Spectrum News NY1
Anchor: Pat Kiernan
See original video here.
NEW YORK – The MTA is testing a new app that will allow visually impaired bus riders to find stops and learn arrival times.
NaviLens uses an algorithm to translate visual signage into audio.
That helps customers to determine the location of the nearest bus stop and find out when the next bus will arrive.
It also lets them know how crowded each bus is.
“I’d like to describe blindness as a non-visual approach to a visual world, and if we all work together and consider one another’s needs, a day like today is a great step at levelling the playing field for all of our city’s citizens,” said Gian Pedulla of the NYCT Advisory Committee on Transit Accessibility.
NaviLens is being tested along the M23 Select Bus Service route in Manhattan.
Buses on the route make stops near three locations serving blind and low-vision New Yorkers.