MBTA experiments with new signs to help the visually impaired navigate the system

Agree 100%. This looks like a private format that functions similarly to a QR code.

But a QR Code mounted on the wall, perhaps linked to a description on the MBTA website, wouldn't have relied upon the success or failure of a private vendor.

FWIW, my spouse is blind.

Navilens is a standard accessibility app that's been in place in much of the world. Previously, people for whom the large-print signage or Braille signage isn't accessible have had to use OCR apps to access MBTA signage. This is an improvement.

Some things with MBTA accessibility suck, but they do have an accessibility team of disabled people who are consulted for these decisions. I know some of the people on the team and I haven't heard anyone talk about this particular decision, which suggests to me that it's because it's fine and the VI people on the team didn't have something they wanted instead. It's circulating on my social media today among VI folks who are glad it's finally there.

The weakest link in terms of MBTA accessibility is actually the lack of staff training. The staff don't get direct training from the disabled folks, and just get a really quick overview that emphasizes their obligation to assist people. This is well-meaning, but the way it plays out is that staff tend to have no training in explaining who they are and why they're approaching someone, asking if the person wants help, and deferring to their explanations of what they do and don't need. They also do a lot of ableist things like speaking to people's friends and family members and asking the abled person if the disabled person needs assistance boarding or using the machines, and asking disabled people who they're with. More self-serve options that use an app is much less aggravating than having to deal with staff who are poorly trained in assisting disabled folks.

Any transit system that cared about its passengers wouldn't obstruct the windows with ad wraps.

This parody transit system gets it right:
https://x.com/GoLocalMetro/status/1750932736368607476
"Looking For A New Perspective? Metro Bus Wraps Let You Experience What It's Like To Be Inside A Microwave!"

The signs do have those words. If you can't see them, you use your own mobile device to access them. People with no or very little vision (small percentage of VI folks) use a refreshable Braille output or audio/headphone output on their phone to access the information. People with some degree of usable vision will have their phone text size/contrast set so they can read the information on their screen.

Typically, if you have print information (restaurant menus, medical forms, concert programs, etc.) available to be sent to someone's personal mobile device, most VI folks can access it this way.

If you're blind you typically can't read. The idea is that the app can read the text out loud to the user. This concept has been used all over Europe for some time now.

Different people have different needs.

Most people find it easy to read black text on a white background, like this website's default layout. Most of the visitors to this website are probably comfortable reading in English.

Some people who visit this website are likely using their web browser's automatic translation to turn the English words into Korean, Mandarin, Spanish, or whatever other language they can read. This is not perfect, especially for longer and more complicated sentences and sentences with more negatives, but it is pretty good.

Some people can only read very large text that's very close to their faces. The built in zoom/resize options in almost all web browsers will let the same people achieve that effect on this site.

Some people who find reading difficult benefit from particular dyslexia-friendly fonts or medium-contrast content (like making the background of this site the color of an iced latte). There are apps and browser plug-ins on most devices that can make these changes, including letting the user adjust the exact shades of the text and background.

Other people find listening easier or better than reading. Most devices have speech-to-text settings that allow them to hear messages on their own earbuds/headset at a speed and volume that is comfortable for them.

A printed sign cannot be dynamically redesigned to support any of this.

All that being said, Navilens is being funded by private equity, and I don't have much information about how well-run this specific company is, how they plan to make money, or how long their products will be available. But apps for accessibility are a real and ongoing phenomenon.