‘Is Seeing Perceiving?’ Exploring issues concerning access to public transport for people with sight loss

Public transport and legislation

One of the biggest barriers people with sight loss face in attempting to fully participate in society is lack of accessible transport, which can result in isolation (West et al., 1997). This is not a new issue nor is it unique to Ireland. However, without accessible transport, people with sight loss will continue to struggle to be involved fully in society. According to Jones and Jain (2006), research into the use of public transport for people with sight loss is essential in future planning of services specific to access. In Ireland’s case, the Disability Act 2005 has been the driving piece of legislation to create positive change in relation to accessible public transport. Under the Act, six governmental departments, including the Department of Transport, were obliged to produce a sectoral plan outlining their plans in making their goods, services, and facilities accessible. In response to this, the Department of Transport published its plan ‘Transport Access for All’ in July 2006.

Transport and access for people with sight loss

People with vision impairment, according to Yerassimou (2002), are one of the most socially excluded groups in society. Social exclusion has been widely researched and reported to be a serious issue for this group (Jones & Jain, 2006; Mackett, Kamalsudhan, & Titheridge, 2008). Inaccessible public transport for people who are blind and vision impaired can lead to potential isolation and an ultimate risk to their independence. However, for people experiencing blindness or low vision, using public transport is never straightforward.

Baker (1999) presents a journey for a person with sight loss as a chain and argues that each link in the chain is necessary for the journey to be successful. However, if one of the links in the chain is weakened, then travel becomes difficult or impossible. For example, a journey on a bus or train can be broken down into stages: pre-journey, during journey, and finishing of journey. Preparation is key, and individuals will often require information before taking their journey. Baker (1999) reported that gaining information before travel was a major problem for both bus and rail users. Timetables were rarely available in alternative formats, and general information, including maps and other route planning details, were inaccessible. Golledge, Marston, and Costanzo (1997) reported that two-thirds of the respondents in their research did not find the standard timetables to be accessible. Montarzino et al. (2007) had similar findings, reporting that low use of public transport for this group was the result of ‘functional barriers’ such as difficulty in accessing information. The introduction of technology such as the Internet, while assumed to be a solution to the problem of inaccessible information, is not always the case as was discovered by a Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) study in 2003, where it was highlighted that not all people with sight loss can access online information as was assumed by transport companies (Perera, 2003).

An important pre-journey part of travelling is having staff of transport companies ready and able to assist. It would appear that from reviewing the research, train travel is regularly done with the assistance of staff, assistance being booked ahead of time. Positive feedback was reported in Baker (1999) and Yerassimou’s (2002) studies with regard to this. However, these studies have highlighted a general lack of awareness of people with sight loss, which resulted in research participants’ lack of confidence in these staff. Indeed, disability awareness training was highlighted as essential in the provision of a quality, secure, and comfortable public transport system (Gallagher, Hart, O’Brien, Stevenson, & Jackson, 2011; Perera, 2003). It is felt that disability awareness training should be provided to staff at all levels in a transport company and not only to the staff who have direct contact with passengers. In all the research reviewed, audible announcements of bus and train stops were by far the most frequently required feature of accessibility for people with sight loss. In one study by Pavey, Dodgson, Douglas, and Clements (2009), passengers felt that train rather than bus travel has become more accessible in recent years due to the increase of available audible announcements. Dependency on bus drivers to orientate oneself is not popular but appears to be necessary (Baker, 1999; Gallagher et al., 2011; Yerassimou, 2002). In 2012, the RNIB launched a campaign ‘Stop for me, Speak to Me’, which encourages bus drivers to be more aware of passengers with sight loss.

The present study

As previously mentioned, research with people with sight loss using public transport is limited. Although the studies mentioned above have been extremely useful, they are a small group, and they have their limitations, mainly around the length of time they were completed. Within the Irish context, the study by Gallagher et al. (2011) makes a significant contribution to the body of literature. However, the breadth of this study’s focus limits the depth in which the issues can be explored.

