Travelling on public transport with a visual impairment

The challenges when using a bus with a visual impairment you either have to use bemyeyes app at a bus stop which will tell you when and which bus is coming or ask somebody if they’re nearby

When getting onto a bus I have to judge the step between the path and road then the gap between the road and step onto the bus which is a bit tricky but is manageable with the Kane

When on a bus I need to listen to speech and see what stop is which this is sometimes tricky because the speech is not high so if there’s lots of people on the bus you won’t be able to hear it or sometimes the speech wouldn’t be on so if would have to either ask somebody if near which stop is which or a last resort ask the driver which stop is which so there’s plenty of ways to get around it

When getting of the bus you have to wait to the bus comes to a complete stop before getting off and judging the gap between the step and path is ok because there’s only small gaps between the too

The entrance into Connolly station is easy because there’s a mat on the ground so you know that I’m going the right way when I feel that then navigating the steps is easy because there’s tactile paving on the ground where the steps are so I know when I feel that then I know that I’m near the steps when going up the steps is grand because I can use the Kane to know where the steps are and can also use the handrail which is handy

There’s not far to go from the top of the stairs to the gate and they have a wheelchair section so you don’t need to route around for the pass which is handy then they would have someone on the gate will ask you where you are going and tell you when the train is due and what platform that the train will be on

They will ask you if you want assistance in getting to the platform but I don’t use this because the layout of Connolly station is straight forward enough and not many steps so I think that it’s easy to get from one platform to another in this station

The speech will work and tell you which train is due at the platform and time that you want and then when it arrives wait until it stops not try get on while it ‘s moving and the door opens this could be tricky for someone with a visual impairment because there’s a big gap to get onto the train so I put the Kane between the gap and step for the train this is a good guide because then you will know where’s the step is this work for me if the door doesn’t open there’s a button to the right of the door if you press this it will open so don’t panic if it doesn’t open

When on the train the speech will work and tell you which stop is coming up and where the train is going to so that will keep you in check when you get off the train use the Kane trick again to find the step but I find the stop getting off the train is not as big which is good