For the visually impaired in Orange County, navigating the public transportation system just became a little less challenging. OCTA recently unveiled enhancements to its website, www.octa.net, that make it easier to absorb information from the entire thousand-page site.
Public transportation is particularly important to the visually impaired, according to the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). People who are blind or visually impaired cannot drive themselves and often rely on buses, trains or paratransit services for independent travel to work, school, shopping, healthcare and elsewhere.
As people age, vision diminishes. And as huge numbers of Baby Boomers reach their senior years, the need for adaptive technology grows.
Working with Dayle McIntosh, a Garden Grove-based resource center that helps persons with disabilities live independent lives, OCTA’s Digital Communications Team designed three versions of the website to address the diverse needs of those with visual impairments.
One version includes only text; another features text and images but no navigational content like menus, headers and footers. Both allow easy access via text reader so users can listen to the information. The third variation, with white text on a black background, provides heightened contrast for easier reading. To access that version, users simply select “High Contrast” at the top right of any OCTA web page.
Before, during and after creating the three variations, the OCTA team met with Dayle McIntosh to learn what the visually impaired need in order to have a positive experience with the OCTA website. Now, Orange County residents have additional ways to access the transit information they need to successfully complete their journeys.
Monday, October 21, 2013