Accessible Van Service Tracker

Year: 2023

A laptop screen displays the homepage of the UConn Accessible Van Service app. The top navigation bar includes links for Home, Schedule Ride, Track Van, Contact Us, and Profile. The main heading reads "UConn Accessible Van Service" with an illustration of a blue van labeled "UCONN AVS." Below are three blue boxes: the first says "Schedule Your Ride" with buttons for "Schedule New Ride" and "View Scheduled Rides"; the second says "Track Your Ride" with a button labeled "Track"; and the third says "Contact Driver" with a button labeled "Contact."

This is a prototype of a van tracking app I made for my honors-level JavaScript course, which I received a 95. At UConn, there is a service called the Accessible Van Service (AVS) that helps students with disabilities get from place to place around campus. Although the bus system of at least 9 different bus lines has a tracking app, the van service to this day does not have a reliable way to see where the driver is. This concept is similar to Uber, the AVS app is different because the user can add specific accommodations to their profile that would enhance their travel experience. The driver can see the accommodation and any specific instructions to tailor the transportation experience (for example, putting on a light beacon at night for easier spotting). Hypothetically, the passenger can put in their permanent ride schedule and make changes as needed right in the app rather than sending AVS an email or filling out a form with their ride information. There is also the ability for the passenger to text or call the driver, which is important because currently, there is no communication system set up between the AVS driver and the passenger.

The point of this project was to learn how to use APIs, or software that allows two apps to talk to each other. I used the Google Maps API and the localStorage API in my code to make this work. I also conducted a lot of user research by talking to the Head of Transportation and by sending out surveys to users. If this app were to become a reality, it would greatly benefit students with disabilities and UConn as a whole.