AQW 735/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 30/05/2022
Answered On Date: 06/06/2022
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure what engagement his Department has had with Translink in regard to assisting blind and partially sighted passengers in their travel to and from bus stations.

Answer:

All main Translink bus and rail stations fully comply with the Disability Discrimination legislation. My Officials and Translink continue to engage with the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC) on how to improve travel for blind and partially sighted passengers.

Tactile paving has been used to provide touch guidance in bus stations. In addition, recognising that information on travel arrangements is vitally important to blind and partially sighted passengers, Translink has recently updated its website to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 AA standard which means that the website must be usable and understandable for the majority of people with or without disabilities. Translink also provides machine readable timetables and it is currently working on providing accessible planning options on the journey planner to assist people with disabilities to plan their journey. In the meantime, the Translink contact centre is available to help with the planning of these journeys and Translink staff receive accessibility training and in manned locations would be available to provide assistance.