Speaker 0 00:00:00 Okay. <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:01:01 And hello to my listeners. Thank you for joining disability and progress, where we bring you insights into ideas about and discussions on disability topics. My name is Sam. I'm the host of the show. Thanks so much for tuning in tonight. Oh, awful. Charlene dollars. My research team. Thank you, Charlene. And Annie Harvey is my engineer. Thanks Annie. Good night, everybody. Good evening tonight. We have several people with us. Brea grand Brie is a project manager with Metro transit. Hello, Bri Ken Rogers, Kenna's disability programs, coordinator and ADA title one coordinator for the Minnesota department of transportation. I can good evening. And Janine Stanley Janine is director customer communications, Bert IRA. Hi, Janine pace, Sam. Thanks everyone for joining me. I appreciate it. And um, I think I'm just going to take you for Janine so we can, um, kind of get the descriptions out of the way and then I will move to everyone else, but, um, feel free to join in people when you want, but we're tonight, we're going to be talking about IRA and also about, um, the six month pilot program during which Metro transit, uh, writers can access. Um, it's a popular app on the IRA that some of us know about and it's for people who are blind or visually impaired and it's free. So, um, we'll be talking about that. So let's start out with you Janine. We'll talk about what is IRA? Sure.
Speaker 2 00:02:43 Well, that's a very good question. Sam and IRAs, actually a service. It, we kind of combined humanity and technology. And so we are, um, a smartphone app available on iOS or Android. And we pair that app with a team of trained agents. That's what we call our visual interpreters and they are here to give you instructions, give you directions, give you any visual info that you need using the smartphone camera on your phone. So they're going to use that back facing camera, and they're going to do things like help you navigate maybe to get to the bus stop, to help, you know, uh, what stop your app because a little GPS will pop up. They can read, uh, any just about anything to you, signs, anything like that, that you might need along the way, uh, menus. When you get to the restaurant you might be going to or shopping, et cetera.
Speaker 2 00:03:39 So our agents do a wide variety of things and our services available to anyone. Um, we are always surprised who ends up using our service and finding value in it. We're designed for people who are blind or have low vision, but now we're finding that a lot of people with dyslexia and other learning disabilities really like having somebody there to read things and to interpret things for them. And that was a use we never even thought of, but you know, people are using it and we're happy. And, uh, so that is basically IRA and a big thank you to the Metro transit folks, um, who are trying this program out because having access to transit is fantastic. So thank you all for being in our access network.
Speaker 1 00:04:28 So, um, so that's interesting cause IRA's kind of becoming like, you know, one of those things that you chose for something, you know, someone with a disability, but a lot of people are using it. So, you know, like wheelchair ramps or elevators, anybody can use them. Um, as far as you as a customer care coordinator type thing, what are your responsibilities? What
Speaker 2 00:04:52 Do you do hi to the communications for our customers, which means that I put out our weekly newsletter and we're not having a newsletter this week because we didn't have too many things to announce this week, but wait till next week. Um, I also put up our social media posts, um, Facebook, Twitter, and all of the social media outlets. And then we do a weekly room on clubhouse where we have office hours where the staff come in and we talk to folks about IRA. And so that is a lot of what I do. And I'll be creating some new training material here in the future for IRA.
Speaker 1 00:05:27 What other countries is IRA available in besides the U S oh,
Speaker 2 00:05:32 Sorry, questions. So right now we are officially available in the U S Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK, but we want to be available worldwide to anyone who speaks English because our service right now is English only, but we are working on expanding that. So we have a place on our website where people can go and fill out a form if they live anywhere. But those areas and they would like to have IRA. They can fill out the form, let us know where they are. And then that's how we'll plan our global rollout.
Speaker 1 00:06:04 So you guys, I've seen you do promos. Um, what's the current one for June.
Speaker 2 00:06:12 The current one is fun. So Sam, you have a guide dog, correct? Yes. Yes. Well, our furry friends promo, so you can get one call per day of up to 30 minutes with an agent free to do anything you would like with your animal. You could take a walk, you could get a description of them playing. You could get some cool pictures. You could go shopping for pet supplies, um, anything. And, uh, the agents are loving this one, by the way.
Speaker 1 00:06:42 That's pretty cool. How do you prove that you have a guide dog? Just show me your guy dog. Uh,
Speaker 2 00:06:46 It doesn't matter if it's a guide dog, it can be a guide dog. It can be a pet. It can be any animal that you interact with. Oh, cool. I literally almost ran into a deer the other day on our walking paths. So that was like, that was an unexpected animal.
Speaker 1 00:07:01 Nope. I understand you guys will be at the conventions. We will. And maybe you want to tell us when the ACB conventions American council for the blind and national Federation of the blind is what I'm talking about. Yeah. Um, maybe you'll want to give us the dates of those conventions.
