7 Ticket Control

7.0 Overview

Ticket control gates usually make a distinctive sound that may be a useful cue for those approaching the gates.

Most travellers choose their gate depending on where they are going and where they came from. Vision impaired people using a white cane, or without any mobility aid, seem to prefer the gate with the most straightforward access, regardless if it is a narrow or wide gate. Guide dog users most often require directions to the wide, accessible gate.

As it is common practice amongst transport operators to have staff standing next to the wide gate, it may be preferable to guide vision impaired people towards the wide gate where they will find staff to assist them as required.

7.1 Choosing the correct gate to travel in desired direction

To control crowd flow transport operators try to distinguish routes through tickets gates for embarking and departing passengers. Vision impaired people should be guided to the gates that will take them in the direction they require. For example:

When giving this instruction, expect some vision impaired people to bear left so that they align with the gates that lead to the platforms.

7.2 Describing the location of a wide gate

For the reasons stated in Section 4.1.7.0 above, vision impaired people should be informed about the position of a wide gate. For example:

Guide dog users prefer the wide gate as they can maintain the correct guiding position in relation to the dog whilst going through the barrier. If the gate is at the extreme left or right of the ticket gates the dog will normally return to the initial line of travel without prompting. This is based on the Straight Line principle in guide dog training.

If a digital navigation service captures user options such as the mobility aid (e.g. guide dog or long cane) (as suggested in Section s4.3.1.7) or preference to the type of gate (narrow or wide), then the instructions should be personalised and should guide vision impaired people to the appropriate gate, i.e. narrow or wide.

7.3 Indicating next move while approaching the ticket control

As with Escalators (Section 4.1.4) and Stairs (Section 4.1.5) vision impaired people need to know what they should do once they go through the gates, otherwise they may obstruct passenger flows and be at risk of injury. For example:

If the first part of the instruction includes a lot of information pause before providing subsequent information about what to do after the gate. For example:

7.4 Using appropriate terminology to refer to the ticket control

Terminology depends on context and varies between countries. It is important therefore to consider the terms to be used to describe the ticket control. The terms most frequently used for the ticket control are:

• Ticket barriers
• Gates
• Wide gates or accessible gates

Avoid operational terms like “gate line” as those are not terms used by the general public.

7.5 Clearly communicating actions required

Verbs that communicate clearly an essential action should be used to guide vision impaired people when they have to go through a gate. For example:

Phrases like “cross the gate” may create confusion. If they are taken literally users may think that they simply need to walk past the gate rather than actually going through it.