AUSTIN — Walking in downtown Austin can already be dangerous to begin with.
Martin Kareithi has done it for years with his cane.
"I'm a regular bus user,” he said. “Have been for a long time -- many, many years.”
On Friday, Kareithi walked through downtown Austin's streets using audio, step-by-step instructions from his phone.
"Nearest crossing is San Antonio Street and West Fourth Street,” the app's voice said.
Kareithi is blind and the program manager for Capital Metro’s Smart Beacon program, which helps blind and low vision people get to bus stops through the Blind Square app.
The app narrates when the bus will arrive, where it will arrive, if there's a closure, and how to get to the stop.
"We want to be able to facilitate anyone's ability to be able to use our system to the extent that they can,” said Kareithi.
CapMetro is partnering with tech companies Connecthings and BlueCats. The Smart Beacon program uses Bluetooth technology to transmit data between buses and phones.
Their tools provide accessibility.
"Some folks with disabilities, they face these barriers,” said Kareithi. “When we put tools like this out there, it helps break those barriers down, and give folks the independence, the confidence, the comfort and ease to go and take advantage of the things the community has to offer."
The program is being tested on 15 bus stops downtown. The pilot is supposed to finish at the end of May – but based on the feedback they receive – CapMetro may permanently implement it.
CapMetro is getting feedback from the National Federation for the Blind, the Texas School for the Blind, the Austin Council for the Blind, and the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center in Austin.
And though crossing the street is still risky, at the very least, Kareithi has an additional tool by using the app, which helps.
"You're afraid the first couple times,” Kareithi said about walking on downtown’s streets. “But that goes away.”