Free To Move

A bus transit app for wheelchair users
Course project @ HIT, IsraelProblem DiscoverySystem Design

00 / PROJECT DETAILS

Duration
6 weeks
Team
Lior Volovnik, Eden Elias (students at the Holon Institute of Technology, Israel)
Role
User Interviews, Design
Problem

Wheelchair users in Tel Aviv often faced problems boarding buses easily because drivers, in their haste, would stop the bus too far from the sidewalk at the bus stop.

Solution

We designed a bus commute app that would let drivers know which stops wheelchair users are getting on and off at so they can position the bus correctly

01 / SUmmary in a minute

What was the problem?

Because bus drivers were usually in a hurry, they'd halt the bus far from the curb to save time. This made it difficult for wheelchair users to board.

What did we do?

Designed a bus transit app that let drivers know which stop a wheelchair user wanted to get on/off at so they may make it easier for them.

    02 / MY contribution

    I made 2 key contributions

    03 / PROCESS overview

    04 / Initial PROBLEM statement

    How might we improve the experience of taking the bus for wheelchair users?

    As a focus area for our course, we chose to study and improve the bus commute experience of wheelchair users in Tel Aviv.

    We did problem discovery through interviews.

    05 / research

    1. Creating a Research Plan

    2 Findings

    We found that wheelchair users are anxious about potential problems they may encounter when getting on and off buses. There were 2 key points of friction.

    2.1 Buses stop too far from the curb

    2.2 Stop buttons are not specific to wheelchairs

    Wheelchair users face the same problem when getting off the bus. There are only generic stop buttons on the bus which the drivers assume is a regular stop and not for wheelchair users.

    Wheel chair users we interviewed, talked about how they sometimes would tell other passengers to tell the driver to stop the bus and lower the ramp.

    06 / INITIAL IDEAS & PRIORITISATION

    1 Sloped sidewalks
    ‍

    2 Light-up wheelchair friendly sign that indicates wheelchair user at stop

    3 Button at stop that tells driver that user is getting on at the stop

    4 Special wheelchair stop buttons telling driver user is getting off

    5 App that sends signal to driver when user is getting on/off

    Prioritisation:

    Infrastructure solutions are expensive,
    Software solutions are cheap and scalable

    Instead of proposing a change to citywide infrastructure, we decided to work on a completely digital solution. This was due to our scope of work and cost reasons.

    07 / FREE TO MOVE APP CONCEPT

    When user is waiting at the stop, the incoming driver is notified by the app of this so they can be prepared.

    When the user wants to get off, the app notifies the driver to stop the bus and lower the ramp.

    08 / EXPANDING THE SCOPE

    We took this opportunity to build a holistic commute experience for wheechair users

    As we were developing the Free To Move concept, we decided to turn it into a full fledged bus transit app centred around the needs of wheelchair users and perhaps even people with walkers/crutches.

    The app would help users plan their trips and do daily commute with ease.

    09 / Final Design

    Sign up flow

    Sign up asks for users to select the mode they want for the rest of the experience.

    Daily Commute

    Users will get a push notification when they reach a bus stop. They can click on it and set their trip details.

    The app will inform the driver of the stops they need to help the wheelchair user get on/off the bus.

    Planned Trips

    Users can also plan trips which gives them wheelchair friendly routes to get to bus stops.

    10 / DESIGN DETAILS

    Accounting for wheelchair travel times

    On average wheelchair travel times are slower than walking and require different routes. FreeTo Move will account for these differences.

    Inclusive options and words

    Wheelchair and walker/crutches options are used to include people with different needs. The text says “Select your mode” instead of addressing it as a disability

    Disability-conscious icons and copy

    • Wheelchair icons
    • Saying “Go to…” instead of “Walk to…”
    • Reassuring the user that the driver will drop the ramp

    Pop-Up to set clear expectations

    Explicitly telling what this app will do for the user when they onboard

    11 / IMPACT AND LEARNINGS

    Impact

    • My team mates continued this project and worked on it as a venture long after my exchange semester at Holon Institute of Technology ended.
    • The project was well received by the course instructors who called it 'exemplary'.

    Learnings

    • There's more to accessibility than building ramps. Often it's more human problems that make everyday things hard for those with disabilities.
    • Research helped us understand nuances of the daily problems faced by wheelchair users.

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