Christchurch City Council transport planning leader Stuart Woods accepted the award at the association’s annual conference held in Christchurch on Saturday 5 October. Aspects of accessibility at the Bus Exchange that the City Council won praise for included:

• Real Time Information audio podiums for blind and visually impaired customers
• Placing vinyl strips which serve as tactile guides to the lounge doors and Real
• Time Information audio podium
• Large print signs
• Tactile numbers placed by the lounge doors.

The Council also won praise for its commitment towards ensuring that blind and visually impaired individuals will have the same access as sighted users at the Bus Exchange.

In accepting the award, Mr Woods said the City Council is very appreciative of the award, which reflects positively on the community facility that so many contributed to and so many now enjoy day by day.

“At the beginning of the project, the City Council recognised the value of involving and inviting discussions with different groups in the community that would be affected by the Bus Exchange project. The excellent facility we now have is in large measure a result of the quality input of the various groups we consulted with.”

The Extra Touch Award is awarded to individuals or organisations that have shown an outstanding contribution towards improving access or service to blind and visually impaired people.

It is the second award the City Council has received since the Exchange opened in November 2000. Last year, the City Council was awarded a Civic Trust Award in recognition that the Bus Exchange has “played a pivotal role in enhancing the quality and efficiency of public transport, creating new commercial attractions to enliven the central city, and opening the door for the final stages of upgrading the Cathedral Square by removing bus terminals”.