Clear, concise, accurate and timely information is crucial to people making journeys on all transport modes including maritime passenger transport. For passengers with reduced mobility, quality information can be the difference between being able to make a journey or not.
Information on the transport environment can be divided into three levels:
It is important that these three levels of information are clearly distinguished. Essential information, particularly safety instructions, should be easy to find, and should not be obscured by advertising.
Accessible information that enables passengers, including those with reduced mobility, to make journeys safely and successfully can build confidence in the maritime passenger transport system. Accurate and detailed information enables independent travel and reduces reliance on staff and on other passengers. It also increases passengers' safety by reducing the risk of incidents occurring, such as passengers straying into hazardous work areas on ship or ashore. Where a transport service is not fully accessible, it is important that passengers understand the limitations of accessibility before making the journey. Operators should let passengers know the extent of the accessibility of the service they provide.
The majority of passengers do not have to rely on one information source. For example, they hear an announcement and visual clues in the environment confirm that announcement. However, a person with a vision impairment may not benefit from these visual clues and will need to depend solely on the announcement. People who are Deaf or hard of hearing will need visual clues instead of the audible announcement. If the announcement is unclear or not given, this can cause confusion or disruption such as a missed boarding or missed connection.
The design of new information sources (such as a new timetable leaflet or website) provides a great opportunity to ensure information is accessible to all at minimal cost. The design brief should specify requirements around the style, content and formatting of information to maximise accessibility.
Clear information is information that is legible and easily understood. Information for passengers should be written in plain English. The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) provides guidelines on its website on plain English writing. These guidelines include using short sentences and everyday language and avoiding the use of jargon.
Although commercial advertising can be an important source of revenue, advertising that is too prominent or intrusive can distract passengers who are relying on clear visual information when making their journey. If background information is given equal weight to immediate information, the latter (including timetable changes or disruption notices) may not be sufficiently clear and understandable. All passengers will enjoy the benefits of clearly presented information.
Information should be complete but concise and to the point. Too much information is difficult for people to retain. The use of standard symbols can help passengers to quickly find key facilities such as bathrooms and emergency exits.
All information provided should be accurate and consistent. Information that is not accurate can cause confusion and even distress. Conflicting information can add to passenger stress, particularly if journeys are delayed. Consistent use of terminology or pictograms will help to communicate effectively with all passengers.
In general, information should be provided at the time when it is needed - for example, at the point of departure on a journey. However, many passengers with reduced mobility would like to have information about their intended journey well in advance. Where, for example, a lift or a toilet is out of service, passengers with reduced mobility need to be informed promptly about alternative options.
It is not practical to expect that all staff will be able to know everything about all services or be able to answer all the questions that passengers might want to ask. However, all relevant staff should be able to tell passengers with reduced mobility where to get the information they need, or find another staff member who can help. In addition, all relevant staff should know how to provide information to passengers with reduced mobility. Training can greatly help to ensure that staff understand the needs of passengers with reduced mobility and can provide whatever information those passengers need.
An operator should have policies and procedures in place to ensure that essential information is available on demand in the most popular formats and media, and that all other information is available on request in alternative formats. Some formats of information (such as large print) can easily be produced on demand. Other formats, such as Braille or 'easy-to-read' formats require considerable preparation and lead time.
There is a legal requirement to ensure that all passengers are informed about safety provisions and procedures. Operators must ensure that safety information is communicated to all passengers, including those with vision or hearing impairments.
There are four key stages at which passengers, including those with reduced mobility, need information:
The information that should be provided at each of these stages is as follows:
Information should be easy to find. Information may be delivered through different mechanisms (such as websites, leaflets, signage and so on) and at different locations such as public counters (with induction loop systems to accommodate hearing aid users), public address systems, queuing systems, telephones and public access terminals. For each mechanism, different accessibility issues may arise. For example, a maritime passenger transport operator needs to ensure that information provided via electronic screens or display boards is also available in other formats to people who have a vision impairment.
