Making Transit More Accessible

Ather Sharif, member of our Board of Directors, recently made the news for his awesome work around accessibility.

A doctoral student at UW’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering, Ather co-created an app that provides real-time information about obstacles people with disabilities or other mobility issues might experience at transit stations.

The app, called UnlockedMaps, helps people in six major U.S. cities including Seattle see which stations are accessible and what might cause mobility problems such as an elevator being temporarily out of service.

Users can even find wheelchair-accessible food options located near transit stations.
Read more about Ather and this cool project in the Philadelphia Inquirer or on UW’s website.