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NaviLens Wayfinding in NYC Transit
Overview
The MTA explains NaviLens provides visual information in audio formats, primarily for users who are blind or have low vision, including wayfinding and real-time arrivals. It also gives practical instructions that remove precision burdens: hold your phone against your chest while walking and the app detects codes, and shake your phone to repeat directions. Benefit: navigation without locating small print or QR codes. Lesson: accessibility improves when aiming and finding are designed out of the core loop.
Why it matters
Transit independence depends on legible signage. If route guidance requires sight, riders are forced into reliance or avoidance. The MTA frames these pilots as part of a goal to make 95% of subway stations accessible while testing technology so riders can stay informed and feel safe. Benefit: safer, less stressful travel for blind and low-vision riders. Call to action: treat wayfinding as multimodal and validate in noisy, crowded, high-motion environments.
Learn more
- https://www.afb.org/blindness-and-low-vision/using-technology/orientation-and-mobility
- Vision impairment and blindness - https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment
- https://www.transit.dot.gov/regulations-and-guidance/civil-rights-ada
- About Universal Design - Centre for Excellence in Universal Design - https://universaldesign.ie/what-is-universal-design/
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