The consultation with First Bus in May went extremely well with a large number of Centre Users attending to talk about better travel on the local buses.
In addition, members for The Scottish Accessible Transport Alliance (SATA) were along, as well as Forth Valley Police and Bill Murray from the Macular Society Scotland. Blind and partially sighted Centre Users as well as deafblind and BSL speakers were present to put their ideas and concerns to Jim Brennan, Local Depot Manager.
Some of the key concerns raised were:
– Drivers asking Blind or Partially Sighted people to place their pass on a reader which they are unable to see
– Ticket machines not always working which can cause problems
– Where two buses, both on different routes, are in close proximity, the following bus can go straight past the stop
– What the rules on Guide dogs are for a busy bus? Especially taking up seating space if there is a buggy on the bus, plus, being warned if there is already another dog on-board
– Drivers letting blind and partially sighted people know when they are near a stop, as some have refused to do this in the past
However, it wasn’t all bad news with a number of those present saying what a good service they had received and how First Bus drivers had made a point of being helpful. Even one training bus which pulled in to a stop to inform a blind service user that they were not being ignored, the bus was simply with a trainee driver and not in service. Or, another driver who stopped his bus to check if it was the one the person needed, and then flagged down the following bus to make sure that they got on the one they needed.
In response to the queries raised, Jim explained that First Bus is always keen to hear about any issues. Drivers are instructed to always pull into a stop if another bus is present, just in case. Ticket machines are a problem, but newer machines are coming soon which will be easier to use and more accurate in terms of recording which stop the passenger got on the bus at and their eventual destination.
Regarding seating and the carrying of dogs, there isn’t a legal stance which a driver can take to make someone to move from a disabled seat nearer the front of the bus, they can ask but this is very much down to the willingness of the passenger in question. Drivers should always let guide dog owners know if there is another dog on the bus and also ask the owner of the other dog to move towards the rear of the bus if necessary.
Questions were also raised about the accessibility of some of the buses which is not as good as in other areas. For example, buses in Edinburgh have spoken and written information about the next stop, where blind or partially sighted people in Forth valley need to rely on the driver, a carer or other passengers. Double Decker buses currently in use in the area are also a struggle for people to use with confusing layouts.
Jim admitted this was the case but stressed he was hoping a solution was on the way. The Double Decker buses that had been sent to Larbert were working their way back to England for the high volume city use they were designed for and new budgets should lead to newer buses with on-board information systems. Several buses, with the stop technology are scheduled to arrive from the former Galashiels depot but, these will not have speech technology at this point.
Other concerns and suggestions included; adding a deaf/deafblind symbol to travelcards to indicate to the driver that the person has a sensory condition and increasing the size of the print at bus stops to make it easier for people with visual problems to read.
These issues are for Scottish Government and Forth valley Councils respectively, Jim promised to raise them at a subsequent transport meeting. Until then, passengers can use First Bus’s own ‘Safe Journey’ cards to inform drivers of their requirements, such as which stop they need if they are deaf or hard of hearing and can’t communicate directly with the driver.
Commenting on the event, Jim said:
“Thank you for the invitation today. Our focus as a company is on the customer, especially those we know rely on us heavily. We aim to bring the services to the customer not try to make the customer fit with us so we are always keen to hear comments and suggestions either through the customer service line on 0345 602 0121 or via the app and social media or email. Any issues at all with a driver o a service, please let us know. We always want to hear suggestions, comments and feedback to improve our services and improve driver training.”
Forth Valley Sensory Centre Manager, Jacquie Winning added: “A big thanks to Jim for coming in today and all the groups represented here. It goes to show how important a good public transport system is to our Centre Users with such a strong turnout and frank, open discussion.”
“We hope to continue working closely with First Bus and provide some sensory awareness training to drivers in the near future.”
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