By: Christopher Gordon
As more cities introduce automated stop announcements, the days of relying on bus or streetcar drivers for verbal stop announcements are behind us in many places. That is of course if the announcements are working properly.
In the same way that automatic door opening buttons benefit people beyond their target demographic, automated stop announcements on buses are helpful for everyone, not just people with sight loss. Stop announcements can help tourists, people new to a particular bus route, and on inclement weather days when it’s hard to see out the window to confirm that your stop is nearby.
Automated stop announcements should be present on every transit vehicle, including buses, streetcars, and subway or LRT cars. This allows all passengers to travel with independence and autonomy.
If the automated stop announcements on your city’s transit vehicles are not working, please call your local transit authority and report it. If the transit service in your city hasn’t adopted automated stop announcements, reach out to your elected officials, and let them know it’s time to get on board with making transit more accessible for everyone.
This year we are launching our first national Accessible Public Transit Campaign, including an Accessible Public Transit Week of Action from June 20-24. We are looking for volunteers and community advocates from across the country to come together and join us in calling on municipalities to make improvements to accessibility within their local transit system.
If you are passionate about accessible public transportation and making positive change locally and would like to learn more about the campaign and get involved, please email advocacy@cnib.ca.