Within this context, the aim of the present study is to present a more detailed exploration of the issues faced by people with vision loss as they engage with public transport. A secondary aim is to examine how effective recent policy and legislative changes have been in making bus and rail services accessible to people in Ireland experiencing sight loss. In order to address these aims, a number of specific research questions are posed:

Research design

A broad qualitative research approach was taken consisting of two components. First, as the research aimed to examine individuals’ thoughts and ideas around access to public transport, a phenomenological approach was applied to explore the experiences of people with sight loss, using focus groups to collect the data. Second, and to compliment the views of this group, in-depth interviews were completed with the Access Officers of two public transport organisations in the target area. These were conducted to examine the beliefs and experiences of the transport companies around access concerns for people with sight loss.

The researcher’s perspective

In qualitative research, the researcher must be aware of their own perspective so as to collect data that is not overly influenced by personal experiences or beliefs (Elliott, Fischer, & Rennie, 1999). I, the first author (H.C.), am a Community Resource Worker working with National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) for 9 years. I currently work directly with people who are blind and vision impaired in the community. I sit on the Users’ Group for two public transport companies and have done so for over 6 years. As I am partially sighted due to the genetic condition ocular albinism and cannot drive, I have a keen interest in public transport and the access issue for people with sight loss.

Participants and sampling

Two different processes were used to identify the two groups of individuals who took part in this research study. As there is only one Access Officer in each of the transport companies, purposive sampling was used to identify these individuals. Both Access Officers were working in their position full time for at least 2 years. Both were female and were between 30 and 50 years of age.

In selecting participants for the focus groups, the NCBI gave permission to access individuals known to their service. Purposive convenience sampling was used in order to identify individuals and invite them to participate in the focus groups (Robson, 2002). Individuals were all above 18 years of age, lived in the target urban area, used public transport at least twice a week, and all the participants travelled independently. All participants were registered as blind with NCBI for a minimum of 5 years. In sampling, a key issue was the fact that there are very specific access concerns for people who are totally blind as well as those with low vision. Therefore, Group 1 consisted of individuals whose sight is recorded to be at 3/60 to total blindness, and Group 2 consisted of individuals whose vision is recorded to be between 6/60 and 3/60. In general, due to their level of sight loss, members of Group 1 may not be able to read print or detect colour and may more than likely require the assistance of a sighted guide or a mobility aid to travel safely. For members of Group 2, they may be able to read print of a certain size or font and may not require a sighted guide or a mobility aid full time. However, this would often depend on how accessible and familiar a place is to them.

Overall, these groups consisted of seven men and six women. Four participants were totally blind, and three had a visual acuity of less than 3/60, while six participants had visual acuity between 6/60 and 3/60. The average age of the participants was 41 years (standard deviation [SD] = 12.6 years). Finally, five participants were long cane users, three were guide dog owners, and five did not use a mobility aid.

Materials

The interview schedule for Access Officers consisted of three sections, and interviews were carried out prior to the focus groups so as to assist in the development of questions for these groups (Robson, 2002). The key sections were their role in relation to access and their understanding of sight loss, the role of disability awareness, and the steps the organisation has taken to promote access to transport for people with sight loss. For the focus groups, the schedule was also broken up into three main sections. The first section included questions on what the term ‘access’ means to the participants and the challenges they currently face taking a journey. Journey planning and information were also discussed. The second section consisted of questions around the effectiveness of current legislation as well as communication with people with sight loss by the transport companies. Technology and what a perfect journey would be for the participants made up the last section of the interview schedule.

Procedure

Following ethical approval of the study by the Human Research Ethics Committee at University College Dublin (UCD), the participants were sent an information sheet about the study in their preferred method of correspondence (as recorded by NCBI). Participants were informed that the interviews would be recorded and the procedures for anonymous transcription and subsequent storage of data would be explained, and were advised of their right to withdraw from the study at any time. Both focus groups were conducted in the headquarters of NCBI, and the need for confidentiality was stressed at the outset. Participants were also made aware that if any personal issues arose for them as the result of the process that support for them could be arranged. Each of the groups lasted approximately an hour and a half. The Access Officers were interviewed at separate times at the author’s place of work, and these took approximately 1 hour.

Thematic analysis

Due to the nature of this research and the qualitative approach used, thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) was employed in order to identify specific and relevant themes from the data. Having identified the three topics of ‘pre-journey’, ‘journey’, and ‘post-journey’ from the literature review, the transcripts from both the focus groups and interviews were reviewed. Relevant data were identified and placed under one of the three topics. An analysis of the resulting data was carried out and a coding framework designed. This coding framework consisting of themes with relevant quotes was used then in order to code the entire data set. Credibility of data according to Elliott et al. (1999) is essential, so on completion of the coding process and development of the coding framework and in order to ensure reliability of the themes, 20% of the data set along with the identified themes were given to two independent individuals to rate, and both individuals coded the data to over 78% agreement (Guerin & Hennessy, 2002).

