TravelAbility Insider

The Intersection of Travel and Disability

Technology

Apple Announces Major Accessibility Upgrades to their Phones and Tech Products

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Video call on Apple iPhone with live audio transcription.

Apple has released a bevy of new accessibility features for iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac, including a universal live captioning tool, improved visual and auditory detection modes, and iOS access to WatchOS apps. The new capabilities will arrive “later this year” as updates roll out to various platforms.

The most widely applicable tool is probably live captioning, already very popular with tools like Ava, which recently raised $10 million (and was first introduced at TravelAbility’s Launchpad pitch fest in 2019) to expand its repertoire.

Apple’s renewed commitment to accessibility will allow a greater number of disabled people to access the digital environment more easily (and the physical one as well).

To learn more about Apple’s planned accessibility upgrades, read the article in TechCrunch.

New App Helps Drivers with Disabilities Alert Gas Stations They Are Coming

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Person pumping fuel into vehicle gas tank.

“Even though gas is very expensive right now, most people take for granted the simple act of going to the gas station and quickly filling up, but for those in the disabled community, getting gas is more than just a quick trip,” according to reporting from NBC Washington.

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act requires gas stations to assist disabled drivers fuel their cars upon request, drivers say that the assistance is rarely offered. “Right now, there’s no uniform way of, you know, getting that person to come out,” said Lee Page with Paralyzed Veterans of America.

A new app, fuelService, is hoping to change that. The app allows disabled drivers to notify station employees that they require assistance with the tap of a button. More than 1,000 gas stations along the east coast of the United States have signed up and drivers say it’s working.

To learn more about the fuelService app, read the story from NBC Washington.

On-Demand Wheelchair Rentals Launch in Seattle and San Jose

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Bird-branded electric wheelchair superimposed over Seattle skyline.
Image courtesy Bird.

There’s a new, more accessible way to move around Seattle and San Jose, thanks to the expansion of a new program by Bird and Scootaround.

Bird’s exclusive On-Demand Accessible Mobility program enables disabled people to find, reserve and pay for a selection of accessible vehicles using a custom rider interface available only in the Bird app.

Bird riders in Seattle and San Jose benefit from exclusive discounts and have unique access to a variety of accessible vehicles including the WHILL Model Ci2, a popular power wheelchair. Bird says “these vehicles offer greater independence to those with mobility issues by helping them navigate hills and long distances in a city.”

Bird’s On-Demand Accessible Mobility program, which first launched in New York City in 2021, has expanded to more markets including San Francisco, San Diego and Yonkers. More cities, including Chicago, will soon be added to the list as the company expands its exclusive partnership with Scootaround to serve at least 15 markets in 2022.

To read more about Bird’s new wheelchair rental offering, see the Bird website.

Accessibility Products We Loved at CES 2022

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Consumer Electronics Show exhibit hall.

We live in a time of tremendous innovation, and sometimes that innovation can be life-changing for people with disabilities. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show featured a large number of products designed for disabled people, some of which are already available to the public. While some of the products were over the top and may never see the light of day, it’s nice to see the increased attention to accessible product design and development.

Every year at CES, Reviewed awards the best of the best with the CES Editor’s Choice awards, but this year they created a new awards program designed to recognize products that have the potential to improve the lives of disabled people.

To see the full list of the top accessibility products from CES 2022, check out the article from Reviewed.

Will Autonomous Vehicles Help Disabled Travelers Find the Freedom they Crave?

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Blue four door sedan with Google logo driving on a road using driverless technology.

Advancements in technology and AI have put mass-produced autonomous vehicles within the realm of possibility, and experts suggest that we may see largely driverless cars within our lifetimes.

For disabled people, driverless cars promise greater access – physically driving a vehicle is not possible for many people, but autonomous vehicles will solve that problem. Although basic forms of technology has already been implemented in vehicles like the Tesla, it hasn’t yet made its way into a mass-produced wheelchair accessible vehicle.

Accessibility guidelines are being studied, and advocacy groups hope standards for wheelchair and other access will be included in future iterations of driverless automobiles. The website 2025 AD examined these questions in greater detail and, for more information, read their report on accessibility in driverless cars.