TransLink has begun installing braille signs at bus stops around Metro Vancouver to help customers who are blind or partially sighted.
The small, dark blue signs are attached to the existing TransLink bus stop sign posts and include information in Unified English Braille and raised tactile letters.
The information on the signs includes the bus stop ID number, bus routes serving the stop, bay or bus stop indicators, and the customer information phone number. The signage is part of TransLink’s goal to be one of the most accessible transit systems in the world.
“Tactile signage affixed to a bus stop ID pole will allow those of us with sight loss to accurately distinguish an ID pole from a municipal parking regulation pole and will provide us with the transit information that is readily available to sighted transit users,” says Rob Sleath, a member of the Access Transit’s Users’ Advisory Committee.
In addition to the braille signage, tactile walking surface indicators will be installed at every bus stop on property that TransLink owns. These hard plastic, yellow, raised surfaces assist customers who are blind or partially sighted know they are near a bus stop, as well as helping to direct them to the front door of the bus.
The transit authority has also been expanding its use of real-time text-to-audio information at stops. It has already been installed at every RapidBus stop throughout the region, as well as every stop at the UBC Exchange.
