Most buildings over two stories utilize an elevator to get from one floor to another. So, a vision-impaired person needs to know how to use one. Here is how!

I love the word ubiquitous. It sounds very sophisticated. It means that something is common or available everywhere. The term ubiquitous applies to elevators in buildings.

Given that, to have a job, it is necessary to know how to travel independently. That includes how to call an elevator, select the correct floor, and get off when you have arrived at your destination. Again, it might seem complicated to those who can’t imagine how someone who can’t see could do these things. Like most things; they are easy once you know how.

How do blind people find the elevator?
Most often, elevators are located near the front entrances of buildings. However, this is more of a guideline than a rule. If the elevators aren’t immediately evident, you should listen for the ‘ding’ or the ‘ding-ding’ of them as they operate. If this doesn’t work, you should ask someone. In my experience, elevators are either very easy to find or very hard. So, if I am unable to find one after a few minutes of searching, I ask for assistance. I have found the main elevators in the most obscure places.

How do blind people call the elevator?
Once you have located the elevators, you need to let it know you want to get on. Elevator buttons are really simple to figure out. The upper button lets the system know you want to go to an upper floor. The lower button means that you want to go to a lower floor.

Exactly where the set of buttons might be can be a bit of a puzzle. Generally, if there is a single elevator, the buttons are to one side of it and very close. However, if there is a series of elevators, the button can be anywhere among them. In this case, I simply use my cane to find the walls dividing each elevator and reach out to locate if the buttons are there or not. If not, I move to the next wall and try there. It just takes a few seconds to find it.

How do blind people know when the elevator has arrived?
When an elevator arrives on your floor to be boarded, it rings a bell that signals if the elevator is either going up or down once the doors close. To know when and where my elevator is, I listen to the swish of the opening doors along with the ring of the elevator bell.

Elevators don’t wait a long time before the doors close. So, as soon as I hear the sounds, I start moving towards it. In order not to run into people who are also boarding or for those who are exiting the elevator, I continue to listen and use my cane. I would much rather give a light tap to the backs of someone’s shoes than to run into them.

How do blind people go to the floor they want?
If I board an elevator with several people on it, it is simpler for me to ask someone to press the button for me. It is much faster than for me to try reading the elevator Braille in an unfamiliar elevator.

However, if I am the only traveler on board, I search for the button that has an embossed ‘star’ on it. That button will take me to the main floor.

Once I have located the button with the star on it, I simply count (left-to-right) the buttons until I find the one, I want. I then press it. The leftmost button on the bottom corresponds to the lowest floor. As the buttons go left to right and up to down, the numbers increase.

All the buttons indeed have Braille labels on them. For me, counting is faster because I don’t read Braille very quickly while under pressure.

How do blind people get off the elevator?
If you know which floor you started from, knowing which floor the elevator stops on is simple. As the elevator moves from floor to floor, it makes a ding sound. Just count the dings.

Confirming you are getting off on the right floor is simple as well. When the doors open, reach out and feel around for a large embossed number. If the number is the floor you want, it is time to get off and complete your journey.

Describing how to use an elevator is much more complicated than actually using one. Using a few techniques which include your hearing, your sense of touch, good cane technique, and a bit of common sense, elevators can very easily and safely be used by the blind.