AXSMap.com – Find Accessible Businesses
August 17, 2012 Accessibility NewsAbout a year and a half ago, I told you about a new website called Wheelmap that aims to crowdsource knoledge of local businesses around the world and help people with disabilities find businesses that are accessible. (View the original article.)
It was a novel new service with big goals, and seems to be doing well. Who would have ever suspected, though, that a similar service would crop up? One that essentially competes with Wheelmap to do the same thing.
That new service is called AXS Map (pronounced”access map”). AXS Map is very similar to Wheelmap, but requires registration to use. It does, however, allow more detailed ratings about local businesses; users can rate the company’s front door access, floor access, bathroom access, and even note whether or not the building is quiet or has Braille available.
One of the other great features about AXS Map is that it has an accompanying Android app. Users can rate any building from anywhere using their Android-powered smartphone, which is great for rating buildings as you enter or leave them. Unfrotunately the Android app is not currently compatible with TalkBack under Android 2.3, but I suspect that it is compatible with Explore by Touch using Android 4.0+.
Check out AXS Map at http://www.axsmap.com to give it a try. Or, if you’d rather, check out Wheelmap at http://www.wheelmap.org. Both are great services, and I look forward to both them being very successful.
