How Google and other apps are starting to help the disability community navigate the world

We often take Google Maps for granted -- after all, the service appears to provide every bit of helpful information possible in order to navigate through a particular place in town or within the neighborhood. But for those who belong to the disability community, knowing which restaurant has a wheelchair accessible restroom is big, big help. 

Now, Google is vowing to be even more extra helpful for people with disabilities. To be fair, its Google Maps has done so much already since it debuted more than a dozen years ago. But now, it is on a mission to make the lives of the disability community easier. Back in March early this year, the tech giant had announced that it was looking to add wheelchair accessibility navigation info in Google Maps. As of last April, Google Maps’ accessible transit map has already been made available in six metropolitan areas across the globe -- namely New York and Boston in the United States, London in the United Kingdom, Tokyo in Japan, Mexico City in Mexico, and Sydney in Australia. In the coming months, Google is promising to add more metros to the list

And it is not just Google doing its part. Yelp has a feature that lets owners of shops and business establishments include information on wheelchair accessibility. According to the company, over 700,000 businesses have already updated their profiles as accessible. 

And then there are a growing army of mobile apps that are designed to help disabled users navigate more effectively in the outside world. Take Access Earth for instance -- the app’s focus is helping wheelchair users determine which places are accessible. Another app, AccessNow, works the same way. And then there’s AXS Map, which comes with a functionality that allows users to rate locations in terms of how accessible they are.

While is a true that a number of tech companies and mobile apps are already doing something to help the disability community, they can only do so much. This is why crowdsourcing is critical --  by harnessing the world’s growing mobile user population, data can be gathered more quickly. As expected, Google has thought of something like this already -- when it began its Local Guides program, part of the overall objective was to have locals give info on whether this particular location or attraction can be accessed by wheelchair. 

Much has been said about how today’s technology can potentially change everyday lives. Most of us are seeing this already, but for members of the disability community, knowing if that coffee shop just around the corner has a step-free entrance makes a whole lot of difference.