TransLink is installing braille signage at every bus stop throughout the region, as well as tactile walking surface indicators at every bus stop on property that TransLink owns or leases.
Installation has already begun with a goal of being completed by the end of 2022.
“These improvements will help customers who are blind or partially sighted better navigate the transit system by letting them know which stop they are at and which buses they are waiting for,” said a TransLink news release.
“Once installed, TransLink will be the first transit system in Canada to install braille signage across its entire bus system.”
The braille bus stop signs will contain:
- Information written in both Unified English Braille and raised tactile letters
- Bus stop ID numbers
- Bus routes serving that bus stop
- Bay or bus stop indicators
- Customer Information phone number
“The installation of these signs providing transit information in both braille and tactile letter formats is demonstrative of TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company’s commitment to providing accessible transit in Metro Vancouver,” said Rob Sleath, a member of Access Transit’s User’s Advisory Committee, in statement. “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. This will be a major contributor to our ability to travel with confidence anywhere throughout the entire Metro Vancouver area.”
TransLink has also been expanding real-time text-to-audio next bus technology at bus stops.