Understanding of sight loss – awareness and assistance

There was general acknowledgement by the members of both focus groups that awareness and understanding of vision impairment had improved in recent years, with one member saying ‘I think, there’s just been more public awareness of people with disabilities using travel in and out of the stations’. According to the focus group members, this could be seen specifically in the way staff behaved towards people with sight loss, by being able to offer a sighted guide for example, ‘To echo what was said about the assistance in the stations, both [names stations] are absolutely fabulous, I can’t praise them enough, absolutely brilliant’. However, gaps were also highlighted such as being ‘forgotten’ on a bus or train and bus drivers not pulling in far enough to the curb or not warning a person that they are stepping off the bus directly in front of an obstacle. There was also discussion about how the use or non-use of a mobility aid may determine the level of assistance offered, if any at all. As one participant reported, ‘I think that having a guide dog, the drivers tend to notice the dog more’. All focus group members and both Access Officers felt that the key to ironing out problems like these was for all staff to receive disability awareness training and for companies to have continued consultation with people with sight loss.

Focus group discussions revealed how individuals’ own personal experiences of using public transport over time affected how accessible journeys were for them. Coping mechanisms such as asking the assistance of fellow passengers and timing buses came after many previous journeys had occurred with numerous access difficulties. Members of one group spoke about the fact that using public transport as a blind person takes both skill and confidence that only comes with time. Mobility training in the form of either long cane or guide dog had been received by a number of focus group participants, explaining that route training is required in order to use the train or bus safely and effectively and get to where one needs to go, but that the reality of travel was not as straightforward at first. As one participant reported,

I was so naive when I started, I was like ‘Oh I’ll just ask the driver and he’ll let me know like, because I mean I have asked him like’ (laughs). And then when you do it for a while, its like right that actually doesn’t mean anything.

Knowing that pre-booked assistance is in place, according to some members, put them at their ease when taking a journey, and getting to know the customer service teams in stations and drivers on buses also appears to have a very positive impact on individuals’ travel experiences

Services and impact on disorientation

There was an overall acknowledgement by the focus group participants of more accessible vehicles introduced in recent times. Accessible features, such as the outside colour of buses, colour contrasting grab rails, kneeling buses, Braille on bell-pushes, reduction of steps on and off vehicles, audible announcements, and train managers on newer carriages, were some of the main features welcomed by the groups. Both Access Officers appeared to be well aware of these issues, as one noted, ‘Colour contrast is something that I would be very much aware of, tactile on the platforms for safety purposes, and audio announcements they would really be the biggest things’.

The main difficulty that arose with regard to vehicle design was stopping the bus they required. For Group 1, identifying a bus as a bus was an issue (due to the extent of their sight loss), whereas for Group 2 getting the correct bus was the difficulty. As one participant reported, ‘If you can’t know what bus you’re going on, you’ve lost anyway like. If there isn’t anybody there to ask or if you can’t read the number of the bus, how do you know what bus you’re getting on?’

Many group members had worked on different mechanisms to assist with this problem: timing the bus, stopping all buses and asking the driver, or asking other people waiting at the stop for their bus number. Participants reported that technology offered a further solution to this problem. The introduction of a global positioning system (GPS) that would allow the individual to get information via their mobile phone about the bus they are waiting for was discussed. According to the Access Officer of one company, this type of technology does exist but is part of a wider Real Time Passenger Information System which is not available as yet. GPS, which would allow an individual with sight loss use a smart phone to gain information about travel options, has been introduced. However, this has not been linked to an audible announcement system that would announce each stop. Since the fear and experience of disorientation were such common complaints among the participants, it was felt that technology like the above should be installed as a matter of priority.

