This project was aimed at developing an iOS-based smartphone application (app) to provide transit and pedestrian trip planning and navigation assistance to members of the mobility-impaired (MI) and blind or low-vision (B/LV) communities. Although the app, called Comprehensive Wayfinding for All (CWall), could be used by anyone, the goal was to assist MI and B/LV users with many aspects of a transit trip — guiding a MI or B/LV user from a trip origin, to the correct bus stop, onto the correct bus, off the bus at the correct stop, and to the final destination. All of these app functions were to be accomplished using free, open source data sets and development approaches so that the final CWall app could be easily scaled and transferred to any region. While several significant steps forward were made, the project could not be continued due to technical challenges that proved insurmountable, given the project’s budget and goal to keep all development open. Although the CWall app’s functions were never fully developed, the project team did confirm with members of the MI and B/LV communities that the CWall app, in concept, served a currently unmet need and would be helpful for navigating and using a city’s pedestrian and transit networks. In addition, the team digitized the pedestrian networks in selected portions of the Austin, Texas, area into OpenStreetMap, established an app server with supporting data fetch processes to pull OpenStreetMap and transit data sets for use in the app, and developed two key app functions: user account creation and management and trip planning, routing users along pedestrian and transit networks. While the CWall app could not be completed, the project was still beneficial to the industry by identifying several lessons learned, discussed in more detail in the Conclusions section of this report. There are many apps and technological aids available to members of the MI and B/LV communities for planning and taking transit trips; however, there remains a need for an app like CWall (or that goes beyond CWall) to make the traveling experience of members of the MI and B/LV communities much more seamless—improving personal freedom, mobility, and quality of life.

This project was discontinued at Stage1. The report details work performed in Stage 1 and the issues needing resolution to attain the project’s goal.

The report is available here.