The Benesova Bus Station, opposite the Grand Hotel, has recently undergone reconstruction work. Now a new electronic information point has been installed, complete with Braille services for visually-impaired users. Photo: KK / Brno Daily.
Brno, Jan 29 (BD) – Following the recent reconstruction of the bus station on Benesova, opposite the Grand Hotel, which modernised the station and added new features for the comfort of passengers, the Brno Public Transport Company (DPMB) has now installed a new 90x70cm electronic information point, to further improve passengers’ experience of using the station. The information point, available in both Czech and English, will provide up-to-date arrival and departure times for the station, with all necessary information about the lines, as well as any important information about local traffic or delays to public transport in the area. The board will also provide orientation for how arriving passengers can continue their journeys from the main train station, including a Braille version for blind or visually-impaired users.
“We have received very positive feedback from passengers about the completed reconstruction of the Benešova bus station, that after many years it is once again a positive representation of the City of Brno. The newly installed infopoint complements the reconstructed station not only functionally, but also aesthetically. We consulted over its design, and designed it to be of a uniform style with the other facilities at the station, and at the same time to be fully accessible to blind users,” explained Miloš Havránek, General Director of DPMB.
The board, designed by students of Brno University of Technology, is installed on a trial basis since January 27th. The bottom of the panel will display current information from DPMB. “If an unexpected event happens in the vicinity of the station that affects the operation of our lines, passengers will be informed at the infopoint immediately upon their arrival at the station and will be able to adapt their further journey accordingly,” added Havránek.
An important element of the infopoint is a concrete touch-map of the station, annotated above in Braille, to assist visually-impaired or blind passengers with orientation. The shape of the concrete section was designed to also allow comfortable access for wheelchair users. The designers were students from the Faculty of Architecture at Brno University of Technology, Veronika Hudinkova, Petr Kotek, and Dominik Handl. Havránek expressed his gratitude to the students: “I am very happy about this mutual cooperation, and I would like to meet the students to thank them personally.” The new infopoint was co-financed by the wheelchair accessible program provided by Brno City Council’s Advisory Program for an Accessible Brno.
