Transport app for Edinburgh blind

Transport for Edinburgh’s mobile app now has new features designed to help blind and visually impaired bus and tram passengers. The free app, which is available on Apple and Android Smartphones, now includes VoiceOver technology. This means blind and visually impaired passengers can have any part of the app spoken to them, including next stop announcements and walking directions to a bus or tram stop. With the app installed, a customer can point their phone at a tram or bus stop and the phone will announce the name of the stop and where services go from there. It provides real time departure information for every stop in the city. It knows which bus or tram the passenger is travelling on using GPS and can announce the next stop even if the phone is locked and in the passenger’s pocket. The transport organisation has worked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and the Royal Blind School to develop it.

Transport Convener and Chair of Transport for Edinburgh, Cllr Lesley Hinds, said, ‘We are committed to providing accessible travel for everyone in Edinburgh, and this app will further enable passengers to make the most of the services on offer. This is one of many innovations by Transport for Edinburgh to create a modern, integrated network for the city, allowing us to provide one of the most accessible public transport services in Scotland.’

The free app can be downloaded by searching for Transport for Edinburgh on iPhone and Android or by visiting www.lothianbuses.com/apps

Pic: (LtoR) Lothian Buses driver, David Adams; Transport Convener and Chair of Transport for Edinburgh, Cllr Lesley Hinds; Scott (16); Jake (17); Digital Designer at Transport for Edinburgh, John McEvoy and Junjie (15).