaining a lift costs hundreds of millions of yen, but a chain-type platform lift would apparently cost far less.
At present, however, it is not approved for use by people.
About fifteen years ago I went to Germany and to Strasbourg in France to study urban public transport.
On the trams running through the city, wheelchair users can get on and off freely.
No station staff come running with a ramp,
and there are no platform announcements hinting at the reason for a delayed departure.
I could get on and off whenever I liked, whenever I needed to.
I could go where I wanted to go.
Inside there were several spaces for wheelchairs and pushchairs, and boarding was accepted as a matter of course.
A society founded on mutual recognition of freedom is more comfortable to live in than one where everyone reads the air.
First, let's make this region one of those.
(Hideo)