[jaws-uk] Re: Blind people and public transportation crisis.
- From: "Gary Ankin" <gary.ankin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <jaws-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2012 08:02:10 -0000
a bit off topic for a Jaws user list!!
----- Original Message -----
From: "chris miles" <grrenfly@xxxxxxx>
To: <jaws-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2012 10:38 PM
Subject: [jaws-uk] Re: Blind people and public transportation crisis.
> On 01/11/2012 19:20, Mostafa wrote:
>> The following article is taken directly from the website of the Royal
>> national institution for the blind in the United kingdom, followed by a
>> substantially comprehensive discussion.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> British Youth Council
>>
>> Select Committee enquiry
>>
>> Transport Select Committee
>>
>>
>>
>> The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is very excited to be
>> able to provide some evidence to this enquiry. We provide a number of
>> services to visually impaired (VI) people such as computer support,
>> employment support and also have a very active campaigning function.
>>
>>
>>
>> One of our key areas of work is around the issue of isolation and how
>> services such as transport can be enhanced to remove some of the barriers
>> which are faced by blind and partially sighted people.
>>
>>
>>
>> The evidence in this paper is taken directly from the views of young
>> people who come into contact with us either as members or campaigners.
>>
>>
>>
>> Young People's experiences of using transport
>>
>> We believe that blind and partially sighted young people face very
>> specific problems with accessing public transport and it is frustrating
>> that some of these can be resolved without considerable spending on
>> enhanced infrastructure.
>>
>>
>>
>> It is important to distinguish at this point between those who travel in
>> London and people trying to access transport outside London. Transport
>> for London who are responsible for overseeing the buses, Underground and
>> some overground services have made considerable improvements during the
>> past decade. There are now announcements on Tube trains and buses
>> something which Sam aged 13 is thrilled about 'I can now travel normally
>> on a bus with my friends instead of having to rely on them to tell me
>> when it is my stop.' similarly Ashok notes that 'I used to worry so much
>> about getting my bus to college as people and the driver have forgotten
>> to tell me when is my stop.now I am able to know this for myself.'.
>> Sometimes however, these are switched off and not all young people are as
>> confident as Simone who states 'I tell the driver I need this and he must
>> put them on.'
>>
>>
>>
>> However, this is in stark contrast to travel outside London where very
>> few buses have announcements and hence blind and partially sighted young
>> people must rely on the good will of fellow passengers and/or the driver
>> remembering let them know when it is their stop. The results of this
>> can be an increase in isolation as young people feel unable to travel
>> alone or an increase in spending as taxis become used more than would be
>> the case for non visually impaired young people. Clearly such limited
>> confidence often goes on into adulthood with the majority of our members
>> reporting that they rarely go out alone and are thus dependent on the
>> timings of others.
>>
>>
>>
>> As with all groups information is key but even more so with blind and
>> partially sighted people. There needs to be much greater information at
>> bus stops as very often we receive reports of buses not stopping because
>> they haven't been seen either quickly enough or at all. Therefore what
>> is needed is some audible form of information at stops, some young people
>> at a specific convention suggested this could perhaps be achieved via
>> smartpone technology.
>>
>>
>>
>> It is also very important to note here how certain types of behaviour can
>> be taken differently. Normal boisterous behaviour with pushing,
>> shouting, name calling Etc can be much more scary for a VI young person
>> than would be the case for a non-VI person. And as often is the case the
>> perception can be worse than the reality, however, the result of both is
>> that fewer young people will be willing to travel independently.
>>
>>
>>
>> Concessionary fare schemes
>>
>> There is a good deal of confusion and variety in how local councils apply
>> these schemes which can work against blind and partially sighed young
>> people. As a means of getting young people 'out and about' a companion
>> pass is vital in reducing a young person's isolation and helping to
>> enhance their independence. Another means to enhance this independence
>> would be to ensure that it is not time limited. At the moment some
>> councils (and an increasing number) are restricting the use of
>> concessionary passes to after 9.30 which would make it very difficult for
>> a visually impaired young person to get to college. Companion passes
>> would be helpful here as for the first few times a visually impaired
>> young person would need to be shown a route and gain confidence before
>> taking on this journey for themselves.
>>
>>
>>
>> We believe that these problems become increased when broadened out in
>> terms of actually getting to the station or bus stop. Very often the
>> pavement environment is unfriendly for VI people with lots of obstacles
>> such as advertising boards outside shops, tables and chairs outside cafes
>> and household bins/rubbish all to be navigated even before a young person
>> attempts to start their public transport journey.
