Halt floating bus stop rollout urgently, charity says

New street designs are causing significant fear and distress for people with vision impairments and other disabilities, Guide Dogs has said.

Blind and partially sighted people are at risk of having their independence limited by Floating Island Bus Stops and Shared Bus Stop Boarders, a new report has revealed.

Guide Dogs and University College London (UCL) are now calling for bus stop designs that risk people’s safety to be halted, unless safety and accessibility can be improved.

Floating bus stops require people to cross cycle lanes to access buses, whilst Shared Bus Stop Boarders are raised platforms that allow passengers to board and alight from buses without halting traffic in the cycle lane.

There is no standard layout for either structure, which Guide Dogs said is causing “confusion and inconsistency.”

The street designs are causing fear, anxiety and distress, and are leading some to avoid these bus stops altogether, the report said.

Conflict between cyclists and pedestrians, and the fact that blind and vision impaired people are required to step into busy cycle lanes with fast-moving traffic whilst attempting to board buses, were identified as the key issues.

The report added that this is limiting the ability of those with disabilities to live independently.

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.”

The charity emphasised that more research is needed in order to guarantee safety and that until that happens, further installation of Floating Island Bus Stops and Shared Bus Stop Boarders must be halted.

Briggs emphasised that Guide Dogs welcomes changes to make cycling safer, but not at the expense of disabled people.

Guide Dogs is now calling on all governments across the UK and local authorities to take immediate action.

“Our findings underline the need for street designs to be consistently designed, planned and tested with the involvement of all potential users, including disabled people. We urge policymakers to prioritise safety and inclusivity in street design,” Briggs said.

The research was carried out by UCL on behalf of Guide Dogs, and included focus groups, workshops with infrastructure professionals, site visits, and controlled experiments.