Case study · Brisbane · TransLink
King George Square — the bus stop that speaks.
TransLink and Vision Australia bring NaviLens to the bus stops and intermodal station in downtown Brisbane: any traveller hears stop name, routes and bay read aloud in 42 languages.
Stop 10
Ann St · King George Square
TransLink
Queensland's public-transport operator
3 May 2021
Vision Australia Travel Day · Brisbane
42
Languages with voice readout
The client
TransLink Queensland & Vision Australia
TransLink operates Queensland's integrated public-transport system (bus, train, ferry and CityCat) across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.
Vision Australia is the country's leading organisation supporting blind and low-vision people. Its Adventure Travel Day trains real-world journeys —including the King George Square Bus Station— so users can travel independently. NaviLens adds a voice layer of information on stops and station entrances.
§ The challenge
Turning Brisbane's CBD into a transport hub anyone can read.
- 01
Finding the right stop pole
Brisbane CBD packs dozens of bus stops very close to each other around King George Square. For a blind or low-vision rider, spotting Stop 10 on Ann St amongst near-identical totems is one of the trickiest moments of the trip.
- 02
Reading times and services without seeing the signage
TransLink totems carry key information —stop name, routes, timetables, the «Bus stop · Hail driver» instruction— in visual form only. NaviLens lets users hear all that content from their phone, in their own language.
- 03
Accessible wayfinding inside the intermodal station
King George Square Bus Station is an underground intermodal hub with platforms, escalators and shops. On 3 May 2021, Vision Australia ran a Travel Day there with TransLink, Cross River Rail (CRRR) and Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads, training blind and low-vision users to move through the station independently with NaviLens.
§ The solution
One code on the header, the whole stop on your phone.
TransLink embeds the NaviLens code on the headers of the bus totems at King George Square. Detection up to 30 m, no need to aim, even in low light.
With the free NaviLens app, users hear the stop name, routes, next services and the «Bus stop · Hail driver» instructions in their own language —42 available— and are guided in by distance and angle.
§ Walkthrough
From the street to the platform, signposted.
Stop · Ann St
Stop 10 — King George Square
The Stop 10 totem on Ann St (King George Square) carries a NaviLens code at the top. The free app detects it from several metres and announces stop name, routes and times by voice, no aiming required.
Detail · TransLink
Totem header
Close-up of the «Bus stop · Hail driver» header with the NaviLens code next to the pictogram. Designed so users can find the stop even when arriving from the opposite direction or in low light.
Vision Australia
Adventure Travel Day
Vision Australia users train independent routes through the Cultural Centre and King George Square Bus Station during the Adventure Travel Day, with NaviLens as orientation support inside the station.
Vision Australia · Station
Briefing inside the station
The Vision Australia group is briefed under the NaviLens code in the station concourse. The code identifies the TransLink ticket-machine area, lift and platforms, and is read aloud when users point their phone at it.
TransLink · Fare machines
Go card and ticket machines
Above the TransLink machines for buying and topping up the Go card in the concourse, a NaviLens code identifies the «Fare machines» area. The app announces the service available —buy a ticket, top up— and guides the user to the nearest machine.
§ § On video — § Rollout
Installing NaviLens is this easy.
A TransLink Brisbane technician fits a NaviLens code on top of the existing signage and explains the process: it sticks on like a sticker, no building works, no wiring, no changes to the visual signage.
Each code is operational right away: the free NaviLens app reads it from several metres and translates it by voice into 42 languages. That's why rolling out the accessible-stop network across downtown Brisbane is measured in hours, not weeks.
§ And your network?
Your next station can also speak.
Tell us about your network, your pain points and the KPIs you want to move. We’ll show you how NaviLens would fit —with comparable cases.
