Increasing the Use of Public Transportation
GROUP F – March 11, 2009
Adam Agata, Raivo Lindemann, Vincent Kam, and Gerard Scott Russ
Introduction
Throughout the United States, traffic congestion is a serious problem plaguing local governments.
Traffic congestion and underutilized public transport can cost local governments and businesses millions in expenses. Statistics indicate that around 10% of journeys are made by public transport, and almost 7 times as many are made by car. Recently, petrol prices have surged due to supply concerns, and if this trend continues, increases in cost of fuel will start to
impinge upon business and retail spending. Research shows that cars contribute 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions, which
may affect climate change, and a study by the European Commission in 2005 calculated that airborne pollution reduced life
expectancy in the EU by an average of almost 9 months, and was responsible for 310,000 premature deaths. 1
Group F has decided to focus its efforts on attempting to increase the utilization of public transportation in the
small city of Ithaca, NY. We began by obtaining data from a variety of different sources, including data already
collected about the Ithaca population from other sources (the U.S. census and Ithaca economic records) with our
own personal observations and interviews. After analyzing the data, creating personas based on this data, and
brainstorming possible scenarios and solutions, we believe we have come up with a viable system for increasing
the use of public transportation, and thus helping to reduce single-driver traffic in Ithaca.
Parts I and II: Data Collection and Analysis
Traffic Observation
We gathered data at the Collegetown Bagels intersection in Collegetown from 3-4PM on a Friday as well as at
East Hill from 3-3:30PM on a Saturday. We were interested in the amount of single driver traffic vs. public
transportation, as well as the types of transportation that were used in general.
A. Modes of Transportation: 3:32 PM —4:05 PM
Modes of Transportation
Pedestrians: 57.0% (200)
Cars: 22.8% (80)
SUV: 7.12% (25)
Pickup Trucks: 4.27% (15)
Shuttles/Vans/Minivans: 3.70%
(13)
Buses: (2.85%) 10
Taxis: (1.42%) 5
Carshare: 0.570% (2)
Bikes: 0.285% (1)
1
CHI 2007, “Student Design Competition”, http://www.chi2007.org/submit/designcomp.php (2007)
From this data2, we inferred from the high ratio of pedestrians to cars that that “wasteful” single car traffic, relative to pedestrian traffic, did not seem to be as large a problem as we had initially feared, with a large percentage of travelers opting to walk or use public transportation. Given the large percentage of pedestrian traffic, we
decided that it would be difficult to convince even more people to walk, and we opted instead to focus on increasing bus usage, the alternative form of transportation that we noted was somewhat underused, given that we
observed several students miss the buss and that the departing busses were often fairly empty.
B. Vehicle Traffic
We also gathered demographics about the passing traffic by observing the types of vehicles and the occupants
of those vehicles as they drove past the store.
1. Collegetown: 3:00PM—3:25PM
90
80
70
Single-Driver: 45.9%
60
50
Carpool: 29.8%
40
Public/Commercial:
13.3%
Motorcycle: 1.66%
30
20
10
Bike: 1.66%
0
2. Collegetown: 3:32 PM —4:05 PM
160
140
120
100
Single-Driver: 47.9%
80
Carpool: 31.2%
60
40
Public/Commercial:
14.2%
Motorcycle: 0.709%
20
Bike: 1.42%
0
We acknowledge that some of our data may be skewed because of Collegetown’s close proximity to the Cornell campus. However,
we felt that it would be foolish to avoid data from such a high traffic area simply for this reason, especially in light of the large percentage of the Ithaca population that is comprised of Cornell students.
2
3. East Hill: 3:00 PM —3:30 PM
120
100
Single-Driver: 50.0%
80
Carpool: 25.8%
60
Public/Commercial: 11.6%
40
Motorcycle: 2.5%
Bike: 1.52%
20
Indeterminate: 8.59%
0
Chart 1:
Single-driver traffic: 45.9%
54  24  14  3  3 98

 54.1%
Non-single-driver traffic:
181
181
54.1%
 1.17
Ratio of single-driver traffic to other traffic:
45.9%
Chart 2:
Single driver traffic: 47.9%
88  40  2  4 134

 47.5%
Non-single-driver traffic:
282
282
47.9%
 1.01
Ratio of single-driver traffic to other traffic:
47.5%
Chart 3:
Single driver traffic: 50.0%
51  23  5  3 82

 41.4%
Non-single-driver traffic:
198
198
50.0%
 1.20
Ratio of single-driver traffic to other traffic:
41.4%
Analysis
These three charts clearly illustrate that the largest category of traffic was indeed single-driver traffic. However,
as the calculations above show, we noted that all other forms of traffic combined approximately equals the
amount of single-driver traffic, again leading us to hypothesize that the problem was not as bad as we had initially thought. We also noted that carpooling was the second most common type of traffic. With the absence of
bridges and tunnels where toll collection could occur, as well as the abundance of parking available in Ithaca,
we concluded that it would be extremely difficult to offer incentives to increase carpooling. Furthermore, we
noted that although biking was not a popular option, increasing biking traffic would only be effective for the
non-snowy parts of the year in Ithaca.
