Metrobus has accessibility plans for blind passengers, but resident voices concerns
Metrobus plans to introduce an internal bus stop announcer on its buses and an app to assist blind pedestrians in locating bus stops in the coming months. (Darrell Roberts/CBC)
Metrobus says it's making public transportation more accessible for blind passengers by installing a bus stop announcement system.
General manager Judy Powell says Metrobus partnered with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind to implement an app that will assist blind pedestrians to locate the bus stops and alert them when a bus is arriving. The change will be slowly introduced over the coming months.
Philip Strong, a blind man living in St. John's who uses the Metrobus, says it's nice to see the service trying to make buses more accessible — but he still harbours concerns.
Besides an announcement system inside the bus, there should be an external one, he said, to announce to passengers at bus stops which direction the bus is heading.
Philip Strong, who is blind, says the Metrobus is going in the right direction, but busses should be more accessible to blind residents. (Darrell Roberts/CBC)
The app might help people locate the stop, said Strong, but it too has some disadvantages.
"You're limiting that system to an individual who has an accessible phone. And it's another piece of equipment then that you have to have in hand," Strong said.
"If I'm traveling and I got a bag over my shoulder, I'm using my guide dog that takes up one hand, now I have to pull out my phone and activate an app to tell me, you know, if I'm there near the stop."
There are unlimited ways to make public transit more accessible, Strong said. One way is to make stops more tactile, such as systems in the sidewalk that signal that one is nearby.
And the way to the bus stop is just as important.
"Is the sidewalk clear enough and wide enough that you can actually get there? Do they have that access to even be able to get to the bus stop?" he asked.
Powell says Metrobus will issue tenders for the announcement system in April.
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