Micromobility operator Tier and inclusivity app Lazarillo are launching a project to predict how safe a route is for people with visual impairments.
To be piloted in Italy later in 2023, the project aims to collect data from different sources, including e-scooters, infrastructure and trip hazards, to rate routes and give them a safety score.
The two companies will use all this real-time data, as well as reports from users, to offer pedestrians the safest route options to their destinations based on multiple parameters of user preferences and shared mobility real-time locations.
The project also has the potential to improve safety for those with reduced mobility and other types of disabilities while moving through cities.
Kate Barnes, Head of Public Policy at Tier Mobility, told Zag: “The insights from the upcoming pilot project will help us better understand how to ensure that e-scooters do not become a tripping hazard for the blind and visually impaired. Together we will drive forward our joint goals of making cities and communities safer and more accessible.”
Safety for all
This pilot is an extension of Tier and Lazarillo’s partnership to improve the safety and fluidity of urban transfers for all road users, including those with vision problems.
Alerts for parked Tier e-scooters have been added to the Lazarillo app in several European countries, including Spain, the UK, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Germany.
The app sends real-time audio messages to blind and partially sighted pedestrians on scooter-parked locations to help them navigate streets safely.
René Espinoza, Lazarillo’s Founder and CEO, said: “By integrating mobility points, blind and visually impaired people will be able to get more information about their surroundings. This innovation has great potential to improve navigation throughout the city.”
