Why people with physical disabilities would choose AccessMap over Google Maps
Mobile technology has made city navigation seamless for most people, but it is still not that simple for people with physical disabilities. The University of Washington’s Taskar Center for Accessible solution developed a map-based app to solve this problem (Salman, 2018). The AccessMap app allows to plan accessible routes in the hilly Seattle by customize settings like uphill/downhill incline limits. For example, Google Maps would direct a person from University St. to City Hall via a steep route with 10% slope, AccessMap sends them through a much friendlier 2% slope way.
The biggest drawback of the app is that it currently only supports the city of Seattle. While the developers are planning an expansion through crowdsourcing, it might take years to develop and even longer without a strong marketing campaign. There is a high chance that people who would benefit from the app might not hear about it and stick to the conventional Google Maps. Another concern is a lack of farther suburbs, smaller towns and rural areas that might happen if there is no organized effort to make this app work anywhere in the country.
One solution would be to partner with companies and products already established in the market. Not only products like Google Maps and Mapbox have resources to develop the solution and market it, they also experience with scaling consumer- and business-driven applications for communities around the world. Since AccessMap is developed by a non-profit organization, there should not be a conflict of interest based on making profit.
Salman, S. (2018, February 14). What would a truly disabled-accesible city look like?. The Guardian. Retrieved September 28, 2018 from https://www.theguardian.com/
