Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

IDENTIFYING ACCESSIBILITY PROBLEMS IN EXISTING TRANSIT SYSTEM:Edward SteinfeldMichael GrimbleVictor PaquetIDeA Center, University at Buffalo/SUNY, Buffalo, USA

Aaron SteinfeldShree Lakshmi RaoAllison TranRobotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA

18th September 2012TRANSED 2012

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

RERC APT The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center

on Accessible Public Transportation

Research and develop approaches to design and evaluate the accessibility of transportation environments, equipment, and information services

These approaches go beyond traditional accessibility audits

We take a broader, systems approach that emphasizes universal design principles

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Universal Design Approach

EnvironmentEquipment

IT

Transit Authorities

+Manufacturers

End Users

RERC APT

Gov’t Standards

Makers

Applied UDResearch andDevelopment

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

New Approaches in 2 Field Studies

“Guided Tours”

“Real Time Reporting”

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Research Questions Can our methods be used to better identify

accessibility and usability challenges in public transportation services?

Will the methods identify the most relevant problems for different user groups?

Can the methods be used to identify opportunities for improved public transportation service?*

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Purpose Demonstrate a systematic alternative to

traditional accessibility audits in public transit systems.

Goal is to develop assessment techniques that can be used effectively by transit agencies and rider advocates for structured assessments of the accessibility.

Guided Tours

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Methods Recruited 50 Individuals from 5 users groups

Mobility (n=10), vision (n=10), frail elderly (n=10), cognitive (n=10), hearing (n=10)

Each completed a predetermined route (i.e., “tour”) in Buffalo, New York

A researcher observed the tour and noted challenging and supportive design features

Participants rated activities along the way using self reported scales of difficulty and acceptability

Interviews were conducted to identify why challenges occurred

Opportunities for minimizing challenges were identified

Guided Tours

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

MethodsThe tour included several activities to simulate use of the “complete travel chain”:

Planning the trip Going to the transit terminal via public

streets Purchasing a ticket Riding a light rail train to the destination Going to the bus stop via public streets Riding a low floor bus back to the origin.

Guided Tours

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Results Barriers to finding and using information about the

system were the most frequent and provided the greatest challenges. Especially for those with mobility or visual impairments

All groups had frequent difficulties planning a trip, purchasing tickets and finding the bus stop.

There are many opportunities to the services for better accessibility that have been missed previously. Improvements to websites, maps, signage, street

crossings, bus shelter, ticketing machine features, seating features, displays and auditory announcements, and security.

Guided Tours

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Purpose To develop and evaluate a method that empowers

users to improve their public transportation experience Reduce uncertainty and anxiety around transit service

delivery, especially people with disabilities. Provide riders with a way to communicate problems to

service providers.

Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

A New Smart Phone Application

Tiramisu (“pick me up”) empowers bus riders to have an impact on the bus transit system and more effectively plan bus trips. Problems and positive experiences are

communicated to the local transit system and public via the web.

Photograph and text postings are used. Predicts the arrival time of transit buses and number

of available seats.

Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

How does it work? Allows users to find nearby bus stops through a map or

list Provides predictions of arrival times based on

scheduled, historical and real-time location data and ratings for bus load

Users identify the bus they are boarding, their destination, and rate the bus load

Users can share a location recording while riding – they become the GPS beacon!

Feedback about the bus service is uploaded to a website

Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Interface Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Methods The system was pilot tested in Pittsburgh, PA via

the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institute Access to application given to bus riders Data on 20,000 trips was recorded User reports were evaluated for content

Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Results: Emergent Themes Difference between agency schedule and the

observed bus arrival time Route design and data quality, including

suggesting detours Cleanliness and maintenance of the transit

system Real-time communications with transportation

authority are desired

Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Results: Opportunity to Improve

Data suggests our current methods for handling reports need adaptation because:

Users desire to participate in a feedback loop with the agency and the Tiramisu team more directly

Users don’t understand how reports were handled and don’t yet obtain feedback on their contribution

Need to enable, cultivate, and support discussion and dialogue between users and service providers in a timely/real-time basis

Real Time Reporting

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Conclusions The methods used in these 2 studies allowed us

to identify many challenges with transportation chain, some of which would have been missed with traditional accessibility audits.

Different problems were identified for different user groups, demonstrating it is important to involve many user groups to be inclusive.

Many new opportunities for improved public transportation service have been identified. Mobile IT is promising. All stakeholders must be involved in the process.

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Center for Inclusive Design & Environmental AccessSchool of Architecture & PlanningState University of New York at Buffalo378 Hayes Hall | 3435 Main StreetBuffalo, NY 14214 – 3087

Funded by:The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) through the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Accessible Public Transportation (RERC-APT)

Acknowledgements

Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access | The State University of New York at Buffalo

Center for Inclusive Design & Environmental AccessSchool of Architecture & PlanningState University of New York at Buffalo378 Hayes Hall | 3435 Main StreetBuffalo, NY 14214 – 3087

+1 (716) 829.5902+1 (716) 829.3861ap-idea@buffalo.eduhttp://www.ap.buffalo.edu/ideahttp://www.udeworld.com

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