Moovit, Microsoft’s Azure Maps and Aira have announced a partnership to help make public transit more accessible for blind and low-vision users of Aira’s remote assistance app.
Blind or low vision riders may have trouble getting to their destination. They may be uncertain that they’ve caught the right bus or can’t read the entrance sign they need to follow in order to access the subway. In addition, as populations age, the number of people experiencing age-related vision loss rises, according to Moovit. Moovit, Microsoft and Aira are joining forces in order to challenge these obstacles and make public transit more accessible and inclusive, empowering blind and low vision riders to travel with more confidence.
“The belief that mobility is a basic human right for everyone is the motivation behind this partnership,” said Yovav Meydad, Moovit’s chief growth and marketing officer. “Together, with Aira and Microsoft, we are aiming to make public transit more accessible and inclusive to blind and low vision riders. This will open opportunities for riders to travel more freely and independently, significantly impacting their life.”
Through its mobile app or smart glasses, Aira connects users to trained professionals, called Aira agents, who can see a users’ environment through their smartphone camera. This enables agents to describe objects, read signage, take and label photos and more. Now, through this partnership, Aira agents can also help users navigate public transit more effectively with better, real-time data.
Utilizing Microsoft’s Azure Maps, Aira agents can access efficient and reliable navigational tools to assist users in getting to their destination. The solution, powered by Moovit’s Transit APIs to provide transit planning and navigation, enables agents to view and obtain information on multimodal trip planning, transit routes and itineraries. Through Azure Maps, and its integration with the mobility information and navigation that Moovit provides, Aira agents can now provide users with navigation guidance for their journey, ultimately delivering an optimal user experience.
“We’re excited to start this partnership with Moovit and Microsoft Azure Maps, and we aim to work together for a long time,” said Mike Randall, Aira’s CEO. “We’re perfectly aligned in our mission to make communities smarter and transit more inclusive. Azure Maps, powered by Moovit’s mobility services, provides a more efficient and reliable navigational tool for our agents, which in turn helps us deliver a best-in-class user experience.”
Chris Pendleton, head of Azure Maps, Microsoft, added, “In Azure Maps, we invested significant time and resources to define accessibility requirements, implementing capabilities for those with needs and pushing ourselves to service this segment of users. I’m elated to see Aira, Moovit and Azure Maps providing services together further justifying our investments in the benefit of those who need it most.”
