Sensible Innovations develops RideKC app for Kansas City Area Transportation Authority

Sensible Innovations has developed RideKC Navigator, a free transit app powered by Aware Audible Wayfinding. Sensible Innovations partnered with Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) to meet the demands of the last mile wayfinding challenge for KCATA’s riders with vision impairment.

“On any transit journey, the beginning and ending stages are often the most difficult due to challenges of changing conditions, inconsistent pathways, lack of appropriate signage, and complex transit stations,” said Rasha Said, Sensible Innovations founder and president. “In particular, riders with vision impairment struggle to locate stops without assistance from others, especially when encountering new places and routes,’ said the Springfield, Illinois resident. “Missteps or lost minutes can cause a rider to miss their bus or train, exacerbated for individuals with vision impairment. As a result, cities are seeking innovative, effective, and affordable smart solutions to make public transportation inclusive and user-friendly. We were only too happy to assist in the development of a transit app for the visually impaired for KCATA.”

The solution uses Bluetooth low energy (BLE) sensors placed at bus stops and street corners and tied to description to provide pedestrian trip planning and navigation assistance along a rider’s entire transit trip. Alphapointe provided orientation and mobility specialists (O&M) services and developed descriptions about stops and street corners integrated into the solution.

“The RideKC Navigator app will aid users in locating bus stops, traveling to stops using pedestrian pathways, obtaining real-time transit information, and alerts for boarding and departing buses,” commented Said. “The app will benefit all riders by making the sidewalk and transit network more understandable.”

The mobile app uses landmark-based navigation with descriptions optimized for individuals with vision impairment to help riders create cognitive maps about these otherwise difficult to navigate spaces. The app provides real-time transit bus arrival and departure data, and the BLE sensors network combine to ensure information at the location where and when it matters most to a rider, negating the need for anyone to memorize landmarks and pathways. This solution creates freedom for riders with vision impairment, as all routes and bus schedules are planned and explored by the rider instead or based upon an assistant’s availability.

The network infrastructure is scalable and can be quickly expanded in the future to meet the changing needs of any transit system.