Specific information on how to get assistance needs to be available. For example, passengers who have problems standing need to know what seats will be available. It can sometimes be hard for passengers to find detailed information on what facilities will be available.
Making it easy for people to find the required information will encourage more passengers with reduced mobility to use maritime transport services. In providing this information, operators should consider creating clearly identifiable sections on their websites, timetables, brochures and signage dedicated to passengers with reduced mobility. Accessible design and appropriate naming of such sections will ensure that those who most need assistance will be able to find it and receive it. If it is called 'assistance for people with disabilities', some passengers who need it, for example, frail older people, may not think it is for them. On the other hand, some passengers with reduced mobility may not relate to a heading such as 'special needs'. The best approach may be to give the section a title such as 'for passengers who need extra assistance', with an explanation of what that means.
The format in which information is provided is as critical as the information itself. Information should be available in formats that are accessible to all passengers. In many cases this will involve providing the information in an alternative format, such as large print, audio/video (on tape, disk or in electronic format), Braille or 'easy-to-read'.
It is good practice to ensure that the information provided is in clear print and plain language. For example, producing standard printed documents in a 14 point sans serif font makes them readable to a wide range of people with vision impairments and to people with intellectual disabilities. Many people over 40 years of age need to use reading glasses for smaller font sizes, so this will make documents more convenient for them, too. Text on signs in block capitals (for example, 'TOILETS') is difficult to read for many including those with dyslexia. Title case text such as 'Upper Floor' or 'Toilets' will be more easily understood.
Where operators wish to provide information in more than one language, separate information leaflets in each language are better than a single multi-language leaflet. Clear audible announcements may also be made in each language. The use of pictorial signage is particularly useful as it reduces the need for multiple signs (in different languages) and it can be more easily understood by passengers including those with learning disabilities.
Operators should consider the needs for alternative formats when new leaflets or timetables or other information is being designed:
It is reasonably easy to produce information in large print, simply by increasing the font size in a word processing package. It may be necessary to get Braille, audio/video and 'easy-to-read' versions produced by professionals who have experience working in the relevant area. Organisations such as the Citizens Information Board and NCBI (National Council for the Blind in Ireland) provide guidance to operators on producing accessible information. Disability groups and organisations can be consulted by operators seeking feedback on the accessibility of their information.
It is particularly important that clear and accurate information is provided to alert passengers when they are approaching their destination and at prominent locations at the terminals. This will be achieved by clear audio and visual announcements. Alternative methods of information provision such as videos/DVDs (with subtitling), clear visual displays, and SMS or Bluetooth services on mobile phones may also need to be considered by transport operators. Where large screens or monitors are used, it is important to ensure that their location and the size of text they use do not prevent effective communication.
Public bodies should also be conscious of their obligations under the Official Languages Act 2003. More information on these obligations can be found on the website of An Coimisinéir Teanga at http://www.coimisineir.ie/
Some passengers with reduced mobility may experience difficulties with traditional website design. Many people with vision impairments use a screen reader to access a website. A screen reader is a piece of software that reads out the text from a website in a synthesised voice. However, some websites are not designed with accessibility in mind and for that reason screen reader users will find it difficult or impossible to access content on these sites. Websites that have sound clips or that require the use of the mouse for navigation, for example, also present problems for some passengers with reduced mobility. It is better to design and build a website to be accessible from the outset. This can save time and the costs involved in rework and maintenance.
Operators should consider the use of journey planners on websites and maps. These offer the potential for detailed and precise journey details to be worked out before or during the trip. Information that is presented visually (such as on a map) should also be available in text format for people with vision impairments.
In order to check the accessibility of information, you will need to take the following actions:
A website accessibility audit, carried out by an accessibility consultant, will give a measure of the website's level of accessibility against an internationally accepted set of standards such as the Web Accessibility Initiative's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0). Such an audit will identify improvements that can be made to the site.
The National Adult Literacy Agency has produced guidelines Writing and Design Tips on how to make documents easier to read. For more information on this document visit their website, http://www.nala.ie