{"ID":2831692,"CreatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","UpdatedAt":"2026-06-01T04:54:23.091178241Z","DeletedAt":null,"paper_url":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15291","arxiv_id":"2601.15291","title":"Public transport challenges and technology-assisted accessibility for visually impaired elderly residents in urban environments","abstract":"Independent navigation is a core aspect of maintaining social participation and individual health for vulnerable populations. While historic cities such as Edinburgh, as the capital of Scotland, often feature well-established public transport systems, urban accessibility challenges remain and are exacerbated by a complex landscape, especially for groups with multiple vulnerabilities such as the blind elderly. With limited research examining how real-time data feeds and developments in artificial intelligence can enhance navigation aids, we address this gap through a mixed-methods approach. Our work combines statistical and machine learning techniques, with a focus on spatial analysis to investigate network coverage, service patterns, and density through live Transport for Edinburgh data, with a qualitative thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with the mentioned target group. The results demonstrate the highly centralised nature of the city's transport system, the significance of memory-based navigation, and the lack of travel information in usable formats. We also find that participants already use navigation technology to varying degrees and express a willingness to adopt artificial intelligence. Our analysis highlights the importance of dynamic tools in terms of sensory and cognitive needs to meaningfully improve independent travel.","short_abstract":"Independent navigation is a core aspect of maintaining social participation and individual health for vulnerable populations. While historic cities such as Edinburgh, as the capital of Scotland, often feature well-established public transport systems, urban accessibility challenges remain and are exacerbated by a compl...","url_abs":"https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15291","url_pdf":"https://arxiv.org/pdf/2601.15291v1","authors":"[\"Jason Pan\",\"Ben Moews\"]","published":"2025-12-08T13:14:44Z","proceeding":"cs.HC","tasks":"[\"cs.HC\",\"cs.CY\"]","methods":"[]","has_code":false}