With regard to station design, it was reported that travelling to an unfamiliar station alone was not done regularly, due to the fact that the station was so unfamiliar that it could pose many difficulties or dangers. This would restrict flexibility in travelling, so assistance was usually required, which would be booked ahead of their journey. One Access Officer spoke of improvements in retro fitting and construction of new stations to ensure they follow accessibility guidelines. Focus group participants did raise concerns about some of the unmanned train stations, however, and the difficulties of inaccessible ticket machines. This, coupled with introduction of ticketed exit turnstiles in order to protect revenue, could cause potential difficulties for an individual with sight loss.

The feedback from focus group participants who attempted to use both transport company’s websites was poor. Both Access Officers agreed that their company’s websites were not fully accessible to people with sight loss although they were working on them. Individuals were aware, and many had used the customer help line for both companies.

A strong theme that emerged was dealing with disorientation when travelling and the level of difficulty with this coincided with a person’s level of vision loss. For the individuals in Group 1 depending on a sighted person to inform them of their approaching stop or station was one of the most discussed issues. Although also a highlighted issue for members of Group 2, it seemed that they often had a level of useful vision that could assist them with this. All the participants of both focus groups used the technique of asking the bus driver to inform them of the bus approaching their stop, but this, it would seem, is not always a reliable method, ‘Like numerous times they’ve (drivers) forgot me and let me off at wrong stops’. A point raised was that some bus drivers were unfamiliar with their routes and therefore unable to assist passengers who are blind with their orientation. An obvious solution to this problem according to all participants is the installation of a reliable, efficient, and comprehendible audible announcement system on all vehicles.

Legislation and regulation

One of the main areas of discussion was the effectiveness of current legislation in this area. There was a low awareness of legislation among focus group participants, but much higher among the Access Officers. Focus group members did not speak of any individual piece of legislation except for using the Equality Legislation as a way to create and drive change.

Both Access Officers spoke of the importance of legislation, in particular, the sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005, with one reporting ‘Everything I think has been driven by the legislation’. Without this, it was felt that things would not move forward in a productive way. It was felt by both focus group participants and Access Officers that there was a need for Ireland to have its own regulations in this area. Both transport companies use the relevant UK regulations, and according to one Access Officer, these documents are used due to the fact that the transport systems are similar. As one participant reported,

Yes I think we should (have Irish regulations), even if we use the bulk of what they (UK) have, I think that we should have our own one so that we know exactly this is what we have to follow.

It was noted that the UK regulations, although well thought of, do not necessarily suit the Irish context. Both Access Officers felt, overall, that having standard Irish regulations would reduce confusion but that these would need to be written in consultation with people with disabilities.

Although it was felt that legislation such as the sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005 has been essential in moving things forward in relation to access, both the focus group participants and Access Officers highlighted the role funding plays. The economic boom was described as having assisted with the improvement of access in rail travel, for example,

. . . I think that we have been blessed in the last ten years with the amount of funding we have got and while we may not get much more funding, we still got a huge amount out of it and have been able to achieve an awful lot.

There appeared to be a perception among focus group members that accessibility was not a funding priority for transport companies. Although they acknowledge the improvements that have been made, they also felt that money could regularly be a stumbling block in moving things forward: ‘I know it’s going to take time with costing and stuff like that’.

Experiences of access and travel

It appears that there are still some basic issues that are making independent travel for people with varying levels of sight loss either very difficult or impossible. Gaining both accurate and accessible information prior to travel currently poses problems. This problem was an identified difficulty in previous research studies (e.g., Golledge et al., 1997; Montarzino et al., 2007). In addition, problems with identifying bus numbers were a common issue in this and other studies (Montarzino et al., 2007; Yerassimou, 2002). However, the present study highlighted differences between individuals who were totally blind and who reported difficulties identifying a bus as a bus and stopping the correct bus, and those who had low vision, who reported difficulties knowing what number an individual bus was. Interestingly, according to some focus group participants, buses stopped more frequently for those with a guide dog than for a long cane user. Overall, the key point is that if an individual is fearful about travelling because of access issues, they are more likely to avoid travel, thus increasing potential social isolation and reducing participation (West et al., 1997).

Awareness and assistance

Both Baker (1999) and Yerassimou’s (2002) research revealed that there was regularly a need for assistance when using rail travel but that the feedback in relation to this assistance was positive. In the present study, assistance provided by rail staff was highly praised by group participants. This was a similar finding by Gallagher et al. (2011). For many people, this assistance is not only essential but also a normal part of their travel by rail. An extremely positive theme that emerged from this study was the widely recognised and commended improvement in awareness of sight loss by the transport companies. Members felt that there had been a real improvement in the transport companies’ commitment to making their services accessible to people with sight loss in the last number of years. However, despite these improvements, some focus group participants had at times experienced an unavailability of assistance when travelling.

