Award for Herzogsägmühle: "Inclusive stop" impresses the jury at the inclusion prize

Created: 11/29/2022, 4:00 p.m

By: Christopher Peters

District President Josef Mederer (2nd from left) at the award ceremony for the inclusive bus stop.

Also in the picture (from left) Rainer Langer (head of the Herzogsägmühle mechanical workshop), moderator Zuhal Soyhan, Fritz Wildegger (apprentice in the Herzogsägmühle art locksmith shop) and Wilfried Knorr (managing director of the Diakonie Herzogsägmühle. © District of Upper Bavaria

It is an idea that could make it much easier for people with disabilities to use local public transport: Herzogsägmühle was awarded the Inclusion Prize by the district of Upper Bavaria for its prototype of an inclusive bus stop.

Herzogsägmühle – Every two years, the district of Upper Bavaria awards the Inclusion Prize to initiatives that are particularly committed to the coexistence of all people.

48 applications were received this year, not an easy task for the jury, which was chaired by the former Mayor of Peiting and Vice President of the District Council Michael Asam.

"We were very impressed by the many excellent and imaginative ways of living diversity at home." Asam must have been particularly pleased that a project from his home community was also honored at the award ceremony.

Although the "inclusive bus stop" of the Diakonie Herzogsägmühle did not make it onto the podium, it made such a lasting impression on the jury that the project received recognition along with seven others.

The idea came about as part of the village development project, as Andreas Kurz explains in an interview with SN, who will succeed long-standing director Wilfried Knorr as managing director in Herzogsägmühle from January.

One goal was to make it easier for people with disabilities to use public transport.

Kurz explains that anyone who can take the bus is no longer dependent on someone driving it.

But the problem starts at the bus stop.

According to Kurz, many members of the target group hardly ever travel digitally and are therefore dependent on the timetables published there.

However, these are often difficult to read for people with disabilities.

Together with the district's representative for people with disabilities, people in Herzogsägmühle thought about how the situation could be improved.

The result was not only a timetable that, thanks to the lighter language and higher contrast, is much better and easier to read, but also comes up with a clever detail.

The prototype, which was created in the mechanical workshop of the Diakoniedorf, can be adjusted in height so that wheelchair users and small people can easily find out about the departure times.

Will the prototype go into series production soon?

The accessibility achieved in this way is an important step towards more mobility for people with disabilities, emphasizes Kurz.

But the most inclusive stop is useless if no bus comes.

In Herzogsägmühle, they are therefore also committed to expanding the existing range of local transport.

A real starting point is the Peitingmobile, which is currently driving to the site at two different times and is being used a lot, Kurz praises.

"It has developed into a real hit."

But back to the prototype: Kurz is pleased that the idea was so well received by the jury of the Inclusion Award.

In the Diakoniedorf, it is now hoped that someone will be found who will bring the developed, inclusive stop to the point where it is ready for series production and who will set the example for the rest of the community when it comes to barrier-free expansion.

"It would be great if that works."

You can find more current news from the region around Schongau at Merkur.de/Schongau.