A QUT study has identified key design features that would make autonomous vehicles (AVs) more accessible for people with disabilities, paving the way for more inclusive transport systems.
- People with disabilities would prefer autonomous vehicles (AVs) to be medium-sized with side entry
- Study calls for universal design principles to guide AV development
- Study participants cited many challenges with existing public transport options
Led by Professor Alexander Paz from QUT's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the researchers surveyed 343 Australians with disabilities to understand their experiences with current transport systems and their preferences for AV design.
The researchers said that AVs had been proposed as a transformative solution to enhance mobility for people with disabilities (PwDs) and a potential alternative to public transport.
First author Dr Saeed Jaydarifard said they had first asked participants about their challenges and barriers to using public transport.
"They cited navigating ramps, accessing handholds, securing themselves safely during transit, getting assistance from the driver, dealing with vision or hearing impairments and accessing stops far from their home or destination," Dr Jaydarifard said.
"Other issues they face are overcrowding and limited seating or space available for wheelchairs, and difficulty getting on and off buses and trains."
Dr Jaydarifard said the increased mobility AVs could offer would improve access to healthcare and employment and widen their social engagement for people with disabilities.
"However, little attention has been paid to ensuring the design of AVs enables use by everybody," he said.
"We presented our study participants with four visual options for boarding methods, interior design and exterior appeal.
"Their responses outline specific design recommendations including spacious interiors, non-retractable wheelchair restraints, adaptable seating, and multi-sensory communication systems.
"They preferred side-entry for ease of boarding and disembarking and medium sized AVs to balance space, comfort, and accessibility.
"These features align with established universal design principles which call for equitable use, flexibility, simple and intuitive use, accessible information, tolerance for user error, low physical effort and appropriate size."
Dr Jaydarifard said participants also cited safety, privacy, and familiarity as critical features of AV design for their use.
"More than half of participants were unfamiliar with AVs, and 62 per cent expressed safety concerns.
"Privacy during shared transport was also a major issue, with nearly a quarter feeling unprotected."
Dr Jaydarifard said the findings could inform government policy and industry standards to ensure AVs were inclusive from the outset.
"This research shows that AVs have the potential to transform mobility for people with disabilities, but only if their diverse needs are considered in the design phase," he said.
"We recommend educational campaigns to increase familiarity of AVs and intuitive design features to build trust and confidence for PwDs."
The study was supported by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads.
The research team comprised Dr Jaydarifard, Associate Professor Rafael Gomez, Professor Alexander Paz and James Dwyer from QUT; Kevin Cocks and Alexander Bubke from Accessible Transport Network, Department of Transport and Main Roads, Queensland.
The study, Towards universally designed autonomous people mover: a survey analysis, was published in the journal, Cities.
A relevant previous publication from the team, Enabling mobility and inclusion: Designing accessible autonomous vehicles for people with disabilities, was published in the journal, Cities.
(Image, from left: James Dwyer, Dr Saaed Jaydarifard, Associate Professor Rafael Gomez, Professor Alexander Paz.)