>>
>>
>>
>> Training for staff
>>
>> It is very clear that considerable differences exist in both the level of
>> training but perhaps more importantly how this is then applied. This
>> point relates to one mentioned above around bus driver behaviour, while
>> there is much good advice given to drivers about how to 'deal' with a
>> visually impaired person we still receives regular complaints. These are
>> along the lines of not waiting until a person has sat down Simone again
>> says '.I have a guide dog so only have one free hand, however, am very
>> forced to walk down the moving bus to find a spare seat.'. Again as
>> mentioned above young people have told us they would be more confident to
>> travel if they could rely on a bus stopping at the stop rather than
>> having to be 'hailed'. This again is down to training and is like the
>> first point frustrating as there would be little cost attached to
>> addressing both of these points.
>>
>>
>>
>> Travel on railways especially national travel can be a scary experience
>> too. While companies do offer 'assisted travel' schemes we do hear of
>> people being 'forgotten' about and hence either missing their train or
>> relying on members of the public to get to the right platform.
>>
>>
>>
>> Conclusion
>>
>> We believe that there are still a number of barriers which prevent blind
>> and partially sighted young people from accessing public transport. We
>> feel this is made even more frustrating by some of these problems easily
>> being resolved if current practises are fully adhered to and would ask
>> that providers pay much more attention to solutions which come directly
>> from disabled people which are the direct result of their own
>> experiences.
>>
>>
>>
>> For further information please contact Richard Holmes Regional Campaigns
>> Officer RNIB 020 7391 2112 richard.holmes@xxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>>
>>
>> As disabled people face threats to benefits, cuts in services, a hostile
>> job market and every day rising costs of living, the Hardest Hit
>> coalition have come together to protect disabled people's rights and
>> independence.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> http://www.rnib.org.uk/aboutus/who/governed/Pages/RNIB_President.aspx
>>
>>
>>
>> Now, we may shift our conversational concentration to the more restricted
>> dissemination, and that's the transportation crisis for the blind people
>> here in Egypt. Without being ashamed, the situations for the blind people
>> in having accessible transportation rights are enormously inglorious in
>> this country. More than two million blind are living here in Egypt. Yes,
>> this is the accurately announced statistical observation from the
>> ministry of general pronouncement and calculation in November the
>> seventh, 2011. How disgraceful indeed to not provide applicable
>> transporting system for the blind people in the supposedly revolutionist
>> Egypt. Thankfully, I live in a decently pleasant part of the country, I
>> have fair access to private transportation which I pay to on my own. But,
>> the vast majority of the blind people here in Egypt are extraordinarily
>> suffering from the lack of compatible transporting systems. I know in
>> person some people who are struggling with the mass ignorance and
> t
>> he prejudice attitudinal perception led by the society, and in
>> particular as they are using the public transportation system on a
>> periodical basis.
>>
>> I look forward to hearing from you.
>>
>> Mostafa.
>>
>> ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
>> ** [mailto:jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
>> ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
>> ** jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> ** and in the Subject line type
>> ** unsubscribe
>> ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
>> ** immediately-following link:-
>> ** [mailto:jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
>> ** or send a message, to
>> ** jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
>>
> Hi,
>
> One thing that is very frustrating is when a bus arrives at a bus stop,
> they never drop the ramp down; so you have to judge the height of the
> platform from the pavement; and sometimes like in Leicester the bus
> stops in the middle of the road; runs out of service, so there's not a
> bus for an hour; two buses arrive at the same bus stop at the same time,
> so only one bus can get into the stop and if you want the other bus,
> you'll either miss it or you are reliant on public to help you. Another
> big problem is that quite often there is a gap between the pavement and
> the bus; this also happens at Leicester bus station where the doors do
> not line up withe the buses. Another big problem is that there are no
> tactile or talking signs on either bus stops or on bus station bay doors
> so you have to ask public which bay you are. In the concourse of
> Leicester bus station they have put large banks of seats and when there
> are lots of queues sometimes you cannot get to your bay because there is
> not enough room to get your guide dog and yourself between the glass
> bays and the seats.
>
> Also to get from one bus in Leicester town centre to the bus station,
> there are two road junctions that are so dangerous that I have to ask
> the public to help me across the junction to get to my bus home.
>
> ** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
> ** [mailto:jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
> ** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
> ** jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> ** and in the Subject line type
> ** unsubscribe
> ** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
> ** immediately-following link:-
> ** [mailto:jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
> ** or send a message, to
> ** jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
>
** To leave the list, click on the immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=unsubscribe]
** If this link doesn't work then send a message to:
** jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
** and in the Subject line type
** unsubscribe
** For other list commands such as vacation mode, click on the
** immediately-following link:-
** [mailto:jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx?subject=faq]
** or send a message, to
** jaws-uk-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with the Subject:- faq
Other related posts:
