Council launches helpful mobility app for wheelchair users to easily plan their travel routes
Portsmouth City Council has launched a new app for people with reduced mobility called Route4U, allowing people to plan their travel routes with ease and giving them greater flexibility with travel options.
The free Route4U app is a useful pavement navigation app and information system to help wheelchair users identify safer and more accessible routes across the city.
Users can plan their journey using a route map and navigation system. The app also indicates pavement obstacles, surface quality, kerb heights, widths, inclines, and travel distances.
It provides route planning and turn-by-turn navigation for wheelchair users, and can be customised to each person’s own abilities.
Portsmouth is the first city in the UK to introduce the new technology, with the app being available to download on both Apple and Android. The developers of Route4U worked closely with Portsmouth City Council to map out the city’s pathways.
Pam Turton, Assistant Director of Transport at Portsmouth City Council, said: “I’m delighted that we can support people with reduced mobility by introducing Route4U to the city. This new technology will have many benefits for people who visit, work and live here. The app is aimed to give people more confidence to undertake journeys by providing detailed information about the environments that they will encounter.
“I hope that this free app will give people the confidence to travel more independently and enjoy saving money by being less reliant on their cars for short distances.”
Volunteers, including members of Portsmouth Disability Forum, have been travelling the city to inform the developers about pavement conditions and potential obstacles. Obstacles can also be reported via the app, which includes an auto-survey function.
Sharon Smithson, Chairperson of Portsmouth Disability Forum, commented: “I’m extremely excited about the launch of the new Route4U app. As a wheelchair user, I and other forum members have experienced frustrating barriers, particularly with pavement obstacles and widths. Backtracking and finding alternative routes can take double the time of a normal journey.
“The app should establish a positive way for individuals with disabilities to travel around more accessibly, making the whole journey a better experience.”
Additionally, the system can help the council’s transport planners to better design, maintain and improve pavement accessibility. Using the analysis and decision support tool, council officers can access information about the most problematic bottlenecks, enabling them to prioritise pavement maintenance work.
