This paper examines the problems of defining and measuring access for blind travelers in an urban transit environment. Current accessibility measures do little to account for individual differences or the barriers faced by people with restricted mobility. Independent access to transit and activities in the urban environment are often denied or restricted for those with vision impairments. Their freedom of movement is not blocked by physical obstacles, but by information, signs, and spatial knowledge that are hard to access without vision. In this sense, services and facilities are considered inaccessible if people with limited or no vision lack the information necessary to adequately use them.

Thirty legally blind people made five simulated transfers to different transit modes at a transportation terminal to identify specific barriers to successful travel. Regular blind mobility methods were tested against a Remote Infrared Audible Signage (RIAS) condition to determine if the devices offered a suitable replacement for typical visual cues and information needed for efficient travel and use of transit. The difficulties of accessing various transit locations and performing necessary tasks were measured, in both conditions, and the extra time penalties were compared and modeled showing the travel constraints of vision loss and the efficacy of using RIAS to increase access. RIAS provided superior travel times, increased independence, and decreased error production.

A survey examined differences reported by blind travelers before and after exposure to RIAS. Many wayfinding tasks faced by transit users were shown to be quite difficult with normal navigation skills and aids, but presented little or no difficulty when using RIAS. High resistance to make mode transfers, especially in new environments, was reported. Inaccessible transit caused "non-trips" and also reduced travel and activity participation. RIAS revealed a hidden demand to travel more often, with greater safety, independence, and efficiency. These additional audible cues were perceived as enabling the users to access many more types of activities, such as education, employment, recreational, and entertainment. High monetary benefits were placed on the ability to travel independently and to gain access to urban opportunities, including increased income from employment.

We surveyed 55 blind and vision impaired bus riders in Santa Barbara, California to analyze their use of the local bus system and identify their frustrations, concerns and desires when using a mass transit system. The most important finding was that they needed better access to INFORMATION. We asked question on what kind of technology they would like to use to better access this information. The study revealed the benefits to be gained by using auditory signage to provide information to identify busses and trains, locate and safely cross streets and find and use terminal resources. We conclude this report with an examination of the benefits of using auditory signs.

Visitors to a foreign city know all too well the loss of independent travel when confronted with signage in an unfamiliar language. Street corners cannot be identified, people cannot tell where the buses that pass them are going, transit stations and mode changes are confusing, public buildings are hard to negotiate, and even finding the proper washroom can present a problem. Imagine a world without signs. One would not know where trains and buses led, where to find an information booth, or have clues on navigating a city or even a building. Consider then the trials of a blind traveler. Besides seeing no signs to help their orientation and information needs, they do not even see what the world around them looks like.

Signs, both written and iconic, guide us through unknown environments. We use them to identify street intersections, buildings, transit stops, different transit vehicles, and amenities such as telephones, fare, and information booths. People who can’t read signs – the dyslexic, the illiterate, the developmentally disabled, people with brain trauma – experience difficulty traveling through unknown territory. The 8-9 million blind and visually impaired people in the United States face greater problems. They do not get the information embedded in signs, and receive few other cues to the environment around them. They are denied cues about pathways and traffic flows, both vehicle and pedestrian. They can’t see buses or other transit vehicles, can’t find doors, elevators, and other building amenities. This lack of easy and safe access to urban travel and public transit is certainly one reason why only 26 percent of working-age people who can’t read newsprint are employed.

How can we improve access for these groups? The Americans with Disability Act of 1990 mandated equal access for all to transit and public buildings. Ramps, curb cuts, and lifts have replaced structural barriers, such as stairs and curbs, for those in wheel-chairs. But print-handicapped and vision-impaired people still face functional barriers to equal access. How do blind people find their way, facing these problems of mobility, wayfinding, and exploration? Long canes and guide dogs help a person avoid objects and danger within a few feet, but give no cues to the more distant environment. If a person can’t find a bus stop, identify a transit vehicle, or find a building or its entrance, they are denied equal access to transit and public buildings.

Our research identifies and evaluates a new technology to allow safe and easy access for the blind and vision impaired, Remote Infrared Signage Systems (RISS), or Talking Signs®. Each of these signs consists of an infrared transmitter that continuously beams a signal. A hand-held receiver picks up the beam and converts it into a spoken message that can be heard when the receiver is pointed at the transmitter. This gives the user a directional beam to the sign, as well as the sign’s content or name.

This study examined the effect that use of Remote Infrared Signage Systems has on performance of blind or vision impaired people when undertaking a variety of bus user tasks, including finding a suburban bus stop, identifying a specific bus and boarding it, disembarking at the downtown terminal and finding the entrance, traversing the terminal and learning the location of facilities inside and simulating the exiting of a buss.

This article reports on a survey of the use of buses in Santa Barbara, California, by 55 persons who are visually impaired (including those who are blind and those who have low vision). Findings on users’ frustrations, potential use of technological aids for travel, and perceptions of and attitudes toward the characteristics of bus services are presented. In addition, differences in the responses of those to whom household cars were and were not available are analyzed, and suggestions for dealing with the participants’ major concerns are provided. 

Our purpose is to explore the travel behavior of blind or vision impaired people, focusing in particular on travel by bus. We differentiate the sample depending on the availability of a household car. We examine perceptions of and attitudes toward existing transit and various transit characteristics, highlighting features that seem to be frustrating or difficult. Finally, we have traveler evaluate the potential usefulness of various assistive devices, including electronic information that gives navigational assistance. 

This paper examines further characteristics of the activity patterns of blind and vision impaired non-driving populations previously discussed in PATH Database Reference No. The report begins with an exploration of the activity patterns of blind or vision impaired people, followed by an evaluation of the impact of non-driving on employability and movement potential of the disabled non-driving group. The results of a survey of blind and vision impaired users of public transit facilities are then examined. Travel behavior characteristics and travel modes are studied. Possible assistive technologies to aid in making travel decision and undertaking travel are discussed.

To date, most attention and compliance to the ADA mandates for equal access to transportation has been focused on the non-ambulatory/wheelchair bound traveler. These modification costs have been tremendous. Buses and trains have had to be retrofitted or new equipment purchased to provide wheelchair lifts and designated seating areas. Much transit infrastructure has been totally rebuilt to allow for elevators to bypass struts, level access boarding and other costly structural modifications. Not so subtle grumbling is heard when few wheelchair users are seen in these facilities or on the expensive retrofitted buses. The blind and visually impaired in this country represent a significantly large group of disabled persons (almost three times the number of wheelchair users) who also need help with transportation modifications The good news, uncovered in the empirical analysis resulting from our survey, is that their needs do not seem to require anywhere near the massive financial outlays required by the adaptations for wheelchair users. Traveling for visually impaired people means moving through a world lacking many or all of the visual cues that sighted travelers, and many transit providers, take for granted. The absence of visual cues such as bus stop signs, bus numbers, bus schedules, and street signs are the main barriers to equal access to transportation reported in this study. This group’s main need is simply more and better INFORMATION.