Innovative solutions to support individuals with disabilities accessing public transportation: A case study

ABSTRACT

Individuals with cognitive disabilities have challenges with personal navigation and wayfinding, especially when traveling on public transportation. The purpose of this case study is to describe the structure and implementation of the Personal Navigation for Individuals with Disabilities (PNID) education and training program, which is based on a socio-technical architecture for individuals with cognitive disabilities within a fixed-route public bus system. A case study methodology was used to describe preliminary findings of the skills, attributes, and experiences of three individuals with cognitive disabilities as it relates to transportation on fixed-route bus systems in a midsized urban setting. The three individuals completed five training activities: safety, public bus, smartphone, WayFinder App, and fixed-route bus system. The case study provided a preliminary mixed-methods overview of training travelers with cognitive disabilities to use the WayFinder system while accessing fixed-route public bus system. The insights and strategies identified through the case study demonstrate the potential opportunities for development, implementation, and sustainability of the PNID program in other midsized urban settings. The PNID program (i.e. AT service delivery process), in combination with the WayFinder system (i.e. assistive technology), has the potential to meet the unique needs of individuals with cognitive disabilities when accessing public transportation.

KEYWORDS:

• bus transportation
• case study
• cognitive disabilities
• community mobility
• wayfinding

Acknowledgements

The authors of the manuscript would like to thank Dr. Julie Faieta and Olivia Vega for their significant contribution to the development and implementation of the training program for personal navigation. We would also like to extend a thank you to all of the travelers who took part in the larger study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10400435.2024.2305977.

Notes

¹ AbleLink Technologies, 6745 Rangewood Drive, Suite 210, Colorado Springs, CO. 80918–710 https://www.ablelinktech.com/

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Ohio State University.