Speaker 2 00:07:20 Sure. And these are both virtual conventions this year and the first one is the national Federation of the blind and they start on July 6th and they run through the 10th. And then the American council of the blind is from the 16th through the 23rd of July. And in between those two, we're at another convention called disability in which is a corporate convention where businesses talk to each other about disability and inclusion strategy. So we're really excited about that. And then we'll be at the head conference after ACB and that's of course the college disability services, uh, department conference. So,
Speaker 1 00:07:58 And I think it's especially great to let people know that now of these conferences currently because of COVID and probably we'll keep going though, um, are now virtual so everyone can join them. Even if you don't have a visual impairment and or note, but maybe know somebody who does and you want to kind of find out more, you can join those conventions too. All right. So how can people find out when you're having your next promo?
Speaker 2 00:08:27 Oh boy. So what you can do, you can download the IRA app and you that's a free download, even if you never use it. And you can do a sign in which is putting in your phone number, you'll get a four digit code to verify. And once you're all signed in, you can go to the more tab and create your profile. And that's where you can put in your email address. And the minute you do that, then you get on our mailing list. So you'll get announcements about, uh, you'll get our weekly newsletter and how you'll find out. And I'm telling you, wait till you see our next, our July promo it's Ooh, fireworks. I can't tell you what it is, but I have a feeling everybody's going to like it.
Speaker 1 00:09:07 Excellent. Um, how do you, I've always wondered this, you know, there's a number of places where you can use IRA free. Um, how do you decide where those places are? Are they, is it just who's willing to sponsor IRA or how do you decide that?
Speaker 2 00:09:27 Well, it's, it's actually a little bit of both, but the primary way that we have IRA free in so many places like target and Starbucks and Walgreens and Metro transit is that those organizations, those businesses come to us and say, we would like to have IRA for our customers. How can we get this started? And so we go into it, a business contract with them, and then they sponsor your free time on IRA to use their services. Now we have some minutes that we, as an organization, um, have available for different things like our monthly agent voted promos, and those are the ones that are for fun. Um, but we also have, for example, a job seeker promo where we've put a bunch of minutes aside for people who are looking for work, because we know that, you know, the unemployment rate for blind people is just atrocious. And if there's anything we can do to help that, you know, we definitely want to be a part of that. So, but the primary way that we get, uh, that free IRA service for everybody is through access and through dealing with the companies. And the other one in your area, of course, is the Minneapolis airport. I think they were our second airport in our airport network.
Speaker 1 00:10:42 Cause then target has three IRA as well
Speaker 2 00:10:45 As target and target.com. Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 00:10:49 All right. Um, I'm going to move on to, um, giving some more info about the transit stuff, but is there anything else you'd like to say about IRA before you, before I move on to Bree and CAG,
Speaker 2 00:11:05 I would suggest everybody, you know, download the app, give it a try, you get free five minutes once a day to give the app a try, and then you can buy one of our plans. Or if you are a member of either of the organizations that Sam mentioned, a national Federation of the blind American council of the blind, we have some special rates for those folks. So,
Speaker 1 00:11:26 And just to let people know these people who are giving you instructions or reading or giving you directions, they are trained,
Speaker 2 00:11:34 Yes. You go through intensive training and that's continuous training. So once they're on the phones that will continue throughout their career with us. So
Speaker 1 00:11:45 They're, and about how long, how long a training do they get before they start
Speaker 2 00:11:49 Is between two and four weeks, depending on how quickly they move through the, um, some people pick it up right away. Other people, you know, take their time and then they are coached while they're on the phones for a little bit kind of like any customer service job. But, um, these are folks that are just, you'll never hear them say it's over there. Yeah. I hear that from Iraq, right?
Speaker 1 00:12:13 Oh, I can't tell you how many people that know me that say that drives me exactly.
Speaker 2 00:12:19 Well, I can tell you if our agents say it, then you'll know what they're talking about.
Speaker 1 00:12:25 Well, thank you so much for, um, giving us that quick description. So we're going to move on to talk a little bit about, um, the Metro transits pilot offer with IRA that, um, we're going to be doing now. So Bri, can you talk a little bit about that? Yes, absolutely. Um, so as you engineered mentioned earlier, Metro transit is piloting the use of IRA for customers. We began our pilot on June 7th and it's a six month pilots. So between the months or between June 7th and December 7th, anyone who uses IRF for assistance with their Metro transit trip can do so for free. Um, this includes their entire journey from when they leave their front door to when they arrive at their destination. It also encompasses any Metro transit modes. So bus light, rail, commuter rail, and it's available throughout our entire service area, 24 7. So how did Metro transit decide that this was a need to do something like this?
Speaker 1 00:13:39 Sure. Well, we know that lack of wayfinding information, um, for our facilities in general is the known customer pain point, but particularly for our blind and low vision customers. Um, we've received feedback in the past from blind and low-vision customers about various wayfinding and navigation challenges. Um, for example, trying to identify boarding locations at a large transit center where there are many stops or locations where there might be a stop in the middle of the black instead of at the corners, um, or there's of course the unexpected disruptions, you know, construction on the street or, um, snow or inclement weather, all sorts of other challenges that can make wayfinding and navigation difficult mobs. So we wanted to make sure that our wayfinding information is provided in formats that are accessible for customers who are blind and low vision. And so we thought that this would be a good opportunity to, um, try out IRA to provide this service.
Speaker 1 00:14:44 Um, we do have a transit information call center who, uh, w and the representatives in that call do provide assistance over the phone for trip planning, and they do help blind and low efficient customers with navigation. However, they don't have, um, the ability to video chat with our customers, or, um, you know, know what the live situation on the street might be. So, um, there was a gap there, and that's what we're hoping that, um, we can solve for by using IRA. I do want to, um, because I know sometimes bus stops are in various places and the platforms for, um, the light rail are in various places. I want to go over the rule about traffic that IRA has in regards to what they can and can help you with in regards to crossing streets and traffic stuff, would either any of you be aware of that and be able to state those rules?
Speaker 2 00:15:47 Absolutely. Sam, um, this is Janine and we changed our traffic policy and November of, and let me make sure I get this right 2019. So it's been a while since we changed it, but many people were familiar with us, not saying anything. Once you have stepped into the street. Well, we've changed that a little because we realized that many of our customers ran into difficulty in the streets. So, um, as you're standing up the crossing, you can ask your agent any amount of information to figure out that crossing. They can tell you when the light changes, but they will not tell you when it is safe to step off the curb, because that's something that they can't reliably judge with the bit of latency there. So now once you're in the street, um, they can tell you if you're veering, they can tell you very concisely so that you can listen to everything else.
Speaker 2 00:16:41 Uh, how far you are from the next curb, or if there is traffic, if they can see you going out into traffic or traffic coming toward you, they're going to try to alert you of that or anything in your path. Like I sorta Brie or something like that. If they can see it or a car that's pulled up into the, the crossing lane. So that's changed a little bit. And the default setting is don't say anything. And if you would like information, while you're crossing, you can just let your agent know, and they will give that to you at each crossing, um, throughout your trip. So that can make people, you know, much more comfortable. And it's really helpful for when you have the platforms in the middle of the street, um, where you board, I believe you folks have street cars, right. And where are you bored? Those where you have to get on the trains and things like that in the middle of the street, that can be really unnerving for folks,
Speaker 1 00:17:35 Right? Well, it can get sticky with the light rail things and the platforms and knowing where they are, and same with the bus stops and stuff like that. Um, w what I want to know, um, Bree is the offer, is it, is it for all over Minnesota or just in the twin cities? Or how far does that extend? Sure. It's for the Metro transits service area. So primarily the twin cities, um, the, the offer I should mention, although it's a pilot offer, a big part of, um, what we're doing is evaluating the service through customer feedback. Um, we've been, we conducted focus groups before the pilot started, and we'll be following up with focus groups and, um, wider distributed surveys afterward. And that will help inform us about, um, making a recommendation about using IRA for a longer term period. So, um, Ken, have you used IRA for your travels?
Speaker 3 00:18:37 I have actually, and I actually just, uh, took a trip, uh, Wednesday, uh, yesterday, um, from my home to the mall of America. Um, and partially one of the reasons why I wanted to do that was to check out the service number one. Um, and secondly is I, I work and I work every day and I have, I'm a commuter. So I take every day, I get up in the morning and take a bus to the train, take a train to St. Paul, go to work. Um, and then at the end of the day, reverse that, take a train into downtown Minneapolis and take the bus home. Um, so I'm pretty comfortable traveling on, uh, the transit system. Um, but because of COVID, we've all been working remotely for 18 months and I have not, um, had my dog challenged for this time. Very often we do. I still work with them every once in a while to keep those skills fresh. But, um, you don't quite frankly, my competence level has dwindled over the last 18 months. Exactly. And, and so I really wanted to give it a try and it made it much more comfortable knowing that I had eyes on my phone that I could use to make sure that if I got myself into a bind, I had a way to comfortably get out of that situation safely.
Speaker 1 00:20:07 D what do you feel the most valuable thing is that they tend to be able to help you with,
Speaker 3 00:20:13 Um, you know, as you know, we all travel and rely very heavily on what we hear in our environment, the sounds of traffic, the sounds of buildings, the sounds of carts that, you know, it sound is really important to us. And when you're around a bus, a bus makes a very loud noise and it can overpower some of the other sounds in your environment. And that could just make things really uncomfortable sometimes. Uh, sometimes it's, short-lived, sometimes you might be passing through a construct, a zone, and there's lots of outside construction noise that really hinders what you're able to hear. And it just gives you that level of uncomfortable in your gut. That makes you question, are you doing the right thing? Are you, are you moving in the right direction and having this, um, ability to have someone cited, tell you, or confirm to you that you're going in the right direction, or to identify what might be an obstacle, all of a sudden, um, that is a level of comfort that I am telling you it's worth every dollar that you can put towards it to be able to be comfortable in our environment is probably one of the reasons when I first lost my sight.
