How accessible is Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport's Woosh Station?

Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport’s Woosh Station was certainly designed with physical accessibility in mind as it seeks to serve passengers who travel to and from the airport. The station boasts modern infrastructure to accommodate passengers with mobility challenges to ensure a smooth transit experience. The station does, however, have its shortcomings.

Accessibility Features of Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport's Woosh Station

To a great degree, Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport’s Woosh Station is sufficiently accessible. The station contains several elevators connecting different floors to provide necessary support for wheelchair users, guardians with strollers, and other passengers with mobility limitations. Moreover, tactile paving is present throughout the entire station, assisting visually impaired passengers in navigating the station independently and safely. This can be seen in tactile pavings warning passengers to stay clear of station tracks or pavings leading passengers to ticket gates and elevators. Additionally, signage in both English and Indonesian is strategically placed, ensuring clear directions for both local and international passengers.

Moreover, ticketing services accommodate passengers with different needs, with both manual assistance counters and automatic ticketing machines available. These machines also come in both English and Indonesian, reducing language barriers and making the ticketing process more user-friendly. Finally, accessible restrooms, indicated by wheelchair symbols on restroom doors, ensure that differently-abled passengers have the necessary facilities for a comfortable travel experience.

Halim Perdanakusuma’s Pricing

While the station may be accessible for the differently abled, its pricing is considered a bit costly by some. The minimum price of a one-way ticket is 150,000 IDR, which is relatively more costly than other high-speed rail projects in other nations, while national monthly salaries can range from 5 to 7 million IDR. This would pose social inaccessibility, especially for lower-income households in the area, but the station does give a 20 discount on ticket pricing to senior citizens, which demonstrates that the station seeks. Additionally, the station ran a 3.15 trillion IDR (US$200 million) budget deficit during its first year of operation, and analysts expect the station to continue running at a budget deficit. If this remains true, maintenance of the station’s accessibility features could be at risk of being cut.

What Can Be Done?

To further enhance accessibility at Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport’s Woosh Station, ticket prices could be lowered for lower-income households. Furthermore, improvements can be made by optimizing the placement of elevators to minimize detours for passengers with mobility challenges. Regular maintenance of tactile paving and signage will also ensure they remain effective and unobstructed. Moreover, increasing staff assistance for passengers with disabilities, particularly during peak hours, would further improve the station’s inclusivity.

Conclusion

Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport’s Woosh Station boasts a variety of accessibility features that make travel more convenient for passengers with disabilities. So long as these features will always be maintained, the station will remain sufficiently accessible on a physical level at the very least. Through its features, Indonesia’s transport authorities promote inclusivity and accessibility.