From apps to web-based services, new advancements in technology are making travel more accessible and equitable for all travelers.
Published on April 26, 2024 at 11:04 am
Thrillist design by Maitane Romagosa
Those first minutes of arriving at a new destination are exhilarating: new sights, smells and sounds come together to create the high travelers strive for. But for travelers with disabilities, those same new experiences can be overwhelming and limiting.
Airports are noisy and often difficult to navigate for anyone, but for neurodiverse travelers who struggle to function in chaotic environments, airports can be nearly impossible. For travelers with visual impairments, the signs most people use to navigate to a new destination are often indecipherable. A new city is exciting, but wheelchair users may not know which restaurants or museums are accessible like they are back home. Hailing an Uber or hailing a cab isn’t always an option, either, as most ride-share vehicles are not wheelchair accessible. Does the hotel have accessible showers or a place where a service animal can relieve themselves? For many travelers with disabilities, each step of the journey requires careful planning and consideration.
As an avid traveler and mother of children with multiple physical and developmental disabilities, I know how necessary, time-consuming, and frustrating vacation planning can be for families like ours. But a series of apps and programs created to make travel more accessible are starting to level the playing field. We tested these programs in a variety of real-world environments, from airports to our community, to see how they work and how they can make traveling easier. While new apps and programs are constantly emerging, we focused on those that are available in most destinations and easy to navigate. While the tourism industry still has a long way to go to make travel more accessible, these programs are leading the way and have made recent travel a little easier.
This pioneering travel company designs trips for neurodiverse young people
It took the travel industry a while to recognize this need, but it’s finally starting to catch on.
For non-disabled travelers, booking a hotel is primarily about price, location, and amenities. For travelers with physical disabilities, hotels can be a nightmare. While the ADA has guidelines for accessible hotel rooms, these booking rules are often not fully enforced by third-party booking sites like Priceline and Travelocity. Travelers may book an accessible room only to find that it doesn’t match the online description or is offered to guests without disabilities.
That’s where accessibleGo comes in. The platform allows travelers to filter for accessibility options that go beyond the basic “wheelchair accessible” toggle found in most hotel booking apps. AccessibleGO allows travelers to search for accommodations with roll-in showers, accessible pools, outdoor spaces for service dogs, and more. The platform goes a step further: once a booking is made, a member of the accessibleGO team will contact the destination directly to ensure all accommodation requirements can be met.
“At accessibleGO, our goal is to help travelers with disabilities meet their accessibility needs and travel comfortably, no matter where they’re going or what their needs are,” says co-founder and CEO Miriam Elias. Beyond hotel rooms, users can search for mobility rentals, car rentals with hand controls, wheelchair van rentals, and more.
Sunflower Program for People with Hidden Disabilities
While there is no app yet, the web-based Sunflower program is growing in popularity around the world. By simply requesting a free lanyard through the program, users easily identify themselves to airport officials as a traveler with an invisible disability. The bright green lanyard features a sunflower, making it easy for TSA and airline personnel to spot. As a family who travels with invisible disabilities, including autism, ADHD, and joint problems, we are not always visible as a family that needs assistance navigating the airport, but we are.
We first tried the program at Pittsburgh International Airport, which has a great sensory room. TSA lines at Pittsburgh International Airport are generally not long, but we were able to take our kids to a shorter line reserved for travelers with disabilities. On our return flight from Orlando International Airport, the security line was long and overwhelming. After a busy week, we knew not all of our kids would be able to handle it. The security line marked with a sunflower was much shorter, and the TSA staff was extra considerate to our children’s anxieties.
London’s Gatwick Airport first introduced the Sunflower Lanyard in 2016, and since then the program has expanded worldwide. Participating airports have installed Sunflower lanyards, and most airports keep them at customer service desks before security checks. Travelers can also request the pass through the website or by contacting their local airport before traveling. You do not need to disclose a disability to receive the pass. Currently, more than 200 airports around the world are participating, and more airports, railways, museums, and theme parks are also adopting the program. Some users report that not all airport personnel understand what the lanyards mean, and ongoing education is required. I think the app is also helpful. The website is detailed and helpful, but the app is more convenient since most people travel with their phone in their pocket.
As I rush through an airport, I glance at overhead signs giving me directions to my gate, the restroom, or baggage claim. Once I reach my destination, I look for a safe walking route. For travelers with visual impairments, navigating airports, hotels, and unfamiliar destinations in general can be difficult. Braille signs are less common and are only necessary in certain locations. The app “Be My Eyes,” available for Apple and Android, allows users to scan anything from documents to photos, and an AI or a team of volunteers will interpret the information aloud.
