In the winter of 2020, I did an internship with BC Transit, which is a provincial public transit service that provides public transportation to municipalities in BC outside of Greater Vancouver. During my work placement, there was a company-wide event where the CEO of the company spoke. During her speech, she shared that, in her opinion, public transit is the best transportation option. She defended this statement by sharing that public transit best minimizes barriers for all members of society out of every transportation option. It has the smallest financial barrier to usage, compared to driving, or taxis or ubers. There are minimal physical barriers, compared to biking or walking. While both statements are true, the public transportation that is offered must be accessible to all users. Accessible public transit can act as an inspiration for learning design because it is available to every member of society.

When you take the bus there are several features that make it accessible for individuals with disabilities. Busses will lower, and a ramp will come down to the sidewalk to allow individuals in wheelchairs onto the bus. This feature can also be used by people with wheelchairs, walkers, on crutches or anyone who needs help getting onto the bus. Another accessible design on public transit is the audio and visual cues for stops and transfers. This makes transit accessible for the visually and audio impaired but can also help people who do not speak the language that the transit is offered in, individuals listening to music or reading a book. On busses, there is priority seating towards the front of the bus, that allows space for people to sit who are in wheelchairs, have walkers or a stroller. This seating may also be used by seniors, pregnant people and people with small children.

The three examples of accessible public transit above demonstrates that accessible design can be provided with a certain demographic in mind but helps accommodate a much larger pool of people. I am going to use the bus as an analogy for the learning experience. Lowering the bus and adding a ramp allows more people to get onto the bus. Similarly, when creating learning design, a designer should minimize barriers for individuals to enter the learning experience. This can be done by removing the barriers with a certain user in mind. Doing so will often remove the barriers to access education for a larger group than the intended user. For the audio and visual bus stop cues, creating a learning experience that is audibly and visually accessible makes the experience possible for those with audio and visual disabilities but also makes it more accessible for different types of learners that prefer either audio or visual delivery. For priority seating, in an in-person learning experience, you can ensure that those who need priority seating are accommodated for, as they may need it for whatever reason.