24 Hour Inclusive Design Challenge 2005
PET
Team a go-go
The Issue
Disabled travellers face many challenges but the need for real-time information is the most pressing one of all. How can new technologies be tailored to individual needs so that public transport responds to them and not the other way around?
What is it?
The Personal Excursion Ticket or PET is a chip-based product that utilises smart technology to enable a traveller to access interactive information and services independently.
How does it work?
A chip can be integrated into different products with features tailored to the individual needs of travellers.
For example, Robin is a wheelchair user with severe arthritis who has tailored his PET to his individual needs. He has chosen a bracelet PET because it is discreet and comfortable to wear. His personal information is stored on the PET and he has chosen the ComCab, Navigation and Ramp add-ons to make his travel easier. He begins today’s journey by using his ComCab add-on which dials the cab company and tells them where he is to be picked up and the time of his train.
Arriving at the Station, his navigation add-on that is linked to his phone headset directs him to the right platform for his train. If he had preferred to see this information rather than hearing it through his headset, he could have chosen to go to the information kiosk on the station concourse.
On approaching the platform, the barrier senses Robin’s arrival and opens automatically for him and a ramp is waiting to allow him to board.
The Benefits
- PET offers independent travel to a wide range of customers - disabled people, families with children, business travellers, older people, people carrying baggage and those unfamiliar with a locality
- It can become an aspirational product that is personally adaptable and reconfigurable.