Tackling disorientation

The work both transport companies have put in to making their vehicles accessible to people with sight loss was very much welcomed. However, the lack of reliable audible announcements on both trains and buses was an issue of particular concern, a finding that has been highlighted in previous research, (Baker, 1999; Gallagher et al., 2011; Montarzino, 2002). It is interesting to note that though this issue was highlighted as early as 1999, the call for audible announcements on trains and buses is still one of the main requirements today.

Some participants reported anxiety when travelling and dependency on sighted travellers. For bus travellers, asking a bus driver to inform them of their stop is not an effective method as similarly found by Baker (1999), Yerassimou (2002), and Perera (2003). A trial of audible announcements is due very shortly and will be linked through the Real Time Passenger Information System. Although the Real Time Passenger Information System hopes to address a number of the issues reported by participants, access for people with varying levels of sight loss needs to be built into the transport system from the beginning.

Service developments and advances in technology can, however, create barriers to accessing transport. Participants highlighted unmanned stations, exit validation systems, and the use of automated ticket machines as problematic. Interestingly, Baker (1999) called for technology not to replace the human presence at a station. Trying to find the balance therefore between the benefits and obstacles of technology will be one of the biggest challenges moving forward for the transport companies.

Legislation and regulations

A key aspect of this study was the discussion of the influence of legislation in this area. Although very few of the focus group participants spoke of specific pieces of legislation that they were aware of in relation to access of public transport, they did speak of seeing improvements in the last number of years which would coincide with the introduction of both the Equal Status Acts 2000 and 2004 and the Disability Act 2005. In contrast, both Access Officers were keenly aware of the legislation and their legal obligation to follow it. It would seem, therefore, that in order to improve access for people with sight loss in relation to public transport in Ireland, legislation is essential.

Apart from having the sectoral plan under the Disability Act 2005, both of the transport companies are following UK guidelines with regard to accessibility design of their vehicles, stops, and stations. It is apparent that participants felt Ireland requires its own regulations in this area. This would seem to make sense as Ireland as a country has a number of features that make it different from the United Kingdom, including the use of a second language and lack of privatisation, for example.

Limitations of this research

There are limitations to this work and its findings that must be considered. First, the recruitment of sufficient numbers of individuals to take part in the research was at times very challenging. In research by Perera (2003), focus groups had an extremely low turn out of people. In this research, one of the main issues was the difficulty people had in getting to the venue where the groups were being held. Because of this, people who would not use bus and rail services independently or frequently were not represented. In future research, it may be worthwhile including people who do not use public transport frequently or independently and to examine what are the perceived or present barriers that exist for them in doing so.

Leading from this, as with most research completed using a qualitative approach, it is not possible to generalise broadly the findings. According to Stewart and Shamdasani (1990), focus groups not only limit the ability to generalise the results to a larger group of people, but often because of the convenient way a sample is recruited, it is difficult to say whether these groups are providing a true representation of the population’s feelings on this topic. Hence, other group’s experiences of sight loss and using public transport may be quite different from the group in the present study. By including a wide variety of ages, both men and women, and individuals with varying levels of sight loss using differing mobility aids in the focus groups, attempts were made to ensure as broad a representative sample as possible.

Recommendations and conclusion

It is clear that indeed there have been huge improvements in access for people with sight loss to bus and rail services since the introduction of both the equality legislation and the Disability Act 2005. This can be seen in particular in the overall awareness of people with sight loss and their needs and the introduction of more accessible vehicles and services. However, how effective these changes are for a person who is blind or vision impaired appears to vary greatly depending on their functional vision.

There are a number of recommended changes that would ensure that transport is accessible to people with vision impairment. These include the use of audible announcements and other technologies not dependent on an individual’s level of sight. Until these methods are widely used, bus and rail travel will not truly be accessible. Also the provision of disability awareness training to staff at all levels of the transport system will ensure that an accessibility agenda is a clear priority. Finally, in order to ensure the continued effectiveness of legislation, regular reviews and monitoring of services would appear to be essential.