This app links public transit riders to live asl translators

As of Monday, the Metropolitan Transit Authority will facilitate the deaf and listening to New Yorkers and tourists to interact with transit staff by scanning QR code. This code will bring them to an application called Convo nowWhich will connect them to a live language translator so that they can easily engage in MTA staff and get answers to any questions.

The pilot program starts on a dozen seats (listed below) and will be free for transit users. QR codes will be posted on green signs on a window or cabin and will direct users to an ASL Asl interpreter in the Convo Now app, which will make it easier for MTA employees who may not know ASL to engage with more riders.

Quemuel Arroyo, MTA’s Accessibility CEO, says New York is the perfect place for this pilot program because of the large volume of residents and tourists.

“No other transit system in the whole of North America has the volume we have, over 6 million customers a day between our trains, our buses, our railways, and we provide this service to all,” Ariyo said. “This client base has countless needs and this makes this case so important and so impactful.”

Transit staff can be found in cabins, tariffs for tariffs or platforms, depending on the problems of the day. Ideally, deaf and hard to listen to transit riders can find a staff member and communicate with them through convoy translators.

Convo is now one of the handful of services that want to enhance digital accessibility by engaging in mobile technology. Large technology companies have also been focused on Expanding their suggestions to a broader spectrum of users in recent years, increasingly Using AI for thisS For example, Google has unfolded more expressive To convey better emotion and tone better, Apple improved Siri to Better find an atypical speech and Amazon added Text to speech and inscription features to Alex. All this is part of the efforts to provide platforms and services available to more people – and more adaptive and useful to all.

What is a convoy?

Convo was founded nearly 15 years ago as a video relay service – a telephone service that allows people who are deaf or got up to hear to communicate using video. The company was then expanded to provide ASL translators available on request 24/7 via the Convo Now app (available on iOS and Android) And a website, so users can communicate more effectively with people who may not know ASL. It is available in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and South Africa.

The World Health Organization says there is more than 1.5 billion people with hearing loss worldwideS Moreover, more than 70 million deaf or people with hard hearing Use a language of signs To communicate according to National Geographic.

Convo co -founder Wayne Bets says the service removes the obstacle for people to find translators and coordinate their availability. Instead, users can call one of more than 500 available translators at any time, whether it is a 5-minute exchanger in a shop or an hour of work.

“It really allows us to revolutionize how we use translators and tools in our daily lives,” Bets said.

The Convo user now Paul Makerd first downloaded the app four months ago to help mitigate the challenges to be the only deaf employee in his office. He says this is useful in a number of situations, “whether he communicates with a waitress, a hotel employee at the reception, or a car seller. This allows the deaf and hearing people to interact with others as easily as anyone else in daily conversations. “

Another user who requested to be named as a CT for confidentiality reasons, noted that the translator service on request was especially useful for visits to the clinic.

“When we go for meetings now, we don’t have to call two weeks before we ask for a translator,” CT said. “We don’t have to call a day or two before to make sure that the office has not forgotten to inform us that the translator should cancel. We show up, we connect to the Wi-Fi office and scan the QR code to make be to be to be connected to (qualified) translator in literal seconds. “

Bring a convict now on public transport

Convo now gives individual users 20 free minutes a month, after which the payment model begins, which starts (the business can also bear the cost of its employees). The company’s partnership with MTA, on the other hand, is part of its Convo Access service, in which MTA pays a fixed annual rate – which means that users will not bother to be charged for touching ASL translator while buying a train ticket , for example.

Prior to launching this pilot program, MTA and Convo were evidenced by a concept of Times Square and 34th Street Penn Station and demanded a contribution from consultative committees, advocacy organizations and the New York Mayor’s office for people with disabilities, who all confirmed the goals of the program. Arroyo said Transit customers are positively involved in the service.

“We have to check and confirm that the decisions we put there have what people want to see,” he said.

The pilot program works from February 10 to November 2025. From there, the MTA will assess consumer reviews and decide where to get the program.

Transit customers can gain access to the Convo Service at below places.

NYC Transit Customer Service Centers:

• 161 Street-Yankee Stadium
• Atlantic Avenue-Barcles Center
• Times Square-42 Street
• Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue
• St. George

Long Island Railway:

• Atlantic Terminal
• Babylon
• Grand Central Madison
• Jamaica
• Foam station
• Rumboxes

Metro-Neverri Railway:

• Grand Central Terminal
• White planes

Additional places:

• Mobile sales operations (buses and vans)

• 3 Stone Street