{"id":5679,"date":"2021-04-15T15:59:14","date_gmt":"2021-04-15T19:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/?p=5679"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:10:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T16:10:40","slug":"building-a-more-accessible-transportation-future-podcast-transcript","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sw.siemens.com\/thought-leadership\/building-a-more-accessible-transportation-future-podcast-transcript\/","title":{"rendered":"Building a More Accessible Transportation Future: Podcast Transcript"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meeting the Needs of the Moblity Challenged.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Listen to Building More Acessible Transportation Future Podcast HERE<\/strong><\/font>\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Something we rely on every day is mobility. Whether it\u2019s the capability of our own two feet, our access to public transportation, or our physical and mental ability to operate a vehicle, mobility allows us freedom and independence. But, it\u2019s something many of us probably take for granted. The usual methods don\u2019t actually work for everyone. As we leap into the next generation of transportation technology, we have a unique opportunity to think differently about design. We can create solutions that allow everyone to get from A to B with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the transcript of the episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>For most of us, going to the store for groceries or driving across town to get a haircut is something we don\u2019t think too much about. We grab our purse or wallet, try to remember where we left the car keys, then get in, buckle up, start the engine, and we\u2019re off! We have independence and many choices of transportation. Those of us who can simply hop into any car, bus, or train might take mobility for granted. But for many people, getting around isn\u2019t so simple. Transportation comes with a unique set of challenges especially for those with physical or mental health conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way vehicles are designed must be adapted for all of us to enjoy the pleasures of mobility independence. And unfortunately, one solution doesn\u2019t fit everyone. As new transportation technology evolves such as autonomous vehicles , micro mobility and everything between, an opportunity exists to better serve the transportation needs of a wider range of people regardless of their capabilities to drive in the traditional sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to do this requires that designers  have empathy from the very beginning of the design process so their designs  accommodate a wide variety of users. You could think of this as design from a universal perspective. Since many aspects of mobility are undergoing dramatic change, we have a chance to relook at how we make transportation available to people regardless of their physical or mental challenges. But to do this we need to apply a universal design approach, an approach that potentially can satisfy a wide variety of needs , especially the needs of those that are mobility challenged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

-intro music-<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to the Future Car Podcast. I\u2019m your host, Ed Bernardon, VP Strategic Automotive Initiatives at Siemens Digital Industry Software and today, we\u2019re going to take a look at how future car technology can help in transportation for those that, shall we say, are transportation challenged. So, it might be somebody with a disability or the elderly. We have two experts in the field with us today. First, we have Campbell McKee. He\u2019s the president of the European Mobility Group \u2013 that\u2019s a nonprofit organization, and what they do is adapt cars that people have, so that people with disabilities and their passengers together can have better access to transportation. Welcome, Campbell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell McKee: <\/strong>Good to be with you, Ed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>And we also have Ann Frye with us. Ann Frye is an expert and consultant in the area of mobility for people with disabilities, as well as accessibility or transportation. She has worked globally with governments and other transportation organizations to make sure that transportation is available and accessible for all of us, regardless if you have disabilities or not. Welcome, Ann, to the Future Car Podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>When people think of someone that has a disability, at least, with respect to driving, they do think about lifts and maybe special controls and that kind of thing. But a disability isn\u2019t easily defined; there\u2019s a wide range of what that really means. To start off the interview, I used the word \u201ctransportation challenged.\u201d When you talk about the people that you help, what\u2019s the variety of things that you have to address?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>It\u2019s a huge range. Certainly, if you\u2019re looking at public transport, increasingly, we\u2019re understanding that people with mental health conditions, people with conditions such as autism, a growing number of people with dementia have just as a big set of issues as those who have walking difficulty, hearing impairment, or loss of vision. So, it\u2019s right across the spectrum. And similar things apply to the private car as well. It\u2019s not just about physically adapting a vehicle; it\u2019s also about making vehicles usable by people with a whole range of challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>Could be both mental or physical, or a combination even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>Absolutely, yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>That would pose a lot of challenges, even with today\u2019s vehicles, in the solution you had to provide because, obviously, one solution doesn\u2019t fit everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>No. That\u2019s right. It\u2019s very much a personalized industry. I mean, there are developments which apply to some types of disability, but each individual still needs a one-to-one assessment, really, to work out what\u2019s going to work for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell McKee: <\/strong>Yes, and without going into the wheelchair sector, too much, in our country, UK alone, there are approximately 1,000 wheelchair models on the market, most of which are suitable for use within public transport but they\u2019re not all dimensionally identical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>I actually heard on the news, case where someone had a very specialized wheelchair; they were on a flight across the United States and the airline lost the wheelchair. It was actually to the point where they almost couldn\u2019t get off the airplane because they needed very, very special equipment for their particular disability. This level of customization \u2013 does it go down to the individual level? Or is there a set of different types of devices that are typically used? How can you profitably create and produce what you need at such low volumes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>That is a huge challenge. And while there are types of technology, like joystick steering, that can apply to a lot of people, each individual among those may have the use of one of his five fingers, slight movement in a wrist \u2013 so, each one has to be personalized. So, the cost is enormous when you get to that level of disability. For those with a lower level of disability, paraplegic people, for example, the standard equipment, and it\u2019s much cheaper and easier to get mobile. But the more you\u2019re affected, the harder it gets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>Maybe you could give us some examples of the different types of things that are typically done. Well, what is the state of the art in the industry right now as to how you can accommodate those that are transportation challenged?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>If I just give you one example, Ed, we have a colleague who has lost all four limbs to meningitis as a student. She is driving very safely, very successfully but with a very, very high tech range of switches she can control with her head, with anything that you can remove from what you would normally use your four limbs for; it\u2019s pretty much now possible to put those into head switches, into voice control, just to make it possible to do everything that needs doing. And of course, the kind of advances in the last 20-30 years in standard vehicle design, like powered windows, power steering have made it much much easier for a lot of people with disabilities to get mobile because before those were standard, you had to pay a whole pile of extra money just to get the basics that we all now expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>If you think about autonomous technology, I\u2019ve seen and read, certainly within the last year or two, that autonomous technology is even being applied at, say, the wheelchair level. Is that something that any of your members get involved in?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell McKee: <\/strong>There\u2019s a degree of it but it\u2019s the early stages of development in that side of the industry. And when we look at the UK alone, again, we\u2019re talking about 1 million wheelchair users; some of them, temporary; some of them, permanently. So, it will take a generation to work on a new technology of that type though. And by generation, I mean, maybe a dozen years or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ed Bernardon: <\/strong>On the regulation side, I would imagine that there\u2019s a lot of challenges to get the awareness that\u2019s required. Because obviously, if there is a great level of customization required to accommodate people that need some help with transportation, it is going to cost money. What are the typical challenges you face when you work with governments or transportation agencies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ann Frye: <\/strong>I think, at the moment, the huge issue is that government and regulation is not keeping up with technology. You know, clever new ideas and designs come along but they don\u2019t meet the current regulations because they hadn\u2019t been thought of at the time the regulations were made. So, there\u2019s always a game of catch-up, and certainly, here in Europe, we have some countries that still have a law that means you cannot drive your vehicle from a wheelchair. We have many countries that restrict the codes that get put on your driving license to say you can only drive with this particular adaptation with which you passed your driving test, wherein five years time, there may be something much better that\u2019s completely new but it doesn\u2019t fit within that scope. So, we do badly need means to encourage regulation but still keep people safe. And I think that\u2019s the big issue at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n