Some key bus stops in Kaohsiung now let people waiting for a ride not just see their bus coming, but also “hear” it arriving. To make it easier for visually impaired people to travel by bus, Kaohsiung City Government’s Transportation Bureau said on Monday last week that it had finished installing 10 bus arrival audio announcement devices that can help city residents keep better track of their bus-waiting time and hail and board buses in good time, so that they can avoid missing the bus.
The Transportation Bureau has installed 10 bus arrival time audio announcement devices at certain bus shelters where a large number of people pass through or where visually impaired people frequently board buses, namely Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Fongshan Bus Transfer Station, Kaohsiung Station, Fongshan Administration Center and the Kaoshiung Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Company.
Transportation Bureau Director-General Chang Shu-chuan said that these 10 bus arrival time audio announcement devices have been installed since September last year. When a bus is about to arrive, the devices automatically announce the name of the bus route and provide prompt and accurate information about its location and expected arrival time, so that people can ride the bus with no worries.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Liberty Times 照片：自由時報黃良傑
A visually impaired man surnamed Tsai said that when waiting for a bus in the past, he had to call the Transportation Bureau to ask for real-time information, but now that there are spoken announcements at bus stops, he knows when a bus on a particular route is approaching.
In addition, to make it convenient for visually impaired people to use the Kaohsiung iBus mobile app, in October last year the bureau invited the Kaohsiung Chi-Ming Association, the Association of Blind Taiwan and delegates from the group for safeguarding and promoting the rights of people with disabilities to jointly evaluate the app. The bureau will require their suggestions to be included in future updates, so as to create a still more user-friendly environment for riding buses.(Translated by Julian Clegg, Taipei Times)
高雄某些主要公車站現在不僅讓等公車的乘客看見公車，也讓他們能「聽見」公車到站。高雄市府交通局為照顧視障民眾搭乘公車，上週一宣布完成建置十座公車到站語音播報設備，讓市民更能有效掌握候車時間，即時招手搭乘，避免錯過公車。
Photo courtesy of Chang Shu-chuan via CNA照片：中央社，張淑娟提供
交通局陸續於長庚醫院、鳳山轉運站、高雄火車站、鳳山行政中心、果菜公司等人潮較多或視障者較常搭乘的候車亭，建置十座公車到站語音播報設備。
交通局長張淑娟說，這十座公車到站語音播報設備，陸續自去年九月至今完成建置，當公車即將進站時，會自動播報公車路線名稱，提供即時、正確的公車動態到站資訊，讓民眾搭車嘸免驚！
視障朋友蔡先生表示，以前等公車的時候，只能透過打電話給交通局詢問公車即時動態，現在站位有語音播報提醒，用聽的就可知哪一條路線即將進站。
此外，為便利視障朋友使用「高雄愛巴士」行動應用程式，交通局去年十月邀集高雄市啟明協會、台灣盲人重建會及身心障礙者權益保障推動小組委員共同檢視此應用程式，將需求納入未來改版項目，更友善公車使用環境。
(自由時報)
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