Bryan MatthewsInstitute for Transport Studies

University of Leeds

The Equity Implications of Smartphones for Disabled People’s Travel Experiences

theoretical and methodological issues

September 2012

Overview

• range of Apps to assist disabled people with independent travel now coming on to the market

 

• provide users with disability access information relating to specific aspects of the transport system

• different apps do different things – • some relate only to one place (e.g. London), • some focus on a particular mode of travel • some rely on information from organisations, whilst others ‘crowd-

source’ their input data.

 

• main focus is on provision of information,

• but could be used to book/request travel and personal assistance and to pay

Aims

• identify and quantify the benefits of these apps to users and organisations

 • including the impact they have on levels of

personal travel

 • Explore relationship between the social

model and neo-classical consumer theory

Key Research Questions

• How does ICT impact on travel?

• How does its impact on travel affect carbon emissions?

• What travel problems could ICT help with?

• What are the barriers ICT helps people or planners overcome?

• What are the potential limitations, eg in terms of equity?

Approach

• Identify set of relevant apps

• Review existing literature

 • Make contact with disabled travellers

• Make contact with stakeholders

• Design and implement targeted survey tool

Identifying the Apps• Vodafone Smart Accessibility

• EU Passenger Rights App

• AccessAdvisr

• AssistMI

• Mobile Accessible Pedestrian Signal (MAPS) application for the VI

• Safe and sound ‘rover’ smartphone app

Literature• On the role and place of assistive technology

• On digital inclusion

• On specific technological solutions

• A great deal of optimism about the power of technology

• But problems of accessibility and take-up

Impacts• benefits and costs to the disabled individual

• costs and business opportunities for the developers

• also benefits to government, operators and wider society – external benefits

• legal and moral issues around disability access

• ethical issues about WTP for disability provision

• Perhaps parallels with issues relating to ethnicity and travel?

Thinking through the Impacts• Potential to increase mobility – generate new travel

• But also potential for further exclusion

 • Increasing disparities amongst disabled people - making the

more mobile even more mobile?

• Scope to switch travel from private car (still most significant mode for disabled people) to PT… 

• …which should have a benefitial impact on CO2;

• What about the physical infrastructure though?

 • Knock-on employment, wellbeing and health-related impacts

Next Steps

• Complete catalogue of Apps

• Following up contacts with individuals and stakeholders

 

• Design of survey tool

Survey Options

• Comparing disabled smartphone users and non-smartphone users:– smartphone users - their travel behaviour and use of travel

apps and – non-smartphone users - their travel behaviours (and Test for

a difference)

• Track disabled people’s travel; then give them smartphones with travel apps and observe changes;

• Mobile surveys with disabled people training with rehab officers

• What would you do if you had an app that enabled you to…?