Transportation Options for Travelers who are Blind and Visually Impaired, Making the Best Use of Your Options Saturday, November 3, :30-10:00 AM

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1 Figure 1, SWOMA 2018 Logo, SWOMA Conference 2018 in fancy script with logos for Region 13 ESC, SWOMA, and Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired along the bottom. Transportation Options for Travelers who are Blind and Visually Impaired, Making the Best Use of Your Options Saturday, November 3, :30-10:00 AM Presented by Pat Pound, Disability Consultant, Austin, TX

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3 Making the Most of Travel Options as a Person who is Blind or Visually Impaired While public transportation of various types offers many opportunities for people who are blind or visually impaired, the quantity and quality limit effectiveness. Fortunately we are seeing gradual changes such as transportation network companies (TNC), multi-modal planning tools, and creative uses of travel technology. How we approach these new opportunities determines whether they will benefit or unduly challenge us as we travel. In the following sections I provide tips used by successful travelers. Transportation Network Companies In various cities around the country, TNCs provide services which revolve around booking, tracking, and paying for a ride via your cell phone. Lyft and Uber are the largest companies but various local options also exist. You must have a cell phone, the TNC s app, and a credit card to use the TNC. Apps are updated often so I always review the accessibility of the app after updating. Specific benefits for people who are blind or visually impaired using TNCs include: No need to handle cash Knowing the driver s name and car number Having an accessible booking and receipt system Being able to track time of arrival, most often quite accurate. Being able with most companies to call or text the driver Fees are usually less, and taxis and some companies offer ride pooling for less, or even subscription services. Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

4 Strategies for Successful TNC Travel include: Charge your phone so you don t lose important ride information, and bring along earphones in case you need to book a trip standing on a noisy street corner. Enter your origin and destination; then carefully check the estimated fare. Fares can vary at different times of the day and especially during large events. Make sure you are willing to pay approximately that amount. Check the estimated time of arrival (ETA) and monitor that space once you book a trip so you will know how far away they are. If you are at a public venue where others are also waiting for a TNC, I suggest texting the driver and asking them to look for you since you cannot look for them. Identify yourself by what you are wearing and/or exactly where you are standing. Once a car arrives ask the driver their name and make sure it is the name shown for the driver on your app. Avoid asking if they are your TNC ride. Consider using a service like AIRA to call and watch for your TNC ride. Once aboard, open your GPS app so you can monitor the route they are driving. Also open any self-protection app such as Blindfold Video or Be Safe, and/or send a screen shot of your ride details to a friend in case you don t show up where you are expected. Confirm your location by asking for specific details in case you are not where you intend. Rate your driver as this serves to encourage polite and customer friendly behavior. Review and keep your receipt to check the charge on your credit card. Technology Tools for Travel Several new tools for travel that are technology based offer new ways to gather and use information. Three companies are offering sonar-based object detection devices while the Artificial Intelligence Remote Assistance (AIRA) system offers human agent travel directions. Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

5 Sonar tools offer a way to detect objects before you reach them with a cane or dog. They also easily detect overhangs or protruding objects. Wether you attach the device to your body or hold it may depend on your specific route or need. Attaching the device leaves your hand free but only detects from that fixed position. Holding the device allows you to scan in front or to the side to find either an object or a clear path. I believe these devices will be especially useful for people with physical disabilities who are blind as it gives them information without requiring the use of your hands. I find their use to be very intuitive. Using the AIRA service is definitely a game-changer especially in areas traditionally difficult to navigate like airports, trails, health clubs, sports events and outdoor concerts. They require you to agree to fully use your own travel tools (cane, dog, low vision aids) and they do not assist when you are walking in a street. The service is costly although they are marketing to businesses so that blind people using AIRA in that business will not have to use their own minutes. Agents can also read materials such as slides at a lecture, menus, computer screens (in case speech is dysfunctional). Agents can also assist with reading directions on packages or medications, describing intersections, crosswalks, sidewalks on the blocks ahead, and which train/bus is arriving. AIRA explorers are constantly figuring out new uses for the service and posting to twitter or on the AIRA site. One creative use is making a photo documentation of a difficult route and saving it to your profile so the agent can call it up and use it each time you use that route. Agents can assist with the photos, notes, and saving the information. Also, you can store pictures of friends and family members so you can ask the agent to look for them in a crowd like a restaurant. Agents can also assist you with presentation of documents doing such things as giving feedback about structure, alignment, photo placement etc. Here are some tips for effectively using AIRA: Charge your equipment nightly so you are ready to go. If you are using your phone as the camera, think through how often you will Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

6 use it that day, and if you have it, bring along alternate battery or recharger. Organize your thoughts about what you want the AIRA agent to do, then minimize your minutes used by collecting products you want read, reviewing software you will use and getting it ready, turning on lights in your house etc. Think through your schedule so you can budget your AiRA minutes and use them for the most important things. Always bring along headphones in case you are in a noisy environment Use AIRA to learn about routes, stores or venues you frequent often, so as you gain more information you may not need to use AIRA for the whole time or at all. Always use your own mobility devices, your own memory, your own sense of directions, and allow AIRA to add needed information. If the AIRA glasses seem unwieldy, consider using a stretchy hair band looped around one earpiece and then once on, looped around the other one. This snugs the glasses to your face. Use AIRA in ways to contribute to your friends and family. Go retrieve products in the grocery store, buy a birthday card, meet your friends without needing them to find you, and challenge yourself to find other creative ways to contribute. Go places you have always wanted to go but never had enough information trails, concerts, museums, art galleries etc. Think through questions to ask at an intersection like information about crosswalks, sidewalks, pedestrian push buttons, light cycles construction, etc. Consider using AIRA to interpret visual information like product pictures on the web, diagrams in a class, information presented in columns difficult to use with a screen reader, photos to post online etc. Experiment with using the glasses rather than your phone. Handfree usage is sometimes more relaxing or simply necessary depending on your environment. Some ties when hands-free is Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

7 particularly good are airports, grocery shopping, or when carrying other items. If you have AIRA minutes to burn, consider fun uses like getting descriptions for building a Lego kit, doing an origami project, or getting a performance audio described. Encourage your friends to sign up using you as a referral as you benefit on future costs. Ask the agent to be more or less descriptive depending on your needs. Also, if you like, change the way directions are provided, clock-face or left-right. Review the AIRA access zones and frequent those businesses so you don t have to use your own AIRA minutes. Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

8 Notes Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

9 Notes Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA

10 SWOMA Sponsors Region 13 Education Service Center (ESC), Austin Figure 24, Region 13, Education Service Center logo Texas School for the Blind & Visually Impaired Outreach Programs, Austin, TX Figure 25, TSBVI logo. Figure 26, Two images: IDEAs that Work logo and OSEP disclaimer. Transportation Options for Travelers, Pat Pound, SWOMA