Google Maps for wheelchair users
Are you going out with your wheelchair and do you want the trip and/or destination to be wheelchair-friendly? Then Google Maps is your friend. In many shops, restaurants and other busy places you can see whether wheelchair users have been taken into account. Google Maps shows whether the entrance is wheelchair accessible, whether there is a lift and what the toilets and parking are like. Google Maps can also tell you whether wheelchair users have been taken into account when planning a route with public transport. Strangely enough, you won’t find this information in Apple Maps.
- Find locations for wheelchair users
- Planning routes for wheelchair users
This information can also be useful for people who have difficulty walking, walk with crutches, travel with a stroller or with large suitcases. Unfortunately, Google Maps cannot yet show you whether a location is also suitable for people with a visual impairment, but what is not yet possible can still come.
Enable wheelchair info in Google Maps
The information for wheelchair users is not enabled by default. So you will have to flip the switch yourself:
- Open Google Maps on your iPhone.
- Go to your profile by tapping your photo at the top right.
- Choose Settings > Accessibility.
- Turn on the switch for Accessible places.
Google is keeping a close eye on things. The information may therefore differ from actual circumstances. For example, at the Apple Store in Amsterdam it is reported that parking has been considered, but as far as we know there are no suitable parking spaces in front of the door. You will have to park further away. Fortunately, the entrance and lifts are wheelchair friendly.
When looking up locations, you will see a wheelchair icon in the overview with the available facilities.
Plan wheelchair-accessible routes with Google Maps
Did you know that you can also plan wheelchair-friendly routes in Google Maps? This is very simple and can also be useful for people who go out with a stroller. Other apps that allow you to plan wheelchair-friendly routes with public transport are 9292 and the NS app.
This is how you plan a wheelchair-friendly route with Google Maps:
- Plan a route with Google Maps on your iPhone.
- Choose a trip by public transport.
- Tap the three dots at the top right (behind your departure location).
- Tap Options.
- Make sure Wheelchair Accessible is checked.
The information for these routes is mainly provided by Local Guides, so if you do not agree, you can submit an error report or become a Local Guide yourself to map the wheelchair-friendly public transport routes and locations in your hometown.
In addition, Google Street View can be useful to check in advance whether there may be a tight entrance, whether there are elevators at street level and whether there are wheelchair-friendly parking spaces in front of the door.
More tips for wheelchair users:
- The best iPhone apps for wheelchair users
- Time to roll! This is how you use the wheelchair functions on the Apple Watch
