The real problem is infrastructure, not vehicle safety. Roadways are open systems with infinite variables—weather, pedestrians, distracted drivers, and aging infrastructure. Communication between vehicles is minimal, and infrastructure is largely silent—and in that gap lies the potential for deadly collisions.
"If we can get more folks off all the roads and their personal vehicles and use the safer service which our stats show, at least in our service in the cities where we operate, we are contributing to less crashes," Anthony Perez, Waymo's northeast policy manager, stated.
How buildings are designed impacts people's lives every day. If every day you're living in a space where you can't use your home, that gnaws away at you.
The new guidelines released in February suggest that any member of the Advisory Committee for Transit Accessibility "employed by, or affiliated with, an organization that has filed a legal action against the MTA or its subsidiaries and affiliates" can be removed if the MTA determines that affiliation constitutes a conflict of interest.
In 2003, when plumbing fixtures industry veteran Rob Buete first encountered the "walk-in tub" made by a startup called Safety Tub, he burst out laughing. A bathtub with a door? It seemed like a joke, or at best a clunky contraption for frail seniors who couldn't step over a regular tub. Kinya Seto is the CEO of LIXIL, the global manufacturer of pioneering water and housing products, including brands such as GROHE, American Standard, INAX, and Tostem.
He says he paid out of pocket to convert his van to be accessible, which included adding a ramp. Alemu says he made the investment because he wanted to help people with disabilities, and he thought providing accessible and regular taxi service would help business. But Alemu's vehicle is about to age past the city's standards and he says he can't afford to continue his service. He spent about $50,000 on the accessible vehicle in 2015, but it would cost about $130,000 now, he says.
For decades, people with disabilities have relied on service dogs to help them perform daily tasks like opening doors, turning on lights, or alerting caregivers to emergencies. By some estimates, there are 500,000 service dogs in the U.S., but little attention has been paid to the fact that these dogs have been trained to interact with interfaces that are made for humans.
When I moved in here it truly was my last resort. Since living here I feel like I have the same independent life that my friends have and I just don't want to lose that. The guide dog run is probably the most important thing for me. It's a safe and confined area where I feel comfortable taking my dog out, especially at night.
Every city contains two transportation systems. One is the visible network of roads, rail lines, sidewalks, and bus routes mapped in planning documents. The other is the invisible geography of privilege and exclusion embedded within it: the neighborhoods that received highways instead of parks, the communities whose bus routes were cut, the sidewalks that abruptly end at the edge of a district.