Speaker 3 00:21:34 One of the reasons why I oftentimes chose to stay home and not go out, because I just didn't feel comfortable. There was this level of, of, uh, not being totally safe, that would stop me from venturing out. And, um, this really takes that away. It gives me the, the comfort that I always have somebody that has working eyes that can guide me and tell me what I'm experiencing or what I'm seeing, or what's in my way, um, and guide me through those. So oftentimes, you know, as we travel, we might encounter, uh, construction on, on the sidewalk and have to figure out on our own how we, how do we navigate that by being able to pull up the IRA app and get a virtual interpreter? Um, I don't have to guess anymore. They just guide me and it makes it a very smooth process. I don't have added stress and anxiety. I'm calm and cool. And I get to my location. I'm not frazzled. It's, it's just a level of safety that is so refreshing.
Speaker 1 00:22:36 Yes. Makes you wonder why it took so long for, I were to be, you know, invented to have the right
Speaker 2 00:22:46 Group of people, I think
Speaker 3 00:22:48 Exactly. And, you know, I have, um, I have been an IRA Explorer, um, practically from the beginning I've, I've had the different sets of glasses that have been used in the past and, uh, all through the iterations of advancement in technology. Um, and I love being able to, just to whip out my phone, put in my earphones call and get immediate assistance. It's so comfortable. And even if, if I'm on the train and I'm pretty comfortable, I know where my stop is. I know what I need to do. It's there's commotion on the train. I can just quietly plug in and get a description of what's going on and nobody needs to know what I'm doing. I, and it makes me feel safer.
Speaker 1 00:23:31 Um, so I remember the beginning, they had a lot to do with the glasses. I believe they're not doing that so much anymore. Janine,
Speaker 2 00:23:41 We had to discontinue our classes. We initially, we started out with Google glass, the original Google class, and then we moved up to another type of glass, similar to that. And then we decided we were going to build our own glasses. So we made the horizon kit, which was the glasses were literally tethered to a galaxy J seven, a Android phone. And that hooked up with whatever smartphone you had. And it was a good system until it wasn't and things in technology go obsolete very quickly. And this one did, and people began to have a lot of connection problems and we couldn't fix it. And we said, you know what? This is not fair to people. This is a terrible experience. So we are not going to build glasses anymore. Um, what we're going to do is look for a mainstream manufacturer. And so we are talking to many, many people out there, including the folks at envision AI about their glasses.
Speaker 2 00:24:38 We are looking forward to seeing if apple comes out with something, um, that would be amazing. We're also looking at little cameras like the GoPro to see how that might interface with our app. And if there's going to be the power that we need there, because our app does take a good bit of power using the video and using all the tools that the agents are using while they're talking to you. Cause they have a GPS, they can pull up. They also go out online and research things on Google. Um, they look up videos on YouTube. They will go to the Metro transit site and look up information. Um, they're just a many, many things that they're doing in the background during that haul that take a little bit of computer power for
Speaker 1 00:25:22 Talk about, I want to jump back, breathe. You said you're going to take, um, you know, get some feedback after December. I believe it was, but this finishes that goes from now till December, what, December 7th, and then you're going to collect feedback and what will you do with that feedback? You said decide. But if this needs to be a longer term solution, but how do you decide that? Yeah, that's a great question. So we, um, as I mentioned, we conducted some focus groups before the beginning of the pilot with, with several blind and low vision customers, just to get a, sort of a baseline of what the current challenges for navigating our system are, um, hear their experiences and understand what some of those obstacles they face currently are. And at the end of the pilot period, we'll be following up with those individuals for some of those more in-depth conversations to, um, gain more insight into, uh, you know, in comparison to what they had told us at the beginning of the pilot, how using IRA throughout the course of the pilot may have, um, alleviated some of those obstacles or challenges.
Speaker 1 00:26:41 And then in addition to those more focused discussions with customers, we've been working with various local organizations, such as vision loss resources, Minnesota state services for the blind American council of the blind Minnesota, et cetera, to help spread the word about this pilot and offer to their members. And we'll be, um, connecting with them at the end of the pilot to help disseminate a wider, broader survey for additional customer feedback. And really what we're hoping to gain is insight into, you know, to what degree did IRA provide the navigation assistance needed to allow the customer to feel safe and comfortable throughout the course of their journey using Metro transit. So
Speaker 3 00:27:34 This is Ken, can I, can I just pick you back for a minute? Um, you know, so as you know, cause you and I are both, uh, active participants in being advisors in the transportation area. Um, especially at Metro transit, we often are providing our feedback from a blindness low vision perspective that many planners, uh, that work on projects may or may not be familiar with. So we're often educating people, um, uh, about improvements to the projects that Metro transit does. Um, with the focus for me, especially on safety, I look at everything from a lens of, is that safe for me? Do I feel safe doing that activity and taking public transportation should feel safe? Um, there are lots of ways that it doesn't feel safe that are just kind of part of the environment we live in today. Um, but there are things that we can, if there are technologies we can use that make the use of using public transportation, um, safer for us, and we feel more comfortable at it.
