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box with a headphone resembles a mobile phone with earpiece or an ipod and therefore does not draw attention to the user.

10.4.2.2 Optical Technology for an Environmental Information System

The Talking Lights® system uses optical technology to transmit the signal. The light from an ordinary light fitment is used to encode information to create a communication channel. The modulation does not interfere with the production of illumination from the light and the modulation frequency is chosen so that there is no visible light flicker.

The technology has three components:

1.A fixed modulating light system that emits the locator signal

2.A portable receiver to receive the locator and information signals

3.Signal processing software to process the light signal and convert it to audio format

The receiver handset decodes the information from the modulated light signal and presents it to the user. The system can be used to provide a way-finding system around buildings.

10.5 Accessible Public Transport

All types of public transportation systems need to be accessible to all sections of the community. This is particularly important for visually impaired and blind people, who generally do not have bicycles, cars or mopeds and therefore rely on public transport, including buses, trams and rail, for local and national travel. This section discusses the accessibility considerations of public transport for blind and visually impaired people.

There are advantages in a unified and integrated public transportation infrastructure controlled and managed by one organisation, particularly in the area of the design and implementation of accessibility. Unfortunately, in many countries public transportation systems have been privatised and deregulated, leading to the involvement of a large number of organisations in different parts of the system, with associated disadvantages. However, despite the lack of an integrated approach, the use of national accessibility guidelines (for example, in the UK, see IHT 1991) and accessibility legislation has led to some degree of accessibility. However, there are still considerable variations between countries and public transport that is fully accessible to all sections of the communities has not yet been achieved.

The section is divided into two parts. Section 10.5.1 considers good design to promote accessibility, whereas Section 10.5.2 describes a number of way-finding, information and guidance systems for visually impaired and blind travellers. Details of a Bluetooth system developed for a bus transportation system in Singapore are given in Chapter 11.

10.5.1 Accessible Public Transportation: Design Issues

Public transportation systems include purpose-built buildings and other structures, such as bus and tram stops and shelters, bus and rail stations, ferry terminals and airports. There are both common and specific accessibility features for the different structures and different transportation modes.

Floors, steps, stairs and walkways

All walking surfaces, both inside and outside, should be designed to reduce glare and be non-slip even when wet. Any slopes should be shallow and pedestrian route-ways should be uncluttered and free of obstructions and street furniture.

Tactile flooring, pavement blocks and strong colour contrasts should be used to draw attention to facilities and potential hazards. The entries to steps, stairs and escalators should always be marked on all levels by tactile flooring and colour changes. Stair and escalator treads should have a colour contrasting edging strip. Open stairs and lifts should generally be avoided since they are inaccessible to people with vertigo. Any existing stairs should have handrails and banisters. Ramps and lifts should be located close to all stairs to provide an alternative route for wheelchair users. The spaces below stair flights and ramp ways should always be blocked off or handrails, raised kerbs and tactile warning floors provided if this is not possible.

Lighting

Good lighting is important for both accessibility and personal security, particularly at night, in all types of transportation centres and nodes. For economic reasons, low-pressure sodium lighting is often used but this monochromatic light has the disadvantage of colour “wash-out”. A whiter light source such as high-pressure sodium lighting gives better colour definition and increases accessibility for visually impaired people. However, care has to be taken in the design of powerful lighting systems to ensure that the illumination is sufficiently diffuse and the light source adequately shaded and at a sufficient distance from users to avoid making the area inaccessible to light-sensitive people.

Information and signage

Well-designed signage and accessible information are essential to facilitate stressfree travel. The guidelines for the provision of accessible signage and information include the following (IHT 1991), slightly modified by the authors:

•Passenger entrances to stations should have a tactile map of the layout with clear and well-illuminated details of operators’ names, route numbers, and destinations. Boarding point letters and numbers should be indicated by tactile, audible (preferably over a single headphone) and large print signage.

