DEPAUL HCI | The Public Transit Transfer Experience for People who are Blind

Summary

We interviewed three people who are blind and observed one of them while she made a transfer from one bus to another. In doing so, we learned about the challenges people who are blind face when using public transportation and where there is room for some design solutions.

The Goal

We set out to discover specific challenges that people who are blind face when making a transfer on Chicago public transit. 

Scope/Timeline

10 weeks

Team

Four Depaul HCI graduate students studying accessibility design

Responsibilities

• Search for existing research on public transportation transfers for people who are blind

• Write interview questions

• Create a route to follow involving a transfer

• Interview subject

• Observe user and take notes

• Conduct follow-up interview

• Code interview responses

• Create affinity diagram

• Determine themes

• Write/edit report

• Present on findings/recommendations

The Findings

Though we did not uncover specific challenges related to transfers, we did learn the following things:

• Participants navigate using a mental model of their environment

• Challenges arise from gaps between their mental model and the environment

• It is not possible to develop a mental model of a train station through research

• How a person responds to challenges depends on their attitude towards assistance

• Most negative experiences using public transit are caused by well-intentioned but misguided strangers