By Justin Goulet (@JustinGoulet21)

Lethbridge Transit improves accessibility with new on-board notification system

Feb 25, 2019 | 11:09 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Riding the bus just got a lot more accessible.

Effective Monday, Feb. 25, new technology is online on Lethbridge Transit buses. All 42 buses in the service’s fleet are equipped with a new on-board stop notification system.

The system sees display boards installed on the bus, and a voice command announcing the next stop on the route.

“As they come in (to their stop), people with hearing or visual impairments will get those audio-visual clues. There’s a screen where the next stop is announced through a scrolling text and then a voice-over…if you’ve travelled on subways in other locations, you hear them come up as ‘the next stop is’ so that’s what people will hear and see,” said Mike Ross, transit operations supervisor.

Ross said other communities have this type of system on their buses, like Vancouver and Ottawa.

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He noted that to improve accessibility for users, all buses are equipped with ramps and the new notification system is another way to boost access for people with disabilities.

The service’s fleet also includes what’s called “low-flow buses”, where the bus sits lower to the ground, so drivers can lower the vehicle, making it easier for users to board.

The notification screen is about half a metre wide and the words are around four to five inches tall, making it easy for everyone on the bus to read.

Ross said the whole project, which has been in the works for the last few years, was funded through the provincial Greentrip grant and the Federal Gas Tax.

“(The project) came to just over $420,000. We got approval from council to get the grant money,” Ross said, adding that funding did not come through the City of Lethbridge budget.

Ross said in addition to helping people with accessibility issues, the technology will also help people who do not have disabilities.

“If you haven’t (taken) the bus or you’re new to Lethbridge and you have an idea of where you’re going, but where that is you’re not sure (the notifications will help),” he said.

“It’s less of a distraction for the drivers. In the past, drivers would assist…which they will still do. However, it does give you that visual and audio clue even if you don’t have those disabilities.”

Ross said testing has gone very well, and they’re still fine-tuning the system as it launches.

“The visual is not an issue, but (we need to fine tune) the audio level, so that it doesn’t become a distraction for the driver and be too loud for other passengers but is loud enough so that people can actually hear it,” he explained.

“The other thing is of course with the roads as they are in the winter, it’s much noisier on the busses with the bumps. We can automatically adjust them (audio levels) from a computer, from in here (the main transit terminal). We can adjust them if we find they’re too quiet. There will be on-going testing as we go, just to make sure that we’ve got it right.”

The system is connected to all 640 bus stops across the city. When the bus approaches a stop, it will trigger the notification system to alert passengers of the incoming stop.