A step towards truly independent access for everyone, everywhere

With good wayfinding, 72% of vision impaired people who normally use paratransit would prefer to use public transport services. However, good wayfindinfg services are hard to find. In the 30 years since the passing of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) public policy has driven significant investment and advancements in accessibility in the United States. However, this has not yet led to a commensurate realization of freedom and independence for people with disabilities due to sustained psychosocial barriers. This paper describes the considerable progress being made in standards and technology for the delivery of wayfinding services to assist people in overcoming these barriers, whether their disabilities are visual, physical, or cognitive. Using an impact study of real-world trials of a novel infrastructure-free location technology for the provision of turn-by-turn instructions across indoor and wide-area environments, the authors will show how it is possible to deliver truly independent end-to-end access to public spaces and transport services. The Waymap technology uses wearable IoT devices and sensors within the smartphone to deliver an interactive audio-based augmented reality to guide and engage people as they explore the spaces around them. The paper focuses on how to scale wayfinding and travel services to be truly universal and the vital role played by nationally and internationally recognized standards with user involvement at their core.