San Antonio's public transit system is stepping up its game with a tech upgrade that's not just colorful, it's a game-changer for residents and visitors with visual impairments, or who do not speak English. VIA Metropolitan Transit is rolling out NaviLens, a QR code-style signage system, across the city's bus stops, reported San Antonio Report.
By the end of next year, more than 6,000 bus stops in San Antonio are set to flaunt the new QR codes, according to VIA. With merely a smartphone in hand, users standing up to 60 feet away can snag bus route info and real-time updates in a whopping 34 languages. KSAT revealed that the NaviLens app employs the phone's camera to pick up nearby codes without a hitch, and dishes out audio directions to guide users.
This initiative, which has seen the light thanks to $600,000 in federal funds, is hailed as a beacon of accessible public transit by VIA. "It provides up to 34 languages. Audio. Whenever you have the app close to the QR code that will be on our bus stops," VIA communications manager Lorraine Pulido conveyed to KSAT.
VIA trustee Athalie Malone, who is visually impaired herself, has been gunning for improved transport service for those in a similar boat since 2019. She chanced upon NaviLens whilst plotting out a Europe trip, tracing the technology's promise. "I’ve only been blind 17 years. When I lost my vision, I was still using the bus. … Where it got harder was to know which bus was coming," Malone shared her story with the San Antonio Report.
Another voice championing this wave of change is San Antonio native Ernest Arce, a visually impaired user of the system, introduced to the pilot program by Vibrant Works, a nonprofit for the visually impaired. "That’s wonderful news," he spaced out the window near his bus stop when told of the upcoming widespread NaviLens adoption. Arce is among those delighted at the prospect of real-time info at bus stops, something the erstwhile Braille signs couldn't deliver, he admitted to the San Antonio Report.
With the winds of change rustling through San Antonio's mass transit corridors, VIA stands committed to building an inclusive service for all. Not just for the benefit of American commuters, but also for a slice of San Antonio that breathes life from afar, such as the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and North African communities. "Having Pashto would be an important addition to ensure the majority of the Afghan community is able to access VIA services," Nadia Mavrakis, CEO of the local nonprofit Culturingua, weighed in on the significance of language inclusion to the San Antonio Report, as VIA vows to offer every tongue San Antonio needs through its NaviLens system.
