Shared Automated Vehicles Could Greatly Benefit Visually Impaired Travelers if Designed and Operated with Their Needs in Mind

Peggy Wang

Institute of Transportation Studies, Research Reports, Working Papers, Proceedings from Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Berkeley

Abstract: Automated vehicles (AVs) are one of the most significant technological advances in transportation. The benefits of AV technologies could be maximized by increasing vehicle occupancy through pooling and ridesharing, integrating AV use with high-capacity transit systems (e.g., using AVs to complement existing transit), and promoting multimodality (e.g., connecting travelers to public transit). Additionally, shared automated vehicles (SAVs), in which ridesharing companies (similar as today’s Uber or Lyft) offer driverless on-demand mobility services to customers, could enhance transportation access for visually impaired travelers who face unique challenges navigating current transportation systems including public transit and rideshare services. To this point, we interviewed 15 visually impaired individuals to understand their current transportation experience (e.g., what challenges they face and how they cope with these challenges); how SAVs might address their transportation needs and challenges; potential issues and solutions for using SAVs; how their travel behavior may change due to SAVs; and how much they would pay for SAV rides.

Keywords: Engineering (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-08-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-tre
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