We tested it on overhead signs at our local T station and on a public staircase near our home. The AI’s descriptions were incredibly accurate, even showing us where a shadow in the photo might indicate a tree outside the frame, or the location of cracks in the railing or sidewalk. After requesting the AI’s response, we had the option to ask the chatbot more questions or call a live volunteer for more information. Overall, we found the app to be well designed and very user-friendly.
While most accessibility programs are private or nonprofit, the TSA has one solid option: TSA Cares. The Cares program is available at all U.S. airports and exists to modify standard security and travel requirements to meet the needs of specific groups of travelers. In addition to supporting travelers with disabilities, TSA Cares also provides support for military families, families traveling with small children, and other groups who may have travel challenges. If travelers don’t want to (or can’t) communicate their needs verbally, they can print out a TSA notification card to let staff know about their needs.
There is also an app called MyTSA that provides information about packing rules, wait times, and facilities for people with disabilities. The program offers a variety of accommodations, for example, to help travelers avoid having to remove their shoes or unpack their bags at security.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is one of many places incorporating TSA Cares protocols into broader accessibility goals. Newark Airport recently joined the list of airports with sensory rooms and added a security line dedicated to screening travelers with neurodevelopmental disabilities, a first in the U.S. How travelers utilize TSA Cares varies widely depending on their needs, but some airports seem to do it better than others. More uniform training for TSA staff would be a great addition to the program. Contact the program to learn more about your needs.
Most travelers are familiar with Google Maps and the accompanying Google services that make traveling easier. But recent improvements to Google products make Maps a great option for travelers with disabilities.
Sasha Blair Goldenson, Accessibility and Disability Inclusion Lead for Google Maps, is a wheelchair user herself and has used her own experience to improve the accessibility of Google products. She said these updates are a game changer for travelers with accessibility needs, citing accessibility information collected from other Maps users and the ability to create wheelchair accessible routes as key features.
While browsing businesses at a particular destination, the wheelchair icon displays details like step-free entrance and disabled parking. Screen reader and voice guidance features help travelers who are hearing or visually impaired. The screen reader feature provides nearby place information aloud as users hold up their phone to scan their surroundings. Voice guidance in Maps, enabled with a toggle in settings, provides more detailed feedback on walking routes so travelers who are visually impaired or have trouble following basic maps can navigate to new locations. Google Live Transcribe also helps travelers who are hearing impaired by converting audio announcements and the speaker’s words into text.
Planning a road trip with rest stops along the way can be especially challenging for travelers with disabilities. For example, for people with service dogs, finding a place for their dog to play, rest, and relieve themselves is essential. The Roadrippers app, available for Apple and Android, has long been a go-to for travelers picking stops and attractions along a selected route. After selecting a route and indicating how often you plan to stop for short breaks or overnight stays, the app creates a custom itinerary that includes must-have stops, like gas stations, and fun stops, like the world’s largest corn maze.
The platform update now allows travelers with disabilities to narrow their search with accessibility in mind. After selecting the type of attraction they’re interested in, users can select the “wheelchair accessible” filter to narrow down the extensive list of suitable spots for them. Extensive reviews and feedback from other travelers help them decide if a particular attraction is right for them. We hope that future updates to the platform will provide more options for travelers with disabilities to search, especially with more information on the accessibility of roadside attractions.
If you don’t take a road trip or rent a car while traveling, ride sharing is a must. Our family can access standard ride sharing vehicles, but disabled travelers cannot. Unfortunately, this is an area where there are not enough major players. Uber and Lyft offer accessible vehicles through their UberWAV and Lyft WAV programs, but they are limited to a few cities so far. Folding wheelchairs can be brought into standard ride sharing vehicles, but it’s a gamble to see if they will fit.
zTrip isn’t available in every city in the U.S. yet, but there are more options in more locations. zTrip regularly hires wheelchair-accessible vans and trained drivers, so they know how to safely accommodate travelers. Passengers can hail a zTrip vehicle just like a regular taxi, but there’s no guarantee it’s a wheelchair-accessible vehicle. So you can book a ride by phone, website, or app. We hope zTrip expands to more cities soon and becomes a reliable option wherever you go.
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Meg St. Esprit (she/her) is a freelance writer who seeks out and covers the most interesting and quirky ideas about parenting, home design, education, and travel. She lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, four children, and lots of pets. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Romper, and Fodors. Meg studied counseling and human development during her higher education and brings that knowledge and expertise to her writing. When she’s not writing, you’ll definitely find her camping.
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