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Accessible Wayfinding Pilot

Sound Transit

3/27/2025

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Accessible Wayfinding – IDS Demo

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Accessible Wayfinding – Integrations for Sound Transit

GTFS integration for schedules and real time arrival times
Push notifications for real time arrivals
Service Alerts
Backend notifications to GoodMaps of Elevator and Escalator outages

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Accessible Wayfinding – User Testing

75+ individuals in 4 Rounds of moderated testing with blind, low vision, deaf/hard of hearing, and mobility impaired individuals
90-minute sessions at each of the stations
Testers navigated to various points of interest at each station

Ticket Vending Machines
ORCA Readers
Elevators
Exits

Testing for usability of solution, accuracy of information & routing
Demo Sessions with Students and O&Ms from both Washington State School for Blind and DSB

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Accessible Wayfinding – Why Pilot this Technology?

ST required a digital wayfinding & navigation tool that:

Accessible for all passengers
Functions in an underground station
Did not require the Agency to install electronic equipment or specialty signage in stations
Enables a passenger who is deaf/blind to distinguish which train is arriving at a platform: the 1 Line or the 2 Line
Communicates real-time arrival information to passengers, including route, direction of travel and time of arrival for trains
Allows passengers to select an accessible path that matches their mobility needs (e.g. stair-free or escalator-free path)

JUSTIN

The Consultant will deliver a solution that provides both real-time arrival information and

wayfinding/navigation tools that:

Are accessible for all passengers, including those who are deaf/blind or intellectual disabilities.
Functions in an underground station
Does not require the Agency to install electronic equipment in stations
Scalable for further use system-wide, including for passengers of other Sound Transit modes (i.e. bus, commuter rail)

Real Time Arrivals:

Enables a passenger who is deaf/blind to distinguish which train is arriving at a platform: The 1 Line or the 2 Line
Communicates real-time arrival information to passengers, including route, direction of travel and time of arrival for trains

Optional: Allows a passenger already onboard to know when their stop is coming up and when to deboard

Wayfinding:

Provide wayfinding on Sound Transit property, including to stop locations and amenities such as fare payment kiosks and restrooms

Allows passengers to select an accessible path that matches their mobility needs (e.g. stair-free or escalator-free path)
Wayfinding navigation can be expanded to outside points of interest if needed
Provide associated data and analytics

Data sources available for a solution provider to access:

General Transit Feed Specification schedule, real-time and Pathways data
GTFS, GTFS-RT and GTFS-Pathways
GoodMaps LiDAR outputs of station data via B2G or .E57 files, or any other formats

required available after the LiDAR scans are stitched together hosted via a shared file.

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Accessible Wayfinding – Pilot Launch

Phase 1 Pilot officially launched to the public in December 2023

Westlake and International District/Chinatown

Phase 2 Pilot launched December 2024

Northgate, University of Washington, Capitol Hill, Columbia City, SeaTac

Each pilot observation period of 6 months

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System Analytics & Usage KPI’s

Station Check-ins: Measures anytime a user selects a station and manually “Checks-in”.

1200+ Check-ins across all 7 station during the pilot

Route Ratings: Upon completing a route users can rate the route with a ‘Thumbs-up’ or a ‘Thumbs-down’.

KPI Goal of 75% Positive Ratings
90.5% Positive Route Ratings achieved

System Monitoring & Uptime

KPI Goal of 99.9%
99.96% Uptime achieved

*Data from International District (ranked locations searched during a route)

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User Survey Results—14 questions

Usefulness and Desirability of the GoodMaps App

100% of respondents agreed that if Goodmaps were available for all transit options, they would use the app consistently. 89% of respondents indicated that the information provided by Goodmaps is very to extremely useful, and 89% are likely to recommend Goodmaps to a friend.

Ease of Use

56% of respondents indicated that the Goodmaps app was easy to use, while 33% felt neutral.
Similarly, 56% of respondents indicated that they might need some level of training to use the app effectively.

Sense of Safety and Confidence while using GoodMaps

100% of respondents feel somewhat to very safe using the Goodmaps app.
50% of respondents feel more confident using Goodmaps while riding public transit, when compared to when they are not using the app. The other 50% was equally or less confident.

14 question survey in the First Phase and

The Goodmaps app is considered useful by passengers with accessibility needs. 100% of respondents agreed that if Goodmaps were available for all transit options, they would use the app consistently. 89% of respondents indicated that the information provided by Goodmaps is very to extremely useful, and 89% are likely to recommend Goodmaps to a friend.
Some respondents indicated that they would need training to use the app effectively.
Users are concerned about needing to have their phones exposed while navigating the station, although they do feel safe while using the app.

“”

Regariding how users reacted to the application.

Usefulness and Desirability

The GoodMaps app has been recognized as highly useful by passengers with accessibility needsaccessibility features across different transportation modes.

Perceived Value: 89% of respondents indicated that the information provided by GoodMaps is very to extremely useful, particularly those with specific accessibility needs.

Strong Word-of-mouth Potential: Similarly 89% of respondents likely to recommend GoodMaps to a friend.

Ease of Use

Mixed Feedback on User-Friendliness: While 56% of respondents found the GoodMaps app easy to use, there is a notable 33% who felt neutral about its usability. This suggests there is room for improvement in making the app more intuitive and accessible to all users, particularly those who may not be as familiar with mobile apps.

Training Requirements: Some respondents indicated that they might need training to use the app effectively. This indicates that, while the app is useful, additional guidance or onboarding might help ensure users get the most out of it.

Sense of Safety and Confidence

High Safety Perception: 100% of respondents feel somewhat to very safe using the GoodMaps app, which highlights the trust users place in the app's features related to safety and security.

Increased Confidence on Public Transit: Half of the respondents (50%) reported feeling more confident while using GoodMaps on public transit compared to when not using the app. This suggests that the app helps users feel more secure and informed while navigating transit systems.

Room for Confidence Improvement: The other 50% of respondents either felt equally or less confident while using the app, pointing to potential areas for improvement, such as offering more robust real-time updates or features that help users feel even more confident during their travels.

Concerns about Phone Exposure: While users feel safe while using the app, some expressed concerns about the need to have their phones exposed while navigating stations, which could present safety or convenience challenges. This feedback could guide future app enhancements to address those concerns.

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Implementation + Expansion

Current Coverage

7 stations on the 1 Line have been scanned and are available for use (Northgate, University of Washington, Capitol Hill, Westlake, International District/Chinatown, Columbia City, SeaTac.

Expansion

The wayfinding team is working to expand the technology to the rest of the 1 Line, 2 Line and potentially Sounder stations, dependent on budget constraints.
1 Line (23 total stations)
2 Line (10 total stations)
Sounder (12 total stations) *TBD
*Stations are in the process of prioritization for scanning
Scanning is dependent on the size of the station (levels and surface area)

*Currently mapping out a timeline to scan the rest of the 1 Line and 2 Line.

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Thank you.

soundtransit.org