Introducing TRANSED 2018!
2017 Cooperation Forum on Accessibility and Prosperity in Cities
Eden Social Welfare Foundation is honored to host the 15th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED 2018) next year in Taipei, Taiwan. Eden won the bid to host TRANSED 2018 in the year 2015, and as a warm-up event for TRANSED 2018, it hosted the “2017 Cooperation Forum on Accessibility and Prosperity in Cities”, from November, 8-11. The forum included 14 invited members of the committee from 9 countries, to observe the accessible transportation of major cities in Taiwan and site-inspect the process of TRANSED 2018.
Members of the committee visited the cities of Kaohsiung, Taichung, Hsinchu, Taipei, and Keelung by public transportation and exchanged experiences and professional opinions in accessible transportation with respective mayors and local officials. Moreover, the representatives signed the Mayor’s Accord to ensure the prosperity and accessibility in cities, hoping to create “Mobility for All” by connecting the world with accessible transportation. The event started Nov. 9 in Kaohsiung, with the group traveling by high-speed railway (HSR) to Zuoying. It later proceeded to MRT to Kaisyuan Station, then boarding the first light rail in Asia to Pier-2 Art Center, experiencing the eco-friendly accessible infrastructure and transit systems of Kaohsiung.
Eden Social Welfare Foundation stated that, the linkage of both “2017 Cooperation Forum on Accessibility and Prosperity in Cities” and “TRANSED 2018” is based on eight aspects, including “transportation, housing, social participation, outdoor spaces and buildings, civic participation and employment, communication and information, respect and social inclusion, community support and health services”, to echo with the “Age-Friendly City” which proposed by World Health Organization (WHO). The group experienced the convenience of different public transportation and as well as accessible facilities in Kaohsiung. The passion and commitment of Kaohsiung were experienced through the perfection and the Eco-Mobility Festival, 2017, through the transformation of transportation infrastructure, accessible facilities, software as well as overhangs in front of stores in business areas. Eden’s Mayor’s Accord includes “accessible infrastructure grounds on its design”, “setting regulations on purchasing standardized accessible vehicles”, “building a seamless public transit system”, and “launching an accessible intelligent guiding system”, hoping to continuously cooperate with Kaohsiung City to reach an age-friendly and accessible city.
TRANSED was founded in the year 1978 by Transportation Research Board (TRB), which is held every three years in different countries. Each conference sets milestones for accessible transportation, attracting members across the globe to participate and exchange their expertise in the field. The platform enables experts and academics to share their creativity and practices. TRANSED 2018 will take place on November 12-15, 2018 at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC). Eden sincerely invites experts in the field across the globe to participate and to witness the first international accessible transportation conference in Taiwan.
