Accessible BART Station Maps – Taking Orders Now

This innovative project is complete. Order audio-tactile maps of each BART station, designed to enable people with visual impairments to independently navigate this essential public transport system.

The LightHouse has mapped all 44 BART stations; three views each – street, concourse and platform; because you want to know not just where trains go, but how to get in and out of, and around stations. And they talk.

Here’s how it works: Let’s suppose you have an audio-tactile BART Station Map in your hands. You can feel the raised lines and braille symbols. A “b” inside an orange oval represents a bus stop; a “t” in a red triangle represents a taxi stand; there are distinct symbols for stairs, elevators and escalators. Say you want to learn more about that bus stop. Tap it with the Smartpen and you hear “Bus stop on the East side of Mission Street. Buses from this stop: Muni 14, 14L and 49″. That’s far more information than could be squeezed, as braille, into the 5/8″ oval on the page. And the map is printed on a piece of paper that fits into a standard binder.

Accessible BART MapWe are rolling out these awesome new BART maps in two phases. If you are a Bay Area O & M Specialist or TVI, and would like these materials as aids to help your students develop the confidence to independently navigate this essential public transport system, we would like to hear from you during our phase one roll out. Stay tuned for our phase II roll out for individuals who wish to have accessible BART maps at their fingertips.

Bay Area O & M Specialists and  TVI’s: to receive your free maps and Smartpen please contact Greg Kehret, Director of Access to Information Services, at gkehret@lighthouse-sf.org.

This project was funded in part by a New Freedom grant, and developed in partnership with Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.

2 thoughts on “Accessible BART Station Maps – Taking Orders Now”

  1. It would be helpful to know if blind bay area residents would be able to schedule an hour or two to simply play with a talking BART map. I’m guessing most of us don’t actually need to personally own a BART map. I myself really need to navigate only a couple of stations more effectively, and after I spent an hour with a few maps that would be sufficient.

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