We s ableism GPS key to streamlining mass transit for passengers with special needs Barbeau ‘08 [Sean J., et al Center for Urban Transportation Research & Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering University of South Florida; – – “The Travel Assistant Device: Utilizing GPS-Enabled Mobile Phones to Aid Transit Riders with Special Presented at the 15th World Congress Needs,” on Intelligent Transportation Systems (NYC): November 16-20; p. 10-11] The design, implementation, and field testing of CONCLUSION TAD, a software application for commercially available GPS-enabled mobile phones that announces a transit upcoming bus stop, has been rider’s successful. The real-time location can be viewed on a website, which is also used to create rider’s new trip itineraries. Alerts can be automatically issued in case the rider has deviated from his or her planned route. TAD has been field- tested in the Tampa, Florida area on the HART transit bus routes for over one year, including an evaluation with special needs transit riders from program. These tests successfully demonstrated the proof-of-concept of TAD USF’s STAGES and inspired areas of future TAD research. The accuracy of bus stop inventories provided by transit agencies is a critical requirement for TAD to work properly on a transit system. Future work will focus on improving the bus detection algorithm to increase the general system reliability and The capability to receive adding new services through the integration of TAD with live bus location data. the and “Get ready…” “Pull prompts through a wireless headset will reduce the risk of the auditory alert the cord now!” Bluetooth™ being lost in a noisy transit environment, and will protect the user’s privacy. Future research is also needed in While the TAD was designed to aid transit riders with special integrating TAD into travel training curriculums. needs to increase their level of independence, any new transit rider can benefit from its service.
We s ableism GPS key to streamlining mass transit for passengers with special needs Barbeau ‘08 [Sean J., et al – Center for Urban Transportation Research & Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering – University of South Florida; “The Travel Assistant Device: Utilizing GPS-Enabled Mobile Phones to Aid Transit Riders with Special Needs,” Presented at the 15th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems (NYC): November 16-20; p. 10-11] CONCLUSION The design, implementation, and field testing of TAD, a software application for commercially available GPS-enabled mobile phones that announces a transit rider’s upcoming bus stop, has been successful. The rider’s real-time location can be viewed on a website, which is also used to create new trip itineraries. Alerts can be automatically issued in case the rider has deviated from his or her planned route. TAD has been field- tested in the Tampa, Florida area on the HART transit bus routes for over one year, including an evaluation with special needs transit riders from USF’s STAGES program. These tests successfully demonstrated the proof-of-concept of TAD and inspired areas of future TAD research. The accuracy of bus stop inventories provided by transit agencies is a critical requirement for TAD to work properly on a transit system. Future work will focus on improving the bus detection algorithm to increase the general system reliability and adding new services through the integration of TAD with live bus location data. The capability to receive the “Get ready…” and “Pull the cord now!” prompts through a Bluetooth™ wireless headset will reduce the risk of the auditory alert being lost in a noisy transit environment, and will protect the user’s privacy. Future research is also needed in integrating TAD into travel training curriculums. While the TAD was designed to aid transit riders with special needs to increase their level of independence, any new transit rider can benefit from its service.
GPS_Affirmative___Kansas_2012.docx