Accessible Mobile Experience in Public Transport.
How can local public transport stops be cost-effectively digitized for barrier-free use?
People who travel with a guide stick or guide dog cannot also constantly hold the smartphone in their hand. In this project, we therefore focused on finding a solution for a product with an “invisible” user experience.
We have designed an accessible mobile app that uses read-aloud push messages to ensure that people with visual impairments board the desired bus at the right time and at the right boarding point. Any fault message is also sent in good time as a push message.
To make this work smoothly, the user experience is built based on location. For this purpose, we created a virtual “geofence” for each stop and installed beacons in the stop infrastructure that communicate with the app. This opened up the possibility for us to define separate behaviors for the respective push messages based on distance, location and time.
The UI design of the entire app is optimized for VoiceOver down to the last detail.
The entire interface is optimized for acoustic output via “Voice Over”. In close cooperation with those affected, it was determined exactly in which order and pronunciation the UI elements should be read aloud. In the interface design of the mobile app, additional attention was paid to barrier-free display. This vision-supporting display is activated automatically as soon as the app detects that “Voice Over” is switched on on the smartphone. Thus, the app can be used intuitively by sighted and non-sighted people. Without having to make any changes in the settings.
“What good is an accessible app if onboarding is not accessible? With “App Clip” we were able to meet this demand.”
Oliver Stäcker
UX Architect, Project “SmartStop”, Gotomo GmbH
You can use the native app spontaneously without download thanks to the “App Clip” technology.
The integration of this technology allows to use parts of the app temporarily and without download. All you have to do is hold the cell phone against the NFC interface (Near Field Communication Sensor). If the operation is done by a blind person, the vision assist mode is automatically activated. The app is temporarily stored on the smartphone as an “App Clip” and automatically deletes itself after ten hours. Within this time all push messages for stop edge indication or fault messages can be received.
Project Facts
