Accessibility and transportation: a spatial analysis of Go Transit

This major research paper presents a spatial analysis of GO Transit’s accessibility coach and explores accessibility and transportation using service design theory. Social implications are also investigated in order to understand the communication of spaces for those with physical disability. There are three guiding questions in this case study, which are: (1) How is the GO Train passenger carrier car designed for able and disabled riders? (2) What kinds of choices are available to able and disabled riders while using the GO Train’s accessibility coach? (3) What implications do these choices and affordances suggest about the separation of able and disabled riders? To address these questions, an observational study of the accessibility coach was conducted. The data collected yielded qualitative data that was then analyzed using concepts informed by service design theory, accessibility scholarship and social separation concepts. The findings of this study indicate that.