Public transport operators face growing pressure to improve accessibility while modernising ageing communications infrastructure. For millions of passengers who are deaf or hard of hearing, access to clear and reliable audio information remains inconsistent across transport environments. Announcements are often lost in background noise, difficult to access in large public spaces, or reliant on legacy systems that are costly to maintain and difficult to scale.

Emerging broadcast audio technologies such as Auracast™ are now positioning themselves as potential enablers of a new accessibility model for transport and public infrastructure.

Research led by La Trobe University's Centre for Technology Infusion, in partnership with NEC Australia and Get Skilled Access, examined how Auracast could improve access to passenger information across transport environments. Supported through an iMOVE CRC Impact Grant, the project combined industry consultation, user workshops, technical analysis, ecosystem mapping, and live transport trials.

Accessibility Gaps Continue to Challenge Transport Operators

Approximately 3.6 million Australians experience some degree of hearing loss, while more than one in five Australians live with disability. Many transport environments, however, continue to rely on accessibility systems that were not designed for increasingly complex passenger networks.

Traditional hearing loop systems have provided important support for accessibility over many years. Operators still face challenges associated with installation costs, maintenance requirements, inconsistent reliability, and limited coverage. In many environments, hearing loops also provide only a single audio stream, reducing flexibility for passengers who may require different types of information.

In transport environments, missed announcements can directly affect safety, wayfinding, and service participation. For many passengers, particularly those navigating unfamiliar or crowded spaces, the inability to reliably access audio information increases stress and dependence on visual cues or assistance from others.

Auracast Introduces a New Audio Model

Auracast, built on Bluetooth® LE Audio technology, enables broadcast audio streams to be transmitted directly to compatible personal devices, including hearing aids, cochlear implants, earbuds, smartphones, and tablets.

This shifts public audio from a one-to-one connectivity model toward a scalable one-to-many architecture.

In practice, transport operators could deliver multiple simultaneous audio channels within a single location. Passengers may be able to select departure announcements, mobility assistance information, emergency messaging, multilingual streams, or service-specific updates directly through their own devices.

The implications extend beyond accessibility compliance.

Auracast creates opportunities to improve passenger experience, reduce cognitive load in complex environments, support personalised information delivery, and modernise public communications infrastructure without the constraints associated with traditional assistive systems.

Trial Results Highlight Strong User Value

The research project included live trials across three transport settings: an airport, a bus service, and a bus and light rail interchange.

Participants included people with hearing impairment, low vision, and neurodiverse users. Both guided and unguided scenarios were used to evaluate usability, audio quality, navigation, and overall passenger experience.

The findings were consistently positive.

Participants reported that Auracast delivered clear and reliable audio, often outperforming existing hearing loop systems in noisy public environments. Users also responded positively to the ability to personalise information streams and receive announcements directly through familiar personal devices.

Importantly, the perceived benefits extended beyond hearing accessibility.

Neurodiverse participants identified value in reducing sensory overload through personalised audio selection, while users with low vision highlighted improved navigation and wayfinding support. The technology also demonstrated potential relevance for mainstream passenger groups, including travellers using noise-cancelling headphones or seeking multilingual information.

Market Momentum Is Increasing — But Adoption Barriers Remain

The broader Auracast ecosystem is developing rapidly.

Major hearing aid manufacturers are already releasing Auracast-compatible devices, while support for LE Audio continues to expand across smartphones, consumer headphones, and broadcast equipment.

Industry stakeholders interviewed during the project demonstrated optimism regarding the technology's long-term role in transport environments. Accessibility alignment, future-proofing opportunities, and operational flexibility were identified as key drivers of interest.

However, organisations also identified several barriers that may slow adoption.

Transport operators continue to seek greater clarity around integration complexity, deployment models, operational costs, and ecosystem maturity. Device compatibility remains inconsistent across manufacturers, creating variable user experiences during early deployments.

Awareness also remains low among end users, suggesting successful deployment strategies will require not only infrastructure investment, but also education, signage, and onboarding.

Transport Operators Should Begin Planning Now

The research indicates that Auracast adoption is unlikely to be driven by technology capability alone.

Success will depend on coordination across regulators, transport authorities, infrastructure owners, device manufacturers, standards bodies, audiologists, and accessibility advocates.

Transport operators should begin evaluating how broadcast audio could integrate into long-term accessibility and passenger experience strategies. Early pilot deployments may help organisations better understand operational requirements, user behaviour, and infrastructure integration pathways before broader market adoption accelerates.

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) is also expected to play an important role in defining user experience standards for large venues and multi-stream environments. Regulators and policymakers may need to evolve accessibility frameworks to reflect emerging broadcast audio capabilities.

The research suggests that Auracast represents more than an incremental improvement to assistive listening.

It signals a broader shift toward personalised, scalable, and software-defined public audio environments.

For transport authorities and infrastructure owners, the strategic question is no longer whether accessible audio matters. The question is how quickly organisations can adapt to technologies that increasingly blur the line between accessibility capability and mainstream passenger experience.