DDA and Destination Displays written by Malcolm Randles
What does the Disability Discrimination Act mean in relation to what you can and can’t show on your Destination and Route Blinds.
Well let me start by saying that like most regulations it does leave a fair amount open to interpretation, so therefore anything I may comment on is purely my own opinion as to what I believe to be correct, and to assist you in deciding what is best for your own displays I strongly suggest you visit the Department of Transport website.
Some points are very clear and leave nothing to question, and these are the following:
Route number character height for the front and rear displays should be a minimum of 200mm and for the side display a minimum of 70mm.
Route number means any combination of numbers or letters which designate a bus route.
Destination character height for the front display should be a minimum of 125mm and for the side display a minimum of 70mm.
All destination information shall not be written in CAPITAL letters only, which means it must therefore be written in a mixture of both upper and lowercase as we do when writing a letter, the 125mm and 70mm heights refer to the capital letter only that starts a destination.
Destination means a word or words that describe the route or final destination.
The regulation goes on to state that any route number and any destination display shall be capable of, which for me implies as long as the sign can comply it isn’t necessary to actually do so, the following therefore is what the displays must be capable of:
Both route and destination display characters must contrast with the background, and have characters that are provided with a means of illumination.
A route number display must be capable of displaying not less than 3 characters.
A destination display must be capable of displaying not less than 15 characters.
There are paragraphs that comment on design need, application and best practice and only appear to be recommendations and reasons rather than strict compliant regulations, but again I stress the importance of checking the official website for your own interpretation.
I could also complicate things by making reference to led displays which make use of rotating and scrolling text, and descending characters that do not actually descend but I will save those for another time
For me it’s simple, use the displays for what they do best, which is to attract all potential
customers onto your bus by telling them what route it is on and where it is going to. Numerous studies have proved that lowercase lettering is easier to read for partially sighted people therefore 123 Manchester is clearer than 123 MANCHESTER.
I hope my comments have helped even if only in a small way, and please feel free to give me a call should you require any further advice. For more information visit: http://www.dft.gov.uk/transportforyou/access/buses/pubs/psvar/accessibilityregulations20005993?page=6