Volunteers make metro maps for disabled passengers

A volunteer organization has created maps that highlight the handicapped accessible facilities in the 28 stations on metro Line 1, local media reported Thursday. The maps will be available to the public early next month.

The maps clearly show facilities such as elevators and restrooms, as well as the locations of nearby hospitals and clinics, according to a report in the Xinmin Evening News. The maps will be available at People's Square Station and Shanghai South Railway Station.

The organization that created the maps is made up of children receiving treatment for brain paralysis at the Children's Hospital of Shanghai and their mothers, the report said.

One volunteer said the organization's members decided to create the maps to make it easier for disabled people to find the facilities at the metro stations, which don't have enough signs showing their locations, according to the report.

The organization hopes that highlighting the facilities will encourage disabled people to leave their homes and travel the city.

It took more than a year for the volunteers to finish the maps, said Lan Tian, a press officer with Shanghai Shentong Metro Group. The mothers took their disabled children to the stations to make sure that the locations of the facilities were accurate.

Several other organizations have offered to help. The Shanghai Medical Women's Association raised 98,000 yuan ($16,081) for the map project, and the Shanghai Measuring and Drawing Institute offered technical assistance.

Shanghai Shentong Metro Group is working on similar maps of major metro stations such as People's Square Station, Xujiahui Station and Shanghai Indoor Stadium Station. Lan told the Global Times that the maps will be out by the end of the year.