Dear Madam or Sir,
As a person who is blind and who is a regular fixed-route bus rider, I commend the proposed guidelines' urgency for bus operators to ensure that stops are announced while buses are in service. Operators of buses in many locations throughout the United States still fail to call out stops or turn on automated stop announcement systems. This barrier prevents those of us who are blind or visually impaired from knowing where we are along a given route. Since the guidelines have been in place for over 15 years, it is more than time for bus operators to announce stops as a routine part of their jobs. Thank you for recognizing the importance of this continuing barrier to accessibility.
Sincerely,
Christie Gilson, Ph.D.