Travelling Blind—Looking Towards a More Inclusive Experience

There are many mysteries in life. Why do socks disappear in the dryer?

Why does your phone need charging only when you are going out the door?

And why, in airports across Canada, do so many people assume that a blind person needs a wheelchair?

In AEBC’s AccessAbility Week travel survey, we asked our members what frustrates them most when travelling or moving through public spaces. Thirty-one people responded, and while the answers had a lot of variety, one theme kept rolling through the responses.

Apparently, if you can’t see, someone, somewhere, will decide the solution is to sit you down and push you around.

This is not to make light of wheelchair use. Wheelchairs are essential for many people, and for those who need them, proper wheelchair assistance is part of accessibility. But blindness is not a mobility impairment in that way. Our members need information, orientation, clear directions, acceptance of guide dog, accessible signs, good announcements, and staff who actually listen.

That is not the same thing as needing a wheelchair.

It is a small example, but it says a lot about why you, our members said ‘Let me rant” in our survey! Too often, accessibility is treated as one big generic bucket. Disabled person? Provide wheelchair. Blind person travelling? Provide wheelchair. Person asks for help finding a gate? Wheelchair. Person asks where the washroom is? Possibly wheelchair.

You can almost picture the training manual: “When in doubt, bring a wheelchair.”

Our survey told a different story. People were not saying they hate help. In fact, one of the most interesting results was that help itself was not the main problem. Some respondents were fine with staff offering assistance. Some even appreciated not having to ask, while others found automatic help annoying or frustrating.

The real issue was whether the help was respectful, useful and optional.

The difference between ranting to Zen is “Would you like assistance?” and not “You need to come with me.” And also offering an arm versus grabbing one.

Like our members, responses varied quite a bit! Some travel independently all the time and only need information if something changes. Some want help through a busy airport or transit station. Some want verbal directions. Some want sighted guide. Some want to be left alone unless they ask. Some want help in one situation but not another.

The strongest frustration in the survey was accessibility being treated as an “extra” instead of something built in. Eighty percent of respondents said this was highly frustrating. That is not surprising, but it should still make people stop and think.

Accessibility should not depend on whether the right employee happens to be working that day. It should not require a traveller to explain blindness at the check-in counter, again at security, again at the gate, again during boarding, and again when trying to find their baggage.

You explain. You correct. You ask again. You clarify. You wait. (Maybe bite your tongue…) You get sent to the wrong place. You say no to the wheelchair. You say no again. You explain that the dog is working. You ask for the information that everyone else received visually. You get told, “It is over there.” You resist the urge to ask whether “there” has recently become a compass direction.

Then someone congratulates you for being inspirational. (Ok, that was not in the survey, but let’s be honest, you’ve all heard some version of it.)

Another major frustration was people speaking to someone else instead of directly to them. Among those to whom the question applied, 82% were highly frustrated by this.

You told us that one is not complicated. ‘If you want to know what I need, ask me; not the person behind me or the person I am travelling with.’

And please do not ask the guide dog. The dog has a job. It does not handle media relations.

The guide dog responses were also clear. Most respondents did not have guide dogs, so the question did not apply to everyone. But among those who did answer from experience, the frustration was almost unanimous.

Don’t pet the dog. Don’t call the dog. Don’t feed the dog. Don’t make kissy noises at the dog. Do not say that dogs love you. Like airport staff, dogs are working. (Please don’t make kissy faces at airport security either!)

Our survey also showed that many people are tired of having to advocate for basic access over and over again. Seventy percent were highly frustrated by that.

That is a practical issue, not just an emotional one. Every time accessibility fails, the burden shifts to our members to fix it, in real time. This is where organizations, transit providers, airports, airlines, public venues and governments need to do more.

Training cannot just be a quick checklist. Accessibility cannot just mean “we have a policy.” A policy buried on a website does not help someone find the right gate after a last-minute change. A complaint process does not help someone make their plane. A generic disability service does not help if it assumes every disability requires the same response.

Accessibility has to be built into the actual experience.

That means clear announcements. Accessible websites and apps. Staff who know how to guide someone properly. Staff who know not to grab. Staff who know to speak directly to the person. Staff who understand that blindness does not automatically mean wheelchair assistance. Staff who know that a guide dog is not available for public interaction.

It also means believing people when they tell you what they need.

There was another subtler frustration in the survey: people avoiding interaction because they are uncomfortable around blindness or low vision. Unfortunately, it seems that our members are used to it and are done ranting.

Here is the training module for that: be normal.

Say hello. Identify yourself if it makes sense. Ask before helping. Use normal words. Yes, you can say “see you later.”

This survey gave us a useful reminder. The issue is not that blind, Deafblind and partially sighted people reject assistance. The issue is control and consistency. Who gets to decide? Who is being listened to? Who is treated as the expert in their own travel?

A person can be independent and still accept help.

A person can need assistance and still make decisions.

A person can be blind and not need a wheelchair.

Thank you for sharing your stories, your opinions and your rants.