How Travel Hands Is Reworking City Mobility – UK Space Agency weblog

Every day, 1000’s of Londoners with visible impairments face challenges that the majority of us not often think about—from navigating busy streets to discovering the best bus cease. For many, one thing so simple as a stroll to the park or a visit to the outlets can really feel daunting with out assist.

Travel Hands, a London-based charity, is altering that story. By pairing visually impaired individuals (VIPs) with educated volunteers, generally known as Travel Hands Guides, the service allows secure and confidence-boosting journeys throughout the town.

With assist from the UK Space Agency’s Business Applications and Space Solutions (BASS) programme, Travel Hands has built-in cutting-edge space-enabled monitoring expertise to reinforce the safety and accessibility of its service. Together, they’re constructing a extra inclusive London the place nobody has to stroll alone.

Innovation that Transforms Everyday Journeys

At the guts of Travel Hands lies a easy thought: unbiased mobility ought to be a proper, not a privilege. The charity’s app permits VIPs to request a journey and be paired with a educated volunteer Guide who will stroll alongside them. A devoted name centre additionally caters to VIPs who can not use expertise.

With backing from BASS, Travel Hands has launched real-time journey monitoring, optimised route planning, and enhanced monitoring to make sure each journey is secure and environment friendly. A devoted customer support workforce, out there by telephone and on-line, assists those that could not really feel comfy utilizing the app independently, offering assist all through journeys when further reassurance is required.

This assist improved the consumer expertise of cellular and net functions, enhanced volunteer coaching modules, and refined the matching algorithm while establishing AI foundations.

Ishan Jha, Founder of Travel Hands, mentioned:

“This support has been instrumental in helping us bring space-enabled technology into our operations. We’ve empowered VIPs to travel more independently while ensuring their safety every step of the way.”

Backing from BASS

The UK Space Agency’s BASS programme helps organisations that use house information and applied sciences to resolve real-world issues on Earth. For Travel Hands, that meant skilled mentoring, strategic steering, and connections to a wider ecosystem of innovators. This assist accelerated the charity’s capability to refine its app, scale its impression, and show how space-enabled options can enhance city accessibility.

Over the previous 12 months, Travel Hands has accomplished greater than 1,200 journeys throughout London, supporting over 350 VIPs and constructing a neighborhood of greater than 100 devoted volunteers. The charity has developed sturdy partnerships with organisations together with Bromley by Bow Centre and Link Up London, while delivering company volunteering occasions with JP Morgan Chase and collaborating in Victoria Park Community Walks and The Great Exhibition Road Festival. Most just lately, Travel Hands launched a Macmillan-supported initiative offering tailor-made help for VIPs going through or recovering from most cancers.

Community in Action

The energy of Travel Hands lies not solely in its expertise but additionally in its neighborhood. A current volunteering day with JP Morgan Chase workers demonstrated this completely. Volunteers grew to become Travel Hands Guides for the day, strolling alongside VIPs by London’s streets and transport hubs, experiencing first-hand the obstacles confronted by visually impaired individuals—from navigating station layouts to listening to bulletins in noisy environments.

For VIPs, the day provided connection and relationship-building alternatives. For volunteers, it supplied an eye-opening reminder of how accessibility and inclusion profit everybody.

The Power of Partnership

Travel Hands demonstrates what’s attainable when expertise, authorities assist, and neighborhood unite. By lowering social isolation and enabling unbiased journeys, the service is making London safer and extra welcoming for visually impaired individuals.

Dr Shuxiu Zhang, Head of Space Applications and Data on the UK Space Agency mentioned:

“We are proud to support Travel Hands in leveraging space technology for social good. Mobility and accessibility are fundamental rights, and this initiative demonstrates how innovation can make a real difference in people’s lives.”

Next Steps

Travel Hands is now growing the subsequent part of innovation: integrating Artificial Intelligence into its software. With continued assist from the UK Space Agency, the organisation is creating an audio-based interactive itinerary planner permitting VIPs to easily communicate their journey requests. The AI will interpret requests, establish appropriate guides, plan optimum routes, and supply real-time spoken updates, making reserving and navigation extra intuitive for audio-reliant customers while enhancing information matching and route coordination.

By combining space-enabled information, AI innovation, and ongoing assist, Travel Hands is setting the stage for the subsequent technology of inclusive mobility within the UK, guaranteeing each step taken collectively brings London nearer to being absolutely accessible.