Cardiff transport: Warning as vision impaired people report stress and anxiety over bus stop design

• Report by ITV Cymru Wales reporter Gwennan Campbell

A blind bus user has said he feels unsafe and anxious using the bus stops in the city he lives in after he ended up unknowingly walking into a cycle lane and a road after alighting a bus.

Nathan Foy, from Cardiff, says he is a "confident traveller", but that the designs of some bus stops in the city has made getting out and about "more stressful and exhausting."

It comes after a new report has warned that people with a vision impairment and other disabilities could be losing out on their independence due to some bus stops being designed to require people to cross cycle lanes.

Mr Foy told ITV Wales, "You get off the bus and you're standing in a cycle lane."

"If, like me, you're blind and you can't see those cyclists, you have no way of understanding the danger that you're in, and the cyclists, they think they're in a cycle lane.

He continued: "And we have a speed limit here in Wales of 20 miles an hour. The cyclists travel a lot faster than that, and I can't hear them coming."

A Welsh Government spokesperson said they "recognise the design challenges with safely routing cycle tracks along bus stops."

They continued: "We will work with stakeholders to consider all available research in this area with a view to update our Active Travel Act Guidance as part of its next review, planned for 2025.”

Floating island bus stops and shared bus stop boarders could be causing "significant" fear, anxiety, and distress for people with a vision impairment and other disabilities, according to a report from the charity Guide Dogs.

Floating island bus stops involve a cycleway running behind the passenger boarding area at a bus stop, between an island and the footway.

Meanwhile, a shared bus stop boarder is a platform onto which bus passengers board and alight. In this setup, a cycling track runs along the kerb – between the footway and thecarriageway.

The research, carried out by University College London (UCL) on behalf of GuideDogs, found that a number of people say they have narrowly avoided accidents, leading some to avoid these bus stops altogether.

The charity says this risks limiting disabled people’s ability to live independently.

Mr Foy said: "There are other groups of disabled people who have the same issue. So anybody using any kind of mobility getting off the bus, they're going to take their time crossing a busy cycle lane.

"But if you think of parents with a pushchair and a pram, you're pushing this off the bus in front of you.

"You're not going to have clear sight of any cyclists that are coming, and they have tried painting what looked like zebra crossings on there, but I've never seen a cyclist observe that as a zebra crossing."

Nathan Foy said he has been frustrated with the rollout of these bus stop designs in Cardiff.

He said: "These were put in without consulting the people that are going to end up using it...

"As blind people, we are not drivers. I'm never going to be driving a car, so I have to use a bus.

"So if we know I'm the target audience for a new bus stop, why are they not asking us what we should do?"

Eleanor Briggs, Head of Policy, Public Affairs and Campaigns at Guide Dogs, said: “Public transport should be a gateway to independence, but for disabled people, these types of bus stops make using public transport an even more stressful and potentially frightening experience, forcing people to stay closer to home."Mr Foy added: “I want to be able to do the school run without feeling in danger andgo to meet my friends without worrying that I won’t arrive safely."

A spokesperson for Cardiff Council said they are aware of the concerns raised by RNIB and Guide Dogs and "want to assure them that we are listening."

They said: “The council is waiting for funding approval to begin work on making changes to the design of these temporary bus stops which will be delivered when the schemes are made permanent, and In high use areas the Council will make every effort to install bus stop bypasses like the award-winning one on Wood Street - this would include Castle Street and Dumfries Place.

The spokesperson continued that a number of amendments have already been made to the temporary designs and introduced on-street, such as extra signage to warn cyclists, and reduction in width of the cycleway to slow cyclists.

They said: “It’s also worth stating that an independent review of the bus stops, including a comparison with other authorities across the UK, supported the design, and confirmed it is in line with Welsh Government standards and other stops introduced by local authorities in the UK. However, we are still looking to make improvements and changes based on our consultations.

“Through previous engagement with both RNIB and Guide Dogs, it was explained that the existing pop-up stops are to be upgraded and improved as the various routes are made permanent.

“The council is keen to take on board views and this was exemplified when we won an award for the re-design of Wood Street, where we worked very closely with a range of different groups and delivered a new, bespoke crossing, specifically-designed for blind and partially-sighted people.”

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