Speaker 3 00:28:46 That's a plus that is such a plus, um, in my world the way I look at things that, um, you know, in a perfect world, we could ask for excited at guide to guide us all the way through the Metro transit, but that's just ridiculous, right? We couldn't do that. And having a service like this really just matches, um, raising a level of comfort and safety that users can have. And I, when I'm hoping is I know a lot of blind people, as I'm sure you do that are just not comfortable and feel safe by traveling by themselves. And I'm hoping this will be, uh, some, some, um, method to help them feel a little safer and let them experiment do through this pilot project so that they can feel comfortable using public transportation to get around and not be, uh, so relegated to just wherever they feel comfortable.
Speaker 1 00:29:40 And I do, I, I do want to state, you know, you're, we're going to have the diehards out there. This is not a replacement tool for mobility, and that's true. It's totally true. But you, we all have had the time where we go to cross street and we find this big fence or a cone or something, because guess what, it's been blocked out because there was construction and not the lights changed. And now you got to turn around. Now you gotta figure out, okay, how do I get across the street again? So we've all had that happen. And, um, I think that this is really, I think of it as an improvement on, you know, being able to, to do independent travel, you know, without having dangerous stuff, which you have all around you all the time anyway. And even now I think even more so, but there's so many things that I see IRA that can be used for. So Bri, um, depending I I'm presuming this is like anything, depending if you get the right answers and if IRA ends up helping people substantial amount, you might string this on for a longer term solution, um, who, who flips the bill for that?
Speaker 1 00:30:58 Um, well, you know, I had to go there. Well, the, the transit information department, the department that I'm a part of is, um, paying for this service currently, we are, um, what we'll be doing since the pilot concludes at the end of the year is again making that recommendation. And, um, you know, assuming that the recommendation is to move forward with using IRA for an additional year, which is what is currently, um, structured as part of our agreement with IRA is to have an optional extension for an additional year. We will plan for, um, for looking to procure budget for the 20, 22 year to be able to continue IRA service. Now I'm doing it because I'm in on this, you know, this little offer here, but anybody can do it. Right? Correct. You have to use transit such as bus light rail. Um, but if you didn't, if you weren't in on the promo thing, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 1 00:32:08 You can still download the app and, and use that app and do that and, and get in on, um, hopefully filling out, you know, how did this help you stuff? Yes, absolutely. Um, we, you know, as you mentioned, the, the app, um, is available and free to use for anyone using Metro transit. So, um, not just the participants in the focus group, but, but anybody out there who wishes to use it. And as Janine alluded to earlier that, um, the IRA has found that some customers, um, potentially those with cognitive disabilities, um, or other challenges there, you know, we want to make sure that, that this opportunity, although it was, um, initiated to improve service for our blind and low-vision customers, it is available to anyone who wishes to use it and can find it helpful. So you go to the app store, find the IRA app downloaded, then what do you do? Yes. So on the IRA home screen, you tap the free access offer and then select browse other offers at the bottom of the screen. And then there are a list of selections. The second one is products. So you tap on products and then can scroll to the Metro transit offer and tap that to select it. And then you'll be ready to call IRA using our Metro transit access offer. And so, oh, go
Speaker 3 00:33:41 Ahead. I was just going to say, I have a little work around for that. There's a lot of scrolling and looking for things in that process, and there's nothing wrong with that. That's probably the correct way to do it, but I have a little work around, uh, that I'd like to share for people to make it just a little bit easier. So when, when I opened my IRA app, there is a call IRA for free button. I click on that. My call goes through, I get connected to an agent and I identify to the agent that I'm using Metro transit, which is a free access site in this, in our city. And they look it up and typically what happened for me. So I don't have to do the scrolling. Right. I figured out an easier way to do that. And, um, I'm reading my mind.
Speaker 2 00:34:27 I was going to give you that you can always activate the free offer for you. Okay.
Speaker 3 00:34:33 Absolutely. And something else to share with folks. So I've had a little experience in different areas of experimenting with IRA. So the city of Minneapolis, um, did a pilot project using IRA for city services, the city of Minneapolis last year. And they, uh, included city hall target center, the convention center and Nicholas mall as the area of free access. And all of that's done, um, with technology geo-fencing is, is a fancy word that, that I re uses to indicate GPS locations, where that service is free. And oftentimes, like if you walk into a target store and you turn on your app or call an agent, it pops up that this is a free access site. So it understands, it reads that. Um, so it knows that, but when I used, I, I wrote on Metro transit, I went to the light rail station and called IRA, and it was not showing up as a pre access.