C. Census Data
We supplemented our group’s observations with data obtained from the most recent U.S. census, noting that the
breadth and randomly distributed nature of the data would provide a more representative and comprehensive
sample of the people living in Ithaca than our localized observations ever could.
The American Community Survey has adjusted the 2000 census results for a more relative 2007 look at the data.
The total Ithaca city population is estimated to be around 31,000 people. Approximately half of the population
is estimated to be around sixteen years of age or older, which is old enough to be considered part of the work
force.3 Cornell University and Ithaca College are two of the largest employers in the city, employing a combined 9,557 members of the Ithaca population (8,572 at Cornell and 985 at Ithaca College) in 2004 4, which accounts for approximately one third of the population (~32%). The combined student population of Cornell
(19,800 students5) and Ithaca College (6,448 students6) brings the total Ithaca population to about 57,000 people,
with around 63% being involved with one of these two schools. While one design aimed at reducing singledriver traffic cannot please everyone, this data suggests that focusing on catering to Cornell and Ithaca College
students would be impacting a large portion of the population, and would therefore be a viable direction for us
to attempt to progress in.
The census also provided some additional interesting data about traveling. It estimated that the average person
in Ithaca takes approximately fifteen minutes to get to work 7. According to MapQuest, it takes nine minutes to
travel over three miles (driving from East Hill Plaza down to Wegmans by way of Collegetown Bagels8). This
means that the average person works about 4-5 miles away from their home, and suggests that efficient, accessible public transportation could reduce the need for people to go through the trouble of using cars to travel such
short distances. Alternatively, encouraging people to walk would also help reduce single-driver traffic. Since
roughly half the workforce would have an hour walk or less to get to work, this is certainly well within the
realm of possibility, especially in a city that prides itself on promoting sustainability and environmental consciousness. Not only would this encourage people to get off the road, but it would also help promote a healthy
lifestyle. Furthermore, given how fuel inefficient cars are at lower speeds and on short drives involving a lot of
stopping and starting (such as would be experienced driving around in downtown Ithaca), and given that over
40% of the Ithaca population lives at or under the poverty line9, quite a number of people would also have financial incentives to walk to work instead of driving.
D. Interviews
When interviewing citizens of Ithaca, we focused on the following major issues:
1. What forms of transportation did they use and which did they use the most?
2. Why did they prefer their current mode of transportation to others?
3. Was there anything that would make them use public transportation or alternative modes of transport
(cycling, walking) more often?
U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2007 American Community Survey, “Ithaca, New York – Fact Sheet”,
http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&pctxt=fph&_lang=en&_sse=on&geo_id=16
000US3638077&_state=04000US36
4
Advameg, Inc., “Ithaca: Economy”, http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-Northeast/Ithaca-Economy.html 2009
5
Cornell University, “Common Data Set 2007-2008”, http://www.dpb.cornell.edu/documents/1000395.pdf 2008
6
College Tool Kit, “Ithaca College”, http://colleges.collegetoolkit.com/Colleges/Overview/Ithaca_College/191968.aspx 2009
7
U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2007 American Community Survey
8
MapQuest,
http://www.mapquest.com/maps?1c=Ithaca&1s=NY&1pn=east+hill+plaza&2c=Ithaca&2s=NY&2pn=collegetown+bagels#a/maps/l:
East+Hill+Plaza+Operations:341+Pine+Tree+Rd:Ithaca:NY:14850:US:42.439521:76.466007:address::1/l:Collegetown+Bagels:415+College+Ave:Ithaca:NY:14850:US:42.441916:76.48527:address::1/l:Wegmans:500+S+Meadow+St:Ithaca:NY:14850:US:42.435087:-76.508134:address::1/m::11:42.43955:76.488311:0:::::/io:1:::::f:EN:M:/e 2009
9
U.S. Census Bureau, 2005-2007 American Community Survey
3
1. Cornell Students
A white male (junior Independent Studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences, unemployed) remarked
that he uses the bus on occasion, but usually walks. He preferred walking because of convenience and cost, and
because most of the places he needs to go are on campus. He said that he has used a cab on occasion, to travel
to one of his extracurricular activities, because the bus schedule doesn’t work with his activity schedule, and
because there is no bus stop close enough to his destination. He uses the bus to travel around campus more often during inclement weather, when the convenience of staying dry outweighs the cost of bus fare, and late at
night when the bus is free. He also uses the bus on weekends, to go to places like the commons, because it is
free and significantly faster than walking. He said that if the buses ran on time more often, he would consider
using them more often. However, he enjoys walking and being outdoors most of the time.
