City's floating bus stops 'dangerous', says RNIB

A floating bus stop on Milton Road in Cambridge shows the red cycle lane between the grey footpath and the bus shelter

Blind and visually impaired groups have called for a rethink on a city's "dangerous" floating bus stops.

The bus stops, which have been introduced in Cambridge, have a cycle lane between the stop and the rest of the pavement which is intended to allow passengers to get on and off safely while cyclists can keep moving.

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the city's CamSight charity fear visually impaired people risk stepping into the path of cyclists.

Neil Shailer, from the Cambridgeshire County Council's Highways & Transport Committee, said adding tactile strips to the stops was a "really sensible" idea but they were waiting for government guidance.

Tahmina Begum from local charity CamSight said: "It may not be obvious to the cyclist if a person is visually impaired, so therefore they are not going to anticipate that this person is going to step into the [cycle lane] because they haven't seen the cyclist.

"We do support a ban for forthcoming [floating bus stops].

"RNIB suggested adapting the ones that already exist and in doing so it would not just benefit the visually impaired but the general public."

Ms Begum, who has a severe sight impairment, said public transport was the most viable option for visually impaired and blind people to get around.

"For those things to be then made a little bit inaccessible or potentially dangerous, it is enough to sometimes put people off... we have had people say they've not been out as much," she said.

'Dangerous' design

Vivienne Francis. chief social change officer with the RNIB, said evidence suggests the floating bus stop design was "dangerous" but encouraged changes to be made rather than having an outright ban, which has been called for in cities including London and Manchester with a petition due to be handed in to the prime minister.

"We want to see a halt to building new bus stops with cycle lanes, and at the same time, existing floating bus stops need to be adapted so that they are safe and accessible to blind and partially sighted pedestrians," said Ms Francis.

Mr Shailer said: "The idea of putting in tactile strips and making sure that cyclists and pedestrians know where the crossing points are seems like a really sensible decision but we have to wait on the design guide given to us by the government."

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "While local authorities are responsible for these schemes, we expect them to engage with disability groups and follow our guidance which clearly sets out that all infrastructure designs should be accessible for everyone."

The department said it would not comment on speculation that floating bus stops would be banned.