Speaker 3 00:35:35 So that's to tell them, yeah, so the, the agent did find it and say, yep, I'm, I'm making this an access, a free access call. But what we discovered was when I got to the mall of America, it also didn't show up as a free IRA access site. So what he looked up though, was the geo-fencing and the geo-fencing was all around me, but there were bubbles. So there needs to be some fine tuning with our geo-fencing technology that I have, I've reported that to Doug already. So I would imagine, uh, when he gets back from wherever he is right now, um, that we'll be fine tuned, but so I just want people to know, um, don't fear, just ask your agent to look it up and they'll consider that, or frequently
Speaker 2 00:36:20 You can change that geo-fencing literally in minutes. So that is not a problem for us. And we find that, you know, around the country, like whenever we, uh, enabled all the Starbucks stores, you know, if there were a lot of geo-fencing that we went, oh, wait, wait, that's, you know, make the geo-fencing and Copa encompass the parking lot, because that's the most dangerous place when you're going to say Taylor, is that right? Yeah. And then, you know, we found like the one store that we had missed somehow, because it was one of our customers. So if you are going to a spot that, you know, should be in the system and it's not, um, please give us a call. Um, and who would they call Bree at Metro transit to ask about things like this?
Speaker 1 00:37:07 You can absolutely call me. Yeah. Awesome. Um, one thing I should just mention too, um, is, you know, when we set up this with IRA and, um, provided locations for geo-fencing, you know, we have over 12,000 individuals, <inaudible>
Speaker 1 00:37:31 Every individual staff or location. So, um, we had to focus on our larger facilities in our park and rides our transit centers, that sort of thing, like mall of America, as you mentioned. So, um, so only the larger locations are likely to be geo-fenced and, um, have that offer pop up directly. So that's why, you know, we want to make sure that I'm glad you pointed out that people can call an agent and let them know that they're utilizing the service for Metro transit. Um, but if there are issues with some of those larger locations, you know, please absolutely let us know about that or want to make sure that we're encompassing the facilities as best we can. Yeah. Um, I do want to ask about the trip length. I know that sometimes you said it's from outside your door to your destination. Let's say though, you're going to have a 25 minute bus ride.
Speaker 1 00:38:26 Should you, can you use IRA from beginning truly to end, or is it okay to, you know, stop the call when you get on the bus and then start it back up when you're getting off and what are the pros and cons of that as far as the ability to use it for the entire trip? Um, the answer is yes. Um, I guess it's up to the person using the service, um, as to whether or not they want to stay on the call or, or jump off and then back on, uh, later during their, their journey. Um, I guess I would maybe ask Ken or Janine for any feedback or experience they've heard from people who have used the service and stayed on a call for a longer duration of time <inaudible>
Speaker 3 00:39:17 They do? So I think it's really a user preference. Um, we're going to have some individuals in our community that are just more comfortable being connected. And even though I may look at it a little differently, I look at it and I'm sorry, can you still hear me okay. Yeah. Sorry. I hit something and everything's talking. Okay. Um, so I, I am really cognizant of, uh, kind of, I don't want to call it wasting, but using time that I don't necessarily need. So when I boarded the train to go to the mall of America, I boarded in downtown Minneapolis and that's about a 25, 30 minute ride. So I just, once I got settled, I hung up and then I recalled when I was approaching my destination. And, but I think it's, it's a great opportunity that Metro transit is letting the user make that call. And if that helps somebody feel more comfortable, it might be something they need a lot in the beginning. And then as they feel more comfortable in using the system, they may learn that they don't need that connect time all the time. And that that's a way to help people kind of grow into using the service. And that's
Speaker 2 00:40:34 Very much what we see can from around the country, the different transit systems that we have deployed the sin, you know, many people will initially start with the whole trip and then they'll just pick parts of the trip and that's fine. And sometimes it's just nice to know what you're passing on the way, you know, I've written this bus through this part of town forever. I had no idea, you know, that, that great barbecue place was on the corner. And let's
Speaker 1 00:41:01 Say you clicked off to get back on later. How about how long does it usually take to get a hold of the IRA aid? Our
Speaker 2 00:41:09 Fridge? Yeah. Our average call time is around 25 seconds to get an agent right now. Um, we're trying to get that down as quick as we can. So yeah, it all, it feels like a long time when you're sitting there and you're hearing, let's see if I can cue it up here. My IRA noise.
Speaker 5 00:41:28 Oh,
Speaker 1 00:41:29 Very nice. Okay. Well at least it's not too annoying. Okay. So Bri, I'm just curious with, when, you know, we all kind of walk through downloading the app and getting on the app. Is there anything other special that we have to know besides just identifying where using the Metro transit, uh, promotion? Uh, Nope. There shouldn't be. Um, you know, one thing I would just mention is for new users and Janine mentioned this earlier as well, but, um, because IRA offers a free five minutes a day, um, every single day for, for any user out there. Um, it's been recommended to me by some of the IRA team that, that, um, for, for new users, if it's helpful for them to try it in a location that they might be comfortable with in their own home, for example, um, they could try using the free five minutes a day and make sure that they're comfortable using the app before venturing out on a journey, but as far as, yeah, but as far as, um, needing to know anything else, um, Nope, once they're connected and they've established that they're utilizing the Metro transit access offer, they should be good to go.
Speaker 1 00:42:45 So Ken and Janine, I want you each to tell me what has been your trickiest trip that you've used IRA for? Oh boy.
