The app Resledaren makes it easier to travel with public transport, especially for people with cognitive disabilities such as adhd and autism. With extra memory support and an overview of the journey, the app provides the support many people need to travel independently on public transport. Now the developers behind Resledaren are taking the next step with the new project Dit-i-tid (There-on-time).
The Resledaren app was born three years ago during Trafiklab’s Travelhack innovation competition, where developers competed during 24 hours to create services that improve public transport. IT consultants Hampus Sethfors and Joel Holmberg won by developing a prototype of Resledaren together.
We both have relatives with adhd and aspergers, so we knew how limiting it is to not be able to get around on public transport on our own. At the same time, we saw that the technology we needed was in place, so we went ahead with Resledaren," says Joel Holmberg.
The service works throughout Sweden and reminds the user when it is time to leave home and what is good to take with them. It provides an overview of the journey by showing all stations to be passed and where to change or get off. During the journey, the service notifies when it is time to exit the vehicle and guides the user all the way to the final destination.
People with cognitive impairment often have difficulties with time perception, short-term memory, orientation, problem solving and flexibility. This makes it difficult for them to travel alone, while many do not qualify for transport services. The service compensates for these impairments and is one of the puzzle pieces needed to make society accessible to all, says Joel.
The app was launched in 2014 and has won several awards. The target audience is large, and the app has currently been downloaded over 10,000 times. In Sweden, about 10% of the population has some form of cognitive impairment, but more people than that benefit from the service.
Many people with visual impairments use Resledaren because standard journey planners are not built to allow users to, for example, zoom in or have text read to them. In addition, many people without disabilities use the app, people who simply want to be helped with reminders in stressful everyday situations, Joel says.
With the experience from Resledaren Joel Holmberg and Hampus Sethfors launched a new project, toghether with the autism expert Anna Sjödin: Dit-i-tid (There-in-time). It’s an API that organisers of meetings, events and other activities connect to in order to send out reminder SMS messages with travel suggestions, information about the event and much more.
Dit-i-tid på en smartphoneDit-i-tid is for anyone who cares that all visitors can get there on time, or might lose out if customers don’t turn up, such as healthcare providers or cultural organisers. Dit-i-tid has all the useful functionality of the Resledare, but is essentially a different type of service. Users don’t have to download an app, but the organiser sends the reminders which then become the gateway to all other functionality.
Both the Resledaren and Dit-i-tid use open data from Trafiklab.
The biggest challenge with Resledaren has been funding, so free open public transport data has been a prerequisite for our projects to become a reality. With more stable data of good quality, Developer-Sweden will be able to make even more useful services.
Dit-i-tid will be launched next year.
Resledaren på en smartphoneFACTS ABOUT RESLEDAREN
Launched in: 2014
Type of service: Travel planning-app with extra support for people with cognitive dysfunction, duch as ADHD or autism.
Data from Trafiklab: SL Route planner, SL Real time, SL Stop lookout, ResRobot Travel planner
User count: More then 10 000 downloads