[nabs-l] more transportation, and travel questions

[Anita Adkins]

Hello,

Congratulations on your bravery to try a bus trip alone.  It is scary for 
the first time.  First, when I use the city bus, I call and tell the company 
I am blind and I am waiting at such and such place so they know to stop as I 
cannot see to flag them down, and this works really well.  Only one time did 
I have to be insistent about the matter.  Bigger cities than the one I live 
in happen to have bus stops where one could just wait to catch the bus.  For 
your first time, I would recommend you take a trip you can be successful at, 
which means do not try to worry about shopping at several different places 
or whatever; just get on, go to one location, and come home.  You can build 
on your confidence by taking this trip again, and then, the next time, add a 
destination.  Remember, the more you go, the more comfortable you will 
become.  Your description of your apartment to your bus stops sounds doable 
from your description, but again, maybe I do not understand it all the way. 
When I get on the bus, I do tell the bus driver that I need off at such and 
such place, but also, I pay attention to the time because I have ridden 
enough to know that I should be there at a specific time give or take.  So I 
will remind the driver if the trip is long that I need to get off about five 
or so minutes before I reach my destination.  They know me here now, and so 
most of the time, actually, I don't tell them anything since they know my 
schedule, but in new towns I've lived in and in this area when I was new to 
it, I did this.  If you have no bus experience at all, you might want to try 
the deviated route, but I would want to avoid using it if I could because it 
may be necessary for you to call ahead, and I personally don't like to do 
this because sometimes I prefer to be spontaneous.  Also, walking to the bus 
pickup location gives you more exercise.  Again, I am saying this without 
knowing your town at all.  If your apartment is really arranged so that it 
isn't safe for you to walk to the bus stop, then you wouldn't want to walk 
to the bus stop obviously.  Make sure to learn this information that you ask 
a person who is knowledgable in blind skills and who knows your area because 
others may feel it isn't safe when it really is.  Also, perhaps you could 
invite your friend who lives a half hour away up for a day or a weekend, and 
you two could take the bus together.  It is fun to have someone to travel 
with, and you could get your feet wet with a friend along for the firsttime 
journey, which, in my opinion, is okay.  If not, don't let no company stop 
you, however.  Just some thoughts, and have a great time.  Anita
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kerri Kosten" <kerrik2006 at gmail.com>
To: "National Association of Blind Students mailing list" 
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 4:54 PM
Subject: [nabs-l] more transportation, and travel questions


