Elevating SEPTA’s accessibility: Why public transit systems aren’t designed for everyone

A mother's fatal fall on New York City subway stairs has raised the question of why many public transportation systems like SEPTA are not fully accessible — yet.

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A man pushes a stroller off a SEPTA subway train at the 8th and Market station. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

A man pushes a stroller off a SEPTA subway train at the 8th and Market station. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

In late January, 22-year-old Malaysia Goodson died after falling down the stairs at a New York City subway station. She was carrying a stroller and her one-year-old daughter, who survived. The city’s medical examiner hasn’t concluded whether the cause of her death was the fall or a preexisting medical condition, but the incident raised big questions about the accessibility of our public transit systems. On this episode of The Why, WHYY’s PlanPhilly editor Ariella Cohen and reporter Meir Rinde explain why these systems weren’t designed for everyone from the start and how SEPTA is doing at catching up.

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