The estimated benefits and WTP data were collected in a manner
that followed the advice offered in the literature about increasing validity
for such types of questions. According to this experiment, blind subjects
are well aware that restricted access to transit and independent travel is a
major factor in finding and holding employment. They strongly agreed that
the addition of environmental cues, such as RIAS, would greatly increase their
access to public transportation, buildings, and the urban environment and its
opportunities. The high number of people that reported they were willing
to work indicates that more attention should be paid to the causes of unemployment
for this population and that new policies should be considered to ensure more
robust employment than is delivered by the current system of government subsidies.
Public expenditures to ensure more equal access to transit might save
many millions of dollars in direct subsidies and assistance payments and also
could make taxpayers out of some people who now are dependent on tax money for
their basic needs. The population numbers and estimates offered here
were only for those with vision-impairments. Further research could reveal
that other people who have difficulties accessing printed or environmental cues,
such as those persons who are illiterate, dyslexic, or cognitively disabled,
might also benefit from these additional cues. Tne of the goals of ITS
has been to attract more transit users through more efficient information and
use, and these kinds of auditory environmental cues are one way that the information
could be delivered to the general public.
A wide range of benefits was discussed and a cost estimate given for a bus fleet installation. It is important that these numbers not be used as exact estimates, or generalized to the entire population of those with severe vision restrictions, but used as a guide to better understand the magnitude of perceived dis-benefits due to limits on independnent travel.
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