Public transportation may be the engine of the city of Boston, but that doesn’t mean it works for everyone. Innovate@BU recently co-hosted a venture competition with the Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired where students and alumni crafted creative solutions to make the city's transportation more accessible.

This year, all Individuals who are blind or visually impaired can navigate Boston during Marathon Monday via the Aira app — for free. Boston Mayor Martin Walsh announced Friday that there will be free access to the smartphone app Aira during One Boston Day (before the marathon) and the Boston Marathon itself.