3 April 2012

Flip cards for the blind bus catchers

| johnboy
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bus hailing

Here at RiotACT we certainly hope we have blind users, if only because we’ve spent years putting alt tags onto images and it’d be nice if someone was using them.

We mention this because Chief Minister Gallagher has announced the ACT Government is going to be providing “bus hailing kits” to Canberra’s visually impaired commuters:

“The bus hailing kit is a pocket-sized set of numbered cards that are printed with large-text and Braille numbers designed for use by visually-impaired people to help signal the bus route they wish to board.

“The kits come with a clear plastic pouch that has three slots in which to place the desired route number. The inserts that are used are in large print to help customers and drivers see them easily.

“A customer waiting at the bus stop will hold the kit at shoulder height to signal to the driver that they need to catch the route indicated by the hailing kit,” the Chief Minister said.

The bus hailing kits have been supplied by the public transport provider, Transpo, in the city of Ottawa, Canada. Vision Australia and Guide Dogs ACT will continue to be consulted during the trial to assist in the development and implementation of the kits.

Which is nice and all, but why can’t people make their own, to suit their own needs?

Calgary Transit has more information about how they do this.

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Great idea!

I’m not blind, however I can’t see the number of the approaching bus until it’s almost on top of me. I can’t be the only one. Hailing every bus gets a tad embarassing. Do you reckon I could get a bus hailing kit too? Or maybe ACTION could make the numbers bigger or the buses slow down a bit when approaching a possible stop? Most drivers do, some don’t and then it’s too late to waggle my hand.

I always thought a better solution would be a digital sign that displayed the number of the buses that should stop.
So on the busy routes where multiple different buses crossed the driver just had to see the number of that bus and would stop. Hard to see or blind people could type in the bus they wanted on a brail/large number keypad and it would list that number on the sign till the bus came by.

Having signs for blind people means they have to keep them up. how do they know when the bus is coming they dont all come every 10 minutes!

housebound said :

The question was: How do they _find_ the cards? Or are these cards something people carry around?

They are issued by the local transport group in Calgary to the visually impaired person. I interpreted that as meaning they then carry them with them.

pink little birdie11:41 am 03 Apr 12

housebound said :

Zeital said :

housebound said :

This sounds obtuse – but can someone tell me how they find the cards in the first place?

“printed with large-text and Braille numbers” there answer is there for you if you can read. anyways i think is this a great idea. i remember seeing a show years ago about how a almost bline guy couldn’t hail the right bus, and we thought about this exact solution

The question was: How do they _find_ the cards? Or are these cards something people carry around?

I’d be guessing that the Vision Australia Canberra Office and the ACT guide dogs will assist action in giving the kit to clients/schools. It would be something that vision impared people would carry around with them. As it would be impractical to have them at every bus stop.

The purpose of alt text is to convey the same meaning as the image: see WCAG guideline H37. Not to belittle your efforts, which are admirable, but do you really think the text “bus hailing”, used above, achieves that?

Zeital said :

housebound said :

This sounds obtuse – but can someone tell me how they find the cards in the first place?

“printed with large-text and Braille numbers” there answer is there for you if you can read. anyways i think is this a great idea. i remember seeing a show years ago about how a almost bline guy couldn’t hail the right bus, and we thought about this exact solution

The question was: How do they _find_ the cards? Or are these cards something people carry around?

Interesting, and genuinely hope that the trial works. One of the issues I can envisage that may cause some angst amongst visually impaired commuters using this method is that at the Westfield Belconnen interchange at times the buses come in packs of 3 – 4 at the one stop. So a person relying on hailing the correct bus maybe inadvertently overlooked etc. Will need the bus drivers to be vigilant and keep an eye out.

Here_and_Now11:02 am 03 Apr 12

Duffbowl said :

Suiting needs is good, but having a standardised system for drivers makes it easier all round.

True. Also, depending on the person and the nature of their visual impairment, they may not find it so practical to make their own.

Personally, I think this sounds like a great idea.

housebound said :

This sounds obtuse – but can someone tell me how they find the cards in the first place?

“printed with large-text and Braille numbers” there answer is there for you if you can read. anyways i think is this a great idea. i remember seeing a show years ago about how a almost bline guy couldn’t hail the right bus, and we thought about this exact solution

Suiting needs is good, but having a standardised system for drivers makes it easier all round.

This sounds obtuse – but can someone tell me how they find the cards in the first place?

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