UnlockedMaps: A Web-Based Map for Visualizing the Real-Time Accessibility of Urban Rail Transit Stations

Limited visibility into real-time accessibility in current web-based maps disenfranchises urban rail commuters who rely on functioning station elevators (e.g., wheelchair users). We shed light on the experiences of such commuters through interviews with representatives from five stakeholder groups (people with mobility disabilities, pregnant people, cyclists/stroller users/heavy-equipment carriers, disability advocates, and civic hackers). Motivated by our findings, we present UnlockedMaps—an open-data map that visualizes the real-time accessibility status (accessible, experiencing at least one elevator outage, not-accessible) of urban rail stations in six North American cities and displays nearby accessible restaurants and restrooms, assisting users in making informed decisions regarding their commute. We assessed UnlockedMaps by conducting (1) an exploratory user study, (2) controlled and “in-the-wild” longitudinal studies, and (3) follow-up interviews with our stakeholder groups. Our findings show that UnlockedMaps is a “for-us-by-us” solution that benefits all stakeholder groups, including those who do not rely on functioning elevators.