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Quite frequently, I get asked "How do you get to school?" as my school is quite far away from where I live. People think that it is hard for me to get to school. I don�t find it hard to use public transport and I know other vision impaired people that use it as well. To get to school, I catch two buses. One into Perth, and then one to West Perth, and then I walk to my school which is in Subiaco. For those who don�t live here in Perth, Western Australia, West Perth and Subiaco have busy roads on them. At first I used to get the train to school to avoid these busy roads, but I�m fine now. One school holidays, I had a Mobility Officer show me how to get from my bus stop to school. He showed me how to cross the roads safely, and where I can walk safely. Getting to my bus stop from home is fine. I�ve been doing that for years with my mum, and I know my area well. So how do I see the bus coming? I can see the shape of the bus from approximately 60 metres, but I can�t see the numbers until the bus pulls up. You can get big numbers, which you hold up when the bus is coming so that the right bus stops. I don�t use those much though because where I am, that�s usually the only bus around. I usually get the bus in peak times anyway, so there�s usually someone else there and you can ask them to tell you when the bus is coming. We are issued with these free travel passes, so we can get on bus and trains for free. You hold that up when you walk on, and then go and find a seat. Sometimes I am really bad at finding a seat, but most of the time I find one. When the bus gets to Perth, I get off at the bus port and go to the stop where I get my next bus. It�s pretty easy for me to find it. The busport is a big complex. There�s escalators or lifts up onto the concourse, and then you go back down one to get to the different platforms. This is good because it means that you�re not having to cross roads. I find my next stop easily, because the row is right down the end, and the stop is just outside the escalator. I can�t look out for the bus from far away like the other people do, but I make sure I�m ready to get up quick. I also take cues from the people. I watch to see when they start picking up their cases. When they do that, it means that the bus is coming. When I was first getting the bus, I would sit on the left side on the bus, so that I could see where to press the bell. I have big landmarks, to know when to press the bell, so now I�m OK to sit on the right. There are some big recognisable buildings which give me clues. Getting trains is even better for blind people. Unfortunately I don�t live near the train line so I can�t use them. They have a voice messaging system so it says what the next stop is. This is very helpful. They also have this at the Perth train station, so you know when your train is coming. At the other stations, there is a button you can press which tells you when the next train is coming. Even the sighted people use this. There are some buses in the city called CAT (central area transit) buses which have this as well. If you have trouble getting on and off buses or trains, you can get a personal attendant to come and help you. If you ask people, they are usually pretty helpful, and some people offer to help if they see you have a cane. Return to Independent Living Return to Dogs, Canes and Talking Microwaves main page Go to Association for the Blind of WA |