> Hi All:
>
> I have a few more travel and transportation questions. Again, I hope
> these don't jump around too much but I figured I'd make them all one
> post.
>
> First, I think I would like to try sometime in the future taking the
> bus to somewhere simple such as maybe the mall. The problem Iam having
> is that this being a college town the bus caters to the nondriving
> students, who are the freshman. The freshman for the most part live
> downtown on the downtown campus (the college has two campuses.) I do
> not live in the downtown area so to go anywhere from my house on the
> bus I'd have to make a transfer at most likely one of the two bus
> depots.
>
> When I've tried to contact the bus in the past, they tell me that the
> bus comes to the light at the six-lane highway that is the first
> street you come to after you exit the gate of my apartment complex. My
> apartment complex isn't very accessible...when I moved here I didn't
> know about the NFB so accessability wasnt one of the priorities. On
> top of that my mother who is very overprotective really liked this
> complex because it is gated and has security after 6 o'clock.
>
> Anyway, from what a friend in the NFB who doesn't live here but lives
> in another town about half an hour away who has taken our bus before
> tells me, the bus supposedly has a deviated route system where they
> will go out of the way of the route one-fourth of a mile and pick you
> up, almost like paratransit. I'd like to try to take the bus somewhere
> simple.
>
> However, I feel a little overwhelmed. Do I call and begin by telling
> them I am blind, and would like to try taking their bus for the first
> time and ask them what accomodations they have for people with
> disabilities and ask them about the deviated route system?
>
> Then from there, do I explain where I live which is at the Suncrest 
> Village
> Apartment Complex on Maple Drive and that I would like to go to the
> Morgantown Mall in Westover and ask them which lines I would need to
> take, and what times the lines run?
>
> I understand that in order to use the deviated route service I need to
> apply and fill out paperwork...but I figured I'd start by just asking
> general questions and see where I get from there.
>
> Since I'll most likely have a transfer at one of the depots, is there
> anything I should know about bus depots? From what my friend who has
> taken the bus before says all the buses line up along the curb...but
> I've also been told bus depots are where a lot of homeless hang out so
> is there anything I should know about them? Should I not carry certain
> items? From what my friend said, he and his wife took three buses here
> and everyone was very friendly and nice and the bus drivers even get
> out of the bus and announce what line the bus is when they approach.
> HHowever, he says they do not announce stops as they come to them or
> announce intersections as they come to them which they are supposed to
> do. I figure when I get on the bus I will ask the driver to please let
> me know when we get to the line I need to get off at.
>
> Yes, the bus company does have a website but their routes are laid out
> in a map which is inaccessible to screenreaders...you can get a
> description of which line goes where but you can't access the times or
> location of each stop.
>
> Our bus which is called Mountain Line is also on both Twitter and
> Facebook and they update frequently with updates if a route has to
> deviate for construction or something like that.
>
>
>
> My next questions bring up an issue that I just found out about, that
> I wanted to get your opinions on.
>
> We have an area with
> sevral stores, restaurants, and a movie theater called University Town
> Center. I initially was under
> the assumption it was a strip mall and everything could be walked to.
> So, I thought I could just simply take the bus there and make that my
> first bus trip.
>
> However, it turns out it is very inaccessible and not pedestrian
> friendly at all. The buildings are very spread out along a mile-long
> hill
> and to get from one to the other you have to go across a four-lane
> highway-like street and through the store's parking lots. I did some
> research and apparently these are popping up in several areas and they
> are called "metroplex shopping centers." I asked whether maybe I could
> have someone from Customer Service walk me from one place to another
> such as from one of the restaurants to the movie theater but I've been
> told it's not possible as the area wasn't built for pedestrians. This
> shopping center contains stores such as Starbucks, Target, Sams Club,
> Macys, Walmart, T.J. Macs, Barnes and Noble, Giant Eagle, a shoe
> store, a dress store, and Bestbuy. Some of the restaurants are Cicis
> Pizza, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Cheddars, Cracker Barrel, Golden
> Karrowe, Longhorn Steakhouse, and Chillis just to name a few.
>
> Obviously, it would be very very convient to be able to be dropped off
> at this University Town Center, and get everything done in one
> place...maybe get a coffee from Starbucks, go to Walmart to get
> groceries, then maybe go to one of the restaurants or to catch a movie
> at the movie theater.
>
> There are other places I could go in town and get the same things done
> but they wouldn't be as efficient.
>
> Obviously, the people who built this town center did not consider
> pedestrians at all and just assumed everyone would be able to drive.
>
> Does anyone else have these types of shopping centers in their area
> and can anything be done to make it more pedestrian friendly or maybe
> have a shuttle that would go from store to store? Considering this
> area has already been completed and built, I've been told there is no
> point in battling it because it would cost too much to fix it and it'd
> be too much work/reconstruction.
>
> Do I just find other ways to get the same things done and quit my
> griping or does action need to be taken?
>
> Like I said, I could go to the mall to get something to eat and see a
> movie, then maybe drive through Starbucks afterwords on my way home. I
> could do my grocery shopping at Kroger which is right near me...but
> for a beginning traveler I thought it'd be neat to go to this one area
> and get evrything done in one convient location and not only that but
> get to practice cane travel as well.
>
> And, yes from what I've read on their website, the bus does go to this
> University Towncenter several times a day. But, since it isn't
> pedestrian friendly, I don't know if it would drop me off at one
> store, then pick me up and take me to another store, one of the
> restaurants, or the movie theater? As I said, I am very upset about
> this because that'd be a simple place to start out with and practice
> travel/get some things done all at the same time in one location.
>
> Thoughts? Are these "metroplex shopping centers" common where you live
> and if so can most of you who are better travelers than I navigate
> them with ease?
>
> Thanks so much and I know my posts jump around a lot but I really want
> to try taking the bus somewhere simple, and I thought this University
> town center would be simple...but I guess I could just take the bus to
> the mall instead.
>
> Kerri
>
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