I just had to post this email I received. A couple of the Benetech team members hold the patent on the talking GPS locator for the blind technology, and this user is using technology we helped create.
Jim
From: "Rich Irwin"
To: "Gps-Talkusers"
Hi All:
Thought I would share a great GPS experience I had last week. I needed to take a 50 mile trip using several public transit systems to an area I had never been before. After a short cab ride, a Golden Gate Bus ride to San Francisco, a BART ride to Pittsburgh, I was told to take a Delta Transit bus to Oakley. Not only had I not been to Oakley before, but I had never heard of Delta Transit. I found the bus stop and the correct bus with the help of another passenger who was taking the same bus. What we both learned quickly was that this was the bus drivers first day on the route. After about a half hour of bus ride, as we left one of the stops, everyone on the bus hollered at the driver that he was going the wrong way. He went a few more blocks before he stopped and asked the passengers if they knew how to get back on the route. The general response was that nobody knew. I had my Braille Note GPS on and asked him where he needed to be to get back on the route. He gave me the intersection where he had made the wrong turn. I mapped a vehicular route from our current position and let the Braille Note tell him how to get back. Needless to say, everyone on the bus was amazed that the blind guy could navigate better than they could. What a great tool the Braille Note GPS is!
Rich Irwin
Jim
From: "Rich Irwin"
To: "Gps-Talkusers"
Hi All:
Thought I would share a great GPS experience I had last week. I needed to take a 50 mile trip using several public transit systems to an area I had never been before. After a short cab ride, a Golden Gate Bus ride to San Francisco, a BART ride to Pittsburgh, I was told to take a Delta Transit bus to Oakley. Not only had I not been to Oakley before, but I had never heard of Delta Transit. I found the bus stop and the correct bus with the help of another passenger who was taking the same bus. What we both learned quickly was that this was the bus drivers first day on the route. After about a half hour of bus ride, as we left one of the stops, everyone on the bus hollered at the driver that he was going the wrong way. He went a few more blocks before he stopped and asked the passengers if they knew how to get back on the route. The general response was that nobody knew. I had my Braille Note GPS on and asked him where he needed to be to get back on the route. He gave me the intersection where he had made the wrong turn. I mapped a vehicular route from our current position and let the Braille Note tell him how to get back. Needless to say, everyone on the bus was amazed that the blind guy could navigate better than they could. What a great tool the Braille Note GPS is!
Rich Irwin
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