Route to independence: Ben identifies his Melbourne tram by sound - but a new app means he won’t have to

Unlike most commuters plugged into a podcast or a Spotify playlist, Ben Harrington has to listen intently to the noises Melbourne trams make as they approach a stop - it's how he tells his regular 96 service apart.

As is common for most blind and vision-impaired travellers, Harrington has struggled to navigate public transport in Melbourne. He is largely unable to distinguish the route numbers displayed on tram exteriors, and he can't read timetables.

As a result the 24-year-old has come to learn the subtleties in different sounds that various models of trams emit as they approach - and now he's able to distinguish the newer model used on the 96 route he relies on to travel to and from his home in Fitzroy North.

But it's not a foolproof system. The 86 route is serviced by the same model trams as the 96.

"It's useful for some routes but, if I'm on Bourke Street and the same models are pulling up, I can't tell," says Harrington, who has the rare genetic disorder retinitis pigmentosa and has lost enough vision to be considered legally blind.

"I've gotten on the wrong tram many a time," he says.

Now a new technology is set to change the way people with vision impairment navigate the world's largest tram network.

After a successful trial on the 96 route, the Victorian government has announced that it will install special brightly coloured codes that function similar to QR codes at the more than 1,700 stops and on the more than 500 trams across the network's 23 routes.

The Navilens technology requires a smartphone application. Blind and vision-impaired travellers can open the app when they're at or approaching a tram stop and it will display in large text or read out their current location, routes serving the stop, as well as offering live tram arrival information and next stops if they're already on the tram.

Harrington, who benefited from the trial on the 96 route, says the app has been far more useful for him than the existing tramTRACKER app designed for all commuters, as that only explains how far away a tram is, and its small text is difficult to read for those with impaired vision.

"For people with low vision, the touch screen of a smartphone app can be kind of useless unless it incorporates haptics or audio for low-vision people," he says.

Harrington says the Navilens app is simple to use and the codes at stops and on trams can be scanned from far away and at angles that has allowed him to identify and get on trams quickly.

"It has a really powerful scanner, you don't have to be close up or point directly at it like a QR code," he says. "It's just point and shoot, you don't need to know exactly where it is."

Harrington says the app helps make catching trams less stressful for vision-impaired people.

"Most people have the option to switch off on public transport, but when you don't have much vision you have to be alert and remain that way throughout your journey, there's so many other factors besides peak hour and missing a connection," he says. "It's about confidence and independence."

The Victorian minister for public and active transport, Gabrielle Williams, says that since the Navilens trial began on the 96 route in 2023, it has been accessed more than 25,000 times.

"[It's] making a real difference to passengers with accessibility needs," Williams says.

The Yarra Trams chief executive, Carla Purcell, has said: "I'm confident Navilens codes will become a part of life here in Melbourne once every tram and tram stop in Melbourne has these codes prominently featured."

While the Navilens announcement has been welcomed by those including Harrington, disability advocates note there is still much-needed work to make the tram network more accessible for travellers in wheelchairs who are keenly awaiting a greater rollout of elevated level-access stops.

Fully accessible public transport is federally legislated under the Disability Discrimination Act. In 2002 standards came into effect requiring public transport in all states and territories to be fully accessible by the end of the year. While this includes all public transport stops, ramps and signage, states have 10 more years to roll over their tram and train stock.

Government and auditor general data shows that in 2023, just 28% of tram stops were accessible for travellers with wheelchairs.

Harrington, who works in disability awareness training at the service provider Travellers Aid, notes the tram network and other public transport in Melbourne such as trains have "got ways to go" before being fully accessible.

"You want to be independent, confident and self-sufficient, you don't want to have to rely on other people or other systems," he says.

"Initiatives like Navilens are encouraging - I can feel a bit more confident about where I am as well as more independent when travelling."