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As of Monday, the Metropolitan Transit Authority will facilitate that New York and deaf tourists and with hearing problems communicate with traffic staff scanning a QR code. That code will take them to an application called Summon nowthat will connect them with a live sign language interpreter so that they can more easily commit to MTA personnel and get answers to any question.
The pilot program is launched in more than a dozen locations (listed below) and will be free of traffic users. QR codes will be published on green signs in a window or cabin, and will lead to users to a live ASL interpreter in the APVVO Now application, which facilitates MTA employees that they may not know ASL interact with more passengers.
Quemuel Arroyo, the MTA accessibility director, says that New York is the perfect place for this pilot program due to the high volume of residents and tourists.
“No other transit system throughout North America has the volume we have, more than 6 million customers daily among our trains, our buses, our railroads, and we are giving that service to all,” Arroyo said. “That customer base has a myriad of needs, and that is what makes this case study so important and shocking.”
Traffic personnel can be found inside the cabins, in rates or platform machines, depending on the problems of the day. Ideally, deaf traffic riders and with hearing problems can find a staff member and communicate with them through convene interpreters.
Summon now is one of the few services that seek to increase digital accessibility taking advantage of mobile technology. Large technological companies have also focused on expanding their offers to a broader range of users in recent years, taking advantage of the AI to do so. For example, Google has implemented more expressive subtitles to better transmit emotion and tone, Apple has improved Siri to better detect atypical speech and Amazon has added text characteristics to voice and subtitles to Alexa. All this is part of an effort to make platforms and services available for more people, and more customizable and useful for all.
What is summon?
Convo was founded almost 15 years ago as a video broadcast service, a telephone service that allows deaf people or with audition problems communicating with video. Then, the company expanded to make ASL performers available on demand, 24/7 through the Bonv NOW application (available in iOS and Android) and the website, so that users can communicate more effectively with people who may not know ASL. It is available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and South Africa.
The World Health Organization says there is more than 1.5 billion people with auditory loss worldwide. In addition, more than 70 million deaf people or with hearing problems Use sign language To communicate, according to National Geographic.
The Copundidora de Convovo, Wayne Betts, says that the service eliminates the obstacle for people to find interpreters and coordinate their availability. On the other hand, users can call one of the more than 500 performers available at any time, either for an exchange of 5 minutes in a store or a one -hour meeting at work.
“That really allows us to revolutionize how we use performers and tools in our daily lives,” Betts said.
The convene user Paul Maucere now downloaded the application for the first time four months ago, to help mitigate the challenges of being the only deaf employee in his office. He says that it has been useful in a variety of situations, “whether communicating with a waitress, a hotel reception employee or car seller. It allows deaf people and with hearing problems to interact with others as easily as any other person in everyday conversations “
Another user, who asked to be referred to as CT for privacy reasons, said the interpreter service on request has been especially beneficial for clinical visits.
“When we go to appointments now, we don’t have to call two weeks before to request an interpreter,” CT said. “We do not have to call one or two days before to make sure that the office will not forget to let us know connected to an interpreter (skillful) in literal seconds.”
Bring public transport now
Summon now offers individual users 20 minutes free per month, after which a payment model for use is activated (companies can also assume the cost for their employees). The company’s association with the MTA, on the other hand, is part of its Convo access service, in which the MTA pays a fixed annual rate, which means that users will not have to worry about being charged for them Play an ASL interpreter while buying a train ticket, for example.
Before launching this pilot program, the MTA and Convo carried out a test of concept in Times Square and 34th Street Penn Station, and requested contributions from advisory committees, defense organizations and the NYC disabilities office for people with disabilities, validated The objectives of the program. Arroyo said Transit’s clients dedicated themselves positively to the service.
“We must verify and validate that the solutions we are presenting are what people want to see,” he said.
The pilot program is executed from February 10 to November 2025. From there, the MTA will measure the comments of the users and decide where to take the program.
Transit customers can access the convene service in the locations below.
NYC Transit customer service centers:
- 161 street stadium
- Center for Atlantic Avenue-Barclays
- Times Square-42 Street
- Jackson Heights-Rosevelt Avenue
- St. George
Long Island Rail Road:
- Atlantic terminal
- Babylon
- Grand Central Madison
- Jamaica
- Penn station
- Rumbononki
Metro-North Railroad:
- Great central terminal
- White plains
ADDITIONAL LOCATIONS:
- Mobile sales operations (buses and trucks)
3 Stone Street
