Ticket Machine Design Trial
Transport for London
background
Historically, passengers could purchase a ticket on the bus. This had the problem of lengthening the boarding time, reducing the speed and efficiency of the bus service and increasing journey times. To address this London Buses wanted to move to a strategy of a cashless bus system. Part of this strategy was the provision of ticket machines at bus stops to allow passengers to purchase their ticket before boarding. Early trials of the ticket machines had identified low take-up by passengers.
CCD Human Factors conducted a study of passenger behaviour to understand the reasons why passengers weren't using the machines. The design recommendations made were implemented in a next generation of the ticket machine. CCD Design undertook a user and design trial to assess the new design.
project
We were commissioned, as a follow-on study, to look at the design against our understanding of passenger behaviour and ergonomics. The focus of the study was on the design of the main panel of the machine that features the user instructions, buttons and payment devices.
implementation
We ran a user trial of the design using 50 bus passengers including a proportion with impaired mobility. We ran each person through a number of scenarios, recorded their performance and talked to them about their experience.
outcomes
The evaluation discovered that the interface worked well for passengers making single ticket purchases but was too confusing for multi ticket options and some aspects of Oyster top-up. Advice was given on improving the design for accessibility. A number of design recommendations were made resulting in the ticket machine design now seen on the London bus network.
Go to the TfL website for more information on London buses.