For transport and airports

Announcements everyone can follow.

A gate changes. A train is late. The announcement is spoken. The screen shows one written language. A Deaf traveller may follow neither.

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This page in sign language

For airports, railways, bus and ferry operators. International Sign for the global site; your national sign language on your country page. Signed by a Deaf creator, credited by name.

International Sign Captions + transcript ship with the video. Read this instead

The problem, in your words

The message is spoken or written.

In plain words

Much travel information is a voice or a sign. A voice does not reach a Deaf traveller. A sign in one written language may not reach every reader. Sign language, audio and easy words can.

A station can be open to everyone, and still not be understood.

430 million people live with disabling hearing loss — projected to reach 700 million by 2050.

Receipt: WHO

The World Federation of the Deaf estimates that as much as 90% of the world's Deaf children and adults have never been to school. Its 93-country survey found that only 23 countries provide bilingual education in sign language and the national language, and then only in some schools.

Receipt: Haualand & Allen, Deaf People and Human Rights, WFD (2009)

What your station gets

Your station, three ways.

  • Written

    A traveller points a phone at a sign, a ticket or a timetable. It opens in sign language, as audio or in easy words. The traveller chooses.

  • Here

    A station or an airport can open in access.place as a place. A Deaf guide shows the way in sign language.

  • Made by people

    Every signer is a real Deaf creator, credited by name. A Deaf traveller or a Deaf group can help check what goes out. There are no signing avatars.

Recorded guidance covers what stays the same: the way to the gate, the rules at security. A change in the moment, such as a new gate, still needs a live message in text.

Moments on a journey

Five moments between door and seat.

  1. The ticket

    What happens. Booking and changes in writing, or by a phone call.

    What changes. A plain-words version, and changes sent as text.

  2. The way

    What happens. Signs in one written language.

    What changes. A code on the sign that opens the route in sign language, as audio or in easy words.

  3. The announcement

    What happens. A message over the speakers.

    What changes. The same message as text, shown at the same time.

  4. The rules

    What happens. Security and boarding rules in writing.

    What changes. The rules in sign language and in plain words.

  5. The help desk

    What happens. A counter with a speaker.

    What changes. A way to reach staff without speaking, such as text or a video call.

See it

A gate sign, in sign language

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A gate sign, in sign language

A short demonstration is being made with a Deaf creator. It shows a gate sign and a station map, read in sign language, as audio and in easy words. We film only where filming is allowed.

International Sign Captions + transcript ship with the video.

A quick self-check

Can every traveller follow?

Six questions. Answer for your main station or airport today.

1. Can a Deaf traveller buy a ticket and get changes without a phone call?
2. Do the main signs have a code that opens them in sign language or plain words?
3. Are announcements always shown as text at the same time?
4. Are security and boarding rules available in sign language?
5. Can a Deaf traveller reach staff without speaking?
6. Does a Deaf traveller or a Deaf group check new signs and messages?

Count your yes answers. Not sure counts as no. Nothing you choose here is saved or sent.

0 to 2 yes: Mostly reading
Most moments still rely on reading or hearing. Start with one, and open it to everyone first.
3 to 4 yes: A good base
You have a base. Pick the weakest moment and open it to everyone first.
5 to 6 yes: Strong
You have most of it. We would like to learn from what works for you.

Next step

Choose one station or one gate. We will build it with you.

Talk to us

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