The LightHouse is seeking volunteers to gather detailed transit route information on BART, CalTrain, selected San Francisco Muni rail and bus routes and selected SamTrans bus routes.
Overview and Purpose
Maps are an integral aspect of daily life in our society, conveying essential information about the world we live in. Having access to that information is necessary to participate in society and gives people the ability to do what they might not have been able to do before.
If someone is newly blind or learning a neighborhood from scratch, having access to maps is a real asset. But for blind people, obtaining maps has historically been difficult and expensive.
The LightHouse is making significant changes in this area by developing accessible transit maps to enhance the ability of blind and visually impaired individuals to effectively use public transit in the Bay Area.
We are developing and will distribute “strip maps” that will present concise information about selected transit routes in Braille and large print. The strip maps will be developed for BART, Muni, SamTrans and Caltrain routes.
The LightHouse is looking for volunteers who will ride selected Muni or SamTrans bus routes and/or BART and Caltrain routes and take notes, inventorying things such as:
- bus stop location (whether stop is on island or street and if mid-block, near-side corner, far-side corner)
- how stop is identified (sign pole, bench, shelter)
- turns in the route (e.g., left, right and cardinal direction of travel)
- inter-modal connections and transfer points (e.g., BART station)
Optimal candidates are Bay Area residents who are familiar with specific Muni or SamTrans bus lines, BART or Caltrain, but anybody who is interested should apply. We would like to obtain this transit line info by Friday, November 19. Volunteers will be trained prior to their transit excursions.
For more information about this opportunity, please call Frank Welte at 415-694-7363 or email fwelte@lighthouse-sf.org.
If you wish to volunteer for this project, please call Volunteer Coordinator Don Franklin at 415-694-7371 or email dmfranklin@lighthouse-sf.org.
