London Regional Transport

Lord Mayor launches help for blind at Golders Green
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date 24 July 1997
source London Regional Transport
type Press release

The Lord Mayor of London, Alderman Sir Roger Cork, visited Golders Green Station on Thursday 17 July to launch an experimental electronic way-finding system which helps blind and partially sighted people find their way around public transport systems.

In cooperation with London Transport's Unit for Disabled Passengers, the Joint Mobility Unit - a service run by RNIB and Guide Dogs for the Blind Association - have installed a pilot REACT way-finding system at Golders Green Station. A grant has been provided by The Bridge House Estates Trust Fund, with a further contribution from LT.

REACT is a radio frequency system in which a user carries a small device that triggers speech from a beacon, enabling the user to locate or avoid obstacles.

Wayfinding systems can benefit visually impaired people who wish to access public transport by directing them to a bus stop, ticket office or station platform. It helps in the location of doors, stairs and facilities and informs passengers about objects in the environment and the direction to take next.

Andrew Braddock, Head of LT's Unit for Disabled Passengers, said: "London Transport is delighted to have been chosen by the Joint Mobility Unit and The Bridge House Trust to take part in this very important trial."

Developed by GEC/Marconi in conjunction with the RNIB, REACT will be tried out for approximately six months with the help of a number of visually impaired volunteers.

An alternative system known as 'Pathfinder' - which uses infrared beams rather than sound wave technology - is meanwhile being tested at the busy bus/Tube interchange at Hammersmith.

Railhub Archive ::: 1997-07-24 LRT-001