Recently, there has been a number of letters to the editor about bus drivers not calling out the stops. Numerous commentators expressed the opinion that this was a trivial issue and visually impaired riders should simply ask the bus driver to let them off at their desired stop.
The blind have been using the “ask the driver” approach for decades. While most drivers are good at remembering such requests, a good number of them are not. Even when drivers have good intentions, blind passengers cannot count on them to have good memories. All the blind transit users I have ever met have had the unfortunate experience of having to backtrack after the bus driver forgot to let them off at their requested stop.
For blind persons who have a personal GPS device and good cane skills, missing their stop might only be an annoying inconvenience. However, for many others, being dropped off unexpectedly in unfamiliar surroundings can pose a significant concern.
The uncertainty and risk of the “ask the driver” approach means that many visually impaired people do not see public transit as a viable transportation option. They are forced to rely on restrictive HandyDART service or costly taxis. Every HandyDART trip costs the public many times more than the same trip taken on regular public transit.
Another problem with the “ask the driver” approach is that it eliminates options and opportunities for the blind who have been driven off the buses because they cannot count on receiving reliable information. For example, a sighted transit user can accept a job that entails on-call work or can decide at the last minute to participate in a community activity across town. These opportunities do not exist for disabled people who rely on HandyDART.
When there are three buses at a multi-bus stop, sighted transit riders can easily determine which is the one they want to take. At any time, sighted transit riders can look out the window and determine where the bus is and the distance to their destination. They decide when it’s time to ring the bell and exit the bus.
An automated call-out system gives visually impaired transit users similar options, controls and independence. Numbers are announced outside of the bus, so blind transit riders do not need to ask for help to find the bus they want to take. An automated call-out means that they can determine where they are along the route and they don’t need to ask the bus driver to remember their stop.
They also can have a much less anxiety-producing trip because they are in control and don’t need to worry that the driver might forget.
Automated systems are being used in cities and towns throughout the world and low-cost options are available to B.C. Transit. In fact, some systems will pay for themselves through increased advertising revenue.
For more than 20 years, we have lobbied B.C. Transit to implement an automated call-out system to make public transit more accessible for the blind, but the corporation has deemed this to be a low priority. Blind transit users in Ottawa filed a human-rights complaint and the Ontario Transit Authority was directed to accommodate their needs by providing a call-out system.
Bolstered by the Ontario decision, the Canadian Federation of the Blind filed a similar human-rights complaint against B.C. Transit. In response, B.C. Transit agreed to provide a call-out system in Victoria. Unfortunately, rather than follow Ontario’s lead and implement an automated system, B.C. Transit chose to direct its drivers to start calling out all of the stops.
Transit’s directive upset many drivers who agree with CFB that blind passengers have an undeniable right to information, but believe it is the responsibility of B.C. Transit to provide an automated system, because that is the most consistent and reliable means of solving the problem. Transit and the union are wrangling while blind passengers continue to be poorly served.
The new requirements for drivers have been in place since last April, but little has changed for the blind. An informal survey last December by CFB members found that about 80 per cent of drivers did not call out the stops, even when they knew there was a visually impaired passenger on the bus.
The blind are not the only group who will benefit from an automated call-out system. Visitors, infrequent transit users and thousands of seniors with compromised vision will also find it easier to navigate the local bus system if the stops are announced.
Mary Ellen Gabias of Victoria is president of the Canadian Federation of the Blind.