Speaker 2 00:42:57 Well, Ken, I would love to hear yours.
Speaker 3 00:43:00 I, I do have, um, a very frustrating story was early on, uh, the airport, uh, first became an access site. Um, gosh, they'd been a site for awhile now, but when they first turned, when they first turned that on, um, I was, uh, traveling somewhere and I was by myself and using iRead and the infrastructure at the airport with it's with this wifi connection all throughout there for, you know, we have a huge airport, it's just giant, giant, many floors, many directions, uh, you know, hundreds and hundreds of gates. And I was going, as I traveled, I kept losing the signal and the call would drop and I would, I would have to stop and recall redial and get connected again. And most of the time it was, I was able to reconnect with the agent I was on. Um, so we just continued, but I'd walked a few, uh, gates and then it would drop off again. And it wasn't IRA. It was the wifi infrastructure at the airport that needed to be bolstered. And it was a very frustrating trip to get to my gate. I was of course at the very end of a very long terminal. And, um, and it kept bombing out. And by the end, I just wanted to throw my phone on the floor and smash up, but it, but I got there, you know, and today it's a very different experience. That's a very experience at the airport, um, since the infrastructure was fixed.
Speaker 1 00:44:37 That's great. So, um, how do you know like which way to hold your phone so they can see, ah, cause you know, to see the gates there's you gotta be able to see what gate
Speaker 2 00:44:51 You're at. Yeah. Well, our agents are really good about telling you exactly how to hold your phone. So you're going to hold it with the screen facing you. So that outward facing camera is looking out and sometimes it might be better to put it in portrait mode, you know, where you've got it up and down or in landscape where it's sideways and you can use different things like lanyards and neck mounts and things like that to hold your phone while you're moving. So you have use of your hands, but your eight gins will definitely tell you, can you tilt your phone up just a little, can you move it down right. Left? Um, and they are very good at those directions. Now. I wish I was better at obeying those directions, honestly, you know, we do. But if a sighted person says go left, I go. Right. Cause that's usually what they meant, right? Yes.
Speaker 4 00:45:42 Right. Yes. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:45:44 I know. That's amazing when you find one that actually gets it right. You're like, crap. Oh wait,
Speaker 2 00:45:51 You did it. You were right. I just thought you were wrong.
Speaker 1 00:45:55 Um, do you mean, how about you? Did you have, uh, can I, I can almost emphasize that, although I would have thought your mall of America, to me that feels like an overwhelming spot where you have to get off, especially with all those buses here in that area with it echoes so loud and it feels like overwhelmed. Like how do I know where to go?
Speaker 3 00:46:17 Yeah. But that, that's where the beauty of the agent's work really shines because I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. And you're absolutely right. The minute you step off the train, you're on the platform, you hear all those buses Eileen next to you. And there's a large number of them and they're moving. Some of them are moving. Some of them are stationary and it's a large, echo-y kind of parking structure, everything echoes. And it's really, really easy to get distracted. Um, but the agents are so good about identifying what they're seeing and what's in front of you and moved here, right? Or moved here, left or whatever you need, whatever they need you to do. They're really good at that. And it's, it's not in a panicked voice, it's in a calm, comfortable voice that helps you remain calm. And it's just a beautiful service.
Speaker 2 00:47:12 I love hearing that. Well, my adventure was, I was actually doing a training with our agent training department. So we were training new agents and we had gone through bus travel and I went to our new little transit center. That's near my house and I live in Columbus, Ohio. And so I got on the bus and I remembered that there was a bus stop right outside my particular neighborhood. And I thought, okay, great. I'll just get off at that bus stop. Well, that bus stop wasn't there anymore. And the only bus stop was across a six lane road. And you know, I said, okay, you guys I'm really sorry, but now we're going, real-world here. And so how are you going to help me get across the six lane road? Oh, I was terrified, but thank goodness. I had a nice, dirty little guy dog and the agents were great and nothing horrible happened, but wow. That was one of those, oh, I should have really checked.
Speaker 1 00:48:14 Yeah. That's and it's tricky too. If the streets, you know, are kind of angled when you cross one way and you kind of got to go a little bit angled to get to the next other side. Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:48:27 And this was back to the freeway ramp right down the road.
Speaker 4 00:48:32 If I make it across here,
Speaker 2 00:48:34 Those pedestrians should not cross your signs, but I thought, okay, at least they're going to be able to tell me what I'm facing here as I'm going across this thing. And we made it and, uh, you know, and that was a big confidence booster, but you really nailed it. Ken, when you said a lot of people will use IRA heavily initially, and then, you know, they'll call back in and they've already done a route and they're now at the store or wherever it is, they used to go with IRA. They they're already there.
