Mobility Through Technology
Meeting Our Neighbors Halfway
Projects that enhance mobility options such as public transportation and pedestrian accessibility improve transportation outcomes for those who rely on it most. The City is partnering on three micro-pilots to enhance mobility outcomes for the impaired community, the homeless, and those seeking preventative healthcare.
These three pilots demonstrate how Smart City technology will improve not just transportation outcomes, but also health and human service outcomes.
Inclusive Community
By deploying Bluetooth low-energy beacons and transceivers in the Oakland neighborhood, and allowing users to register their profiles via a smartphone app, we will make the physical environment aware of users’ abilities and needs, and thus provide personalized services.
Homeless Transportation
Research has demonstrated that over 60% of the homeless population has access to a smartphone. The City has partnered with the Homeless Children’s Education Fund to develop BigBurgh, a web-based app for computers and smartphones that provides geographically-specified human service needs for homeless individuals, targeted to age and identity. The City will further integrate this application into data streams provided by the MovePGH app.
Healthcare Transportation
Transportation remains one of the largest impediments to improving healthcare access. The City will partner with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS) and ACCESS Paratransit to provide a transportation pilot at a number of facilities in the East Liberty area of Pittsburgh. Transportation scheduling will be integrated into appointment scheduling. A “Transportation Coordinator” will be housed within ACCESS. When a patient schedules an appointment, the health care provider would simultaneously schedule an ACCESS vehicle, or provide information regarding fixed route transportation services. In the event that the patient’s primary transportation option failed them, the Transportation Coordinator could serve as a concierge to provide alternative transportation options.