In Lyon, Evelity: a smartphone voice guide to encourage accessible transit

Context: encourage accessible transit 

Facilitating access to public transit is a key challenge for Keolis Lyon, which is investing in new technologies to help blind and visually impaired passengers navigate closed environments like the metro system.  

Innovation: voice assistance by smartphone 

Keolis Lyon teamed up with Okeenea, a Lyon-area company that developed the Evelity mobile app to offer voice assistance to metro riders. This accessible transit system enables smartphones to interact with beacons placed throughout stations, creating an internal geolocation network operating independently of GPS. “Immediately upon the creation of Evelity in 2019, it was important for us to build a relationship with the Lyon metro system – and thus with Keolis Lyon – in order to present Evelity to various stakeholders. With the support of visually impaired users, our long-term collaboration will allow us to improve our solution both in terms of its technology and uses. The mutual trust between the teams at Keolis Lyon and Okeenea Digital enables us to advance in a planned way through clearly defined steps,” explains Damien Brosseau, Deputy General Director at Okeenea Digital (distributor of the Evelity guidance solution). 

Keolis installed 120 test beacons in the Bellecour and Grange Blanche stations, ensuring that they would not interfere with existing infrastructure or generate waves beyond the maximum values that riders and staff typically encounter. Several blind and visually impaired riders, including members of the organization “Point de Vue sur la Ville,” tested the system to share their areas for improvement with Keolis.  

Benefit: a streamlined passenger journey 

Evelity streamlines the transit journey for passengers with disabilities and sends a strong message on inclusivity targets: “everyone is welcome in the Lyon metro system.” The app can also help tourists and passengers seeking to navigate the Lyon transit system with greater ease. "I have the deep conviction that internal guidance solutions apps will play a substantial role in the landscape of accessible and inclusive mobility of the future", especially the Evelity solution from Okeenea, which is far ahead of other existing systems,” confirms Anne-Lise Tartavez, Accessibility Referent at Keolis Lyon.

"It's very emotional, I've finally found my liberty."

Soufiane, Evelity user who tested the new tool in Lille in October 2021.

"The app allows me to move around the city all by myself for the very first time."

Samia, Evelity user who tested the new tool in Lille in October 2021.

"Thanks to the app, I've upgraded how I move around."

Dalila, Evelity user who tested the new tool in Lille in October 2021.

Next step: expanding the app to new audiences

The "Indoor" experiment having been conclusive, Keolis Lyon is going to propose to SYTRAL Mobilité to test the system in an "Outdoor" version. Indeed, after using the metro, users often have to continue their journey by other means of transport such as bus or train. Traveling in transit hubs can be a difficult step, especially for a visually impaired user.

The Vaise multimodal interchange was therefore selected for this experiment. With a multimodal bus and train offer and a large surface area, the need for a guidance system is particularly relevant.