Speaker 3 00:49:06 Yeah. So, and, and I don't, uh, I don't mean to hijack our conversation or anything, but I I'm a big thinker. And I, um, you know, I I'd like to believe that the reason why Metro transit has now engaged in this pilot project with Iris because two and a half years ago, when Metro transit changed the transit hub for the S for the state fair, um, and moved everything to one giant location, one giant transportation hub. I saw that as a safety nightmare. Um, how are people blind? People gonna know where their buses, they, they know they've been dropped off, but how are they going to find a long line of buses and hundreds of buses? So I had conversations with Doug back then about strategizing about how we might make it a little safer for blind travelers. And I mentioned IRA, um, there wasn't enough time to turn it around in time for that particular state fair and rollout of that transit hub.
Speaker 3 00:50:08 And then COVID hit and the discussion just sort of ended. So I just thought that was kind of a dead idea. And then all of a sudden, um, it was brought forward that, that this was going to be something that, that Metro transit wanted to pilot. And I was, I was static. But the other thing that I think that's critically important here is we as a blind community, have the opportunity to leverage this to our advantage and use this as an example, to share with other entities that we would like them to become free IRA access sites like the state Capitol. Um, we do a lot of, uh, testifying for legislation and our state Capitol is another nightmare building with lots of halls and lots of directions and rooms and echos and rotundas. Um, so, um, we were working on some legislation to get IRA as a pilot project at the state legislature, uh, before COVID, and now everything's kind of halted. So I'm hoping that we're going to be able as a community to leverage some of these, uh, target Walgreens, uh, Starbucks airport, and now Metro transit and help, uh, others see the value in this type of accessibility for blind, uh, citizens. Um, so I have big, important, um, goals that I'm going to try to work this. I love it. I love it. Maybe you all can be
Speaker 2 00:51:34 Another one of our Iris cities. We have a Milwaukee of course, just a little south of you all and then Miami beach. And Hey, I'd love to add Minneapolis St. Paul to that. That'd be awesome. Getting that transit piece is huge though, because you know, that's what gets people. And the thing with IRA folks is it's on your terms. You don't have to wait for a sighted person if you need assistance or you need information, you just call right there.
Speaker 1 00:52:03 So Bri, how can somebody find out more about this, this offer? Um, we do have information on our website, but if people simply visit ira.io/app, so it's a, I R a.io/app, um, that will take them to the appropriate download link in any app store so they can get started. And Deneen real quick. Are there any new things coming out that IRA is doing differently? Oh
Speaker 2 00:52:35 Boy. Well, there will be come Q4 as they say in the business world. So, uh, com you know, uh, October, you will probably by then, or at least by the end of this year, you'll see some major changes with IRA. Um, we're doing some revamping, we're doing work on the Android app. So those of you who are Android users are going to see that. Um, and we're going to get past the conventions first though. That's going to be an all hands on deck, but we love that because that's where we meet our people and, you know, next year, hopefully we'll all be together again in person with some virtual, uh, folks joining us as well. So that will be exciting.
Speaker 1 00:53:17 Excellent. Excellent. Is there
Speaker 3 00:53:20 Oh 10? Yeah. Yeah. I was just going to say, I would like to invite listeners that are intrigued by using IRA or who have experienced using IRA and would like to think about how they might promote this in their own little circles. I had a meeting earlier today with one of the theaters in Minneapolis, um, a very prominent theater that focuses on the disability audience as one of their primary core values. And I pitched the idea of, um, we could help people feel more comfortable in our space if we offered the theater footprint as a pre IRA accents, and they were intrigued by that. Um, and, and I've used the example of, you know, I could go to the theater by myself. I could feel comfortable. I know where the restrooms are. They're upstairs. I know how to get there. I'm comfortable in that space.
Speaker 3 00:54:13 Cause I use it for quite a while, but a new person coming to the theater, um, might not know that. And they might feel uncomfortable and not know how they might need to get to a bathroom if they needed one or a service of some other way. And to have that availability, um, for them would really help them feel much more comfortable. So I think we all have the ability in our own spaces to share the value of things we really appreciate and count on, um, to help spread the word. But I would encourage people to think about that in, in those terms. Um, and if you ever have an idea and you don't know how to get it going, I'm happy to talk to you and, and see what we can do together.
Speaker 1 00:54:58 Excellent. Is there anything else you'd like to leave anybody with? Sure. I guess I'll just say that, you know, Petro transit is really committed to improving accessibility for our customers. And so, uh, we greatly appreciate the support of Iran and, um, users like Ken and, um, appreciate the opportunity to help spread the word and hope that we get as many people using our offer as possible. Thank you everyone so much for being on. I really appreciate it. This has been disability
Speaker 6 00:55:31 And progress. The views expressed on the show are not necessarily those of cafe or its board of directors. My name is Sam I'm. The I've been the host of the show with Charlene doll is my research team. Andy Harvey is my engineer. We've been speaking with Brie grant. Bree is a project manager with Metro transit. Ken Rogers. Ken is the disability programs coordinator and ADA title, one coordinator for the Minnesota department of transportation and also Janine Stanley Jeanine is the director, customer communications person for IRA. If you want to be on my email list, you can email
[email protected] and find out what's coming up, um, or just tune in next week as well. Good night. <inaudible>.
