Taking public transit can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to navigate for someone who is visually or audibly impaired, but the OnTheBus smartphone app was created to help ease some of that frustration.
The app uses both visual and auditory cues to detail the route one should take to both get to the bus they need to take and then to help them determine what stop they need to get off at.
It first gives the user a listing of several routes that they could take to get to the bus and then helps guide them to the bus either through speaking commands or a step-by-step moving map.
The app also lets the user know what stop is the correct one for them and alerts them to get off the bus.
GPS-Enabled Public Transit Apps
OnTheBus Helps the Visually and Audibly Impaired Navigate
Trend Themes
1. Accessibility-enhancing Public Transit Apps - Opportunity for developing apps that aid visually and audibly impaired individuals in navigating public transit.
2. Multimodal Navigation Solutions - Disruptive innovation potential in creating apps that combine visual and auditory cues for seamless navigation across different modes of transportation.
3. Personalized Public Transit Guidance - Opportunity to develop apps that provide customized route suggestions and step-by-step guidance for public transit users.
Industry Implications
1. Mobile App Development - Disruptive innovation opportunities in designing and developing accessibility-enhancing public transit apps.
2. Transportation Technology - Potential for disruptive innovation in incorporating multimodal navigation solutions into public transit systems.
3. Assistive Technology - Opportunity to create personalized public transit guidance apps for visually and audibly impaired individuals.