•All boarding points should be indicated by both visual and tactile signs and colour and textured floor surfaces.

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•All staff should be trained to understand the mobility requirements of disabled passengers and, for instance, how to guide blind travellers to their boarding point.

Pedestrian route markers

Tactile route markers can facilitate way-finding for visually impaired and blind travellers, particularly in large transportation buildings with a complex layout. The building layout should be designed to be logical and as simple as possible to facilitate navigation and orientation. Tactile route markers use a line of tactile paving blocks to form a route through the building to important locations such as the ticket office, the toilets and the departure areas. Colour contrasting inserts with a contrasting texture can be used to indicate that a facility is close by. Japan is an example of a country where tactile route markers are widely installed. Large transportation buildings should also have tactile, audio (over headphones) and large print maps at regular locations.

Facilities

Transportation buildings generally include a wide range of facilities, such as seating areas, public waiting rooms, toilets, ticket offices, information centres, refreshment vendors and first aid points. Airports and large train stations will include other facilities, such as restaurants and bars, shops, transport police, medical facilities and chapels. Good quality visual, tactile and audio signage is important for accessibility. Plate-glass is increasingly being used, particularly in new premises. Where its use cannot be avoided, such as in viewing points, contrasting colour strips should be used to draw attention to these transparent materials. Bus shelters constructed of transparent toughened plastic also require all sides to be marked and this is frequently the case, even if only by advertising.

10.5.2Accessible Public Transportation:

Technological Information and Way-finding Systems

Making a journey by public transport involves a number of activities, including the following:

•Planning the journey and deciding how best to reach the destination.

•Using timetables or contacting service operators to obtain information about the times of services.

•Finding an embarkation point, for example, a bus stop, tram stop, train platform or aircraft departure lounge.

•Purchasing a ticket.

•Identifying and getting onto the correct bus, tram or train for the journey and finding a seat.

•Knowing when to disembark, i.e. the ability to identify the correct stop or station.

•Finding an exit from the station or stop and finding the correct orientation for the next stage of the journey.

Good design, including the use of tactile pavements and bold colour contrast features, can facilitate some of these activities. However, good design needs to be complemented by technological information and navigation systems. There is very little standardisation or uniformity between the different applications of active information and navigation systems in different countries and the following partial list of applications is based on reports in the literature:

•Orientation beacons to provide audio descriptions of navigation information.

•Orientation beacons to provide audio signals of important travel locations, such as ticket offices and toilets.

•Information beacons to provide audio descriptions in railway and bus stations.

•Audio information at embarkation points giving the line and destination of transport vehicles.

•Audio information inside transport vehicles with a control handset.

This list gives a flavour of some of the different types of applications, two of which are described below. However, there has been a tendency to set up isolated systems, rather than use a holistic approach to the design and implementation of information and navigation systems for blind and visually impaired travellers.

Bus identification system, USA

This system, which is distributed by the Luminator division of the US Mart IV Information Display Systems Group, uses Talking Signs® infrared transmission technology (see Section 10.4.2.1). Audio signals are transmitted using an infrared beam from a fixed beacon mounted at the front of a bus. The beam is intercepted by a hand-held receiver, which decodes the infrared signal to produce an audio message signal. The audio-signal is delivered as a voice-message to the traveller using an earphone or handset speaker. The system, illustrated in Figure 10.13, is compatible with the company’s integrated voice system for embarkation point and destination announcements.

Way-finding system, Czech Republic

An extensive active information and navigation system has been implemented in Prague and several other towns in the Czech Republic. Much of the impetus for this system has come from the Czech Blind United organisation and their specialist National Centre for the Elimination of Architectural and Transportation Barriers. The achievements of this Centre include the following systems:

•Sound beacons that are remotely activated by handset controls have been located at important travel locations, including metro station entrances, escalators, railway station platforms, public buildings, banks and libraries. A photograph of a sound beacon is shown in Figure 10.14.