Another white male (junior ILR major, employed as a public relations representative) said that he never uses the
bus, opting to walk short distances or drive his car. As he lives in a fraternity near North Campus, he ends up
driving to many social events in Collegetown, as well as stores in downtown Ithaca. He does not like the bus
because he rarely has a set schedule, and he likes the freedom of being able to go wherever he wants. He also
likes being able to play his choice of music while driving. He said that there was nothing that would encourage
him to use public transportation or other modes of transportation.
An Asian female (computer science major, unemployed) who is an avid Ithaca Carshare user stated that she prefers driving because she feels that it is very convenient. She enjoys the privacy, extra space for her groceries,
and the shorter travel time a car provides. She also likes being in complete control of her arrival and departure
times. She reported that she would cycle more if the weather and terrain were better and would use the bus
more often if there were better bus schedules, more efficient routes, and cheaper fare.
2. Ithaca Residents
A former taxi driver, a male aged 25 who has lived in Ithaca all his life, stated that he prefers getting around via
car. He expressed a desire to be in control when on the road, and felt that being the one behind the wheel was
the only way to ensure that. Additionally, because he lives in the northeast side of town by the airport and
works on South Hill past Ithaca College, he found it difficult to work a reliable bus system into his schedule.
Only when he finds himself without a car will he rely on the TCAT bus system or catch a taxi, but he noted that
while taxis are reliable for the most part, they are not immune to these tough economic times and taking a cab
can be very expensive anymore. However, when asked what would make him use public transportation or alternative modes of transport more frequently, the former taxi driver did state that if there was a direct route from
his house to his job, he would take that once or twice a week “to give his car a break.”
A 56-year-old male who works a full-time night shift staff at a downtown Ithaca company reported that prefers
to get around by walking or using the TCAT bus system. He does not own a car and prefers not to use them
because he firmly believes in the use of alternative methods of transportation which are more sustainable and do
not impact the environment nearly as negatively as cars do. He noted that whether he walks or takes the bus is
determined by a variety of factors, such as the weather, how rushed he is, how he is feeling, and how long it
takes for a bus to come. When asked what would make him use public transportation or alternative modes of
transport more frequently, the man noted that he often chooses not to take the bus because he would have to
wait for it and is often not sure when the bus will arrive. He admitted that if he were able to easily and conveniently check for the next bus arrival time, he would likely use it more often.
Interview Analysis
One feeling that came up rather consistently among the drivers was that using a car is far more convenient than
taking public transportation— they often felt that it was much quicker to simply hop into a car and go instead of
waiting for a bus.
Consider the following: When we asked one of the dif there would ever be a time when he would take public
transportation instead of driving, he responded that he would take public transportation to the city. This driver
lived closed to the New York City area; however, he disliked the aggressive way people drove in the in the city
and the difficulties in finding parking. When others drive him to the city, it is highly likely that they will use
public transportation after parking rather than trying to find another parking spot. In Ithaca, decent parking opportunities are available in most areas, and thus driving oneself around is the preferred option.
The key here is time—the amount of time spent looking for a parking space in a busy city is simply not worth it,
and thus public transportation becomes a viable, if not a preferred option. Thus, to increase the popularity of
public transportation, either public transportation needs to become more efficient or driving in a car needs to
become less efficient. Given that this project proposal has limited itself to an HCI approach to the problem, the
latter becomes very difficult, and Team F has opted to focus on the former.
Part III: Personas and Tasks
A. Nick Marks
Nick Marks is a twenty-five year old resident of Ithaca, New York. Nick was born and raised in the Ithaca area.
He currently rents an apartment with a couple of friends from the area. His parents reside nearby, and Nick is
pretty close with his father.
Nick has no clue as to what he wants to do with his life, but he knows he wants to do one of two things. His
first option is to go back to school. He once attended Syracuse University, but the high tuition cost was too
much for him. Six years later, he wants to return to academia to find a direction for his life. If he is unable to
go back to school, Nick just wants to leave Ithaca for a larger metropolis. Chicago, New York, and San Francisco are all on his scope.
Unfortunately for Nick, both these options require a lot of money. This has forced Nick to work nearly sixty
hours a week at several part time jobs. During the day, he is a cashier at a restaurant in Collegetown. He also
does some promotion work for a local radio station during the afternoons, and he works several scattered events
a week for a catering company located in downtown Ithaca.
To transport himself, Nick drives his beat up Honda that he has had since high school. Nick would love to consider other sorts of transportation, but he is worried about a couple different items. First, he prioritizes time.
Not only does he need to transport to different places during the day, but he needs to make sure he is on time. If
he is not on time, he could lose his job, which would be a hot commodity in this poor economy. Second, Nick
needs to make sure the transportation is cheaper than using his car. Although Nick pays a lot of money on repairs, he is unsure whether maintaining his vehicle would equal the cost of using a bus or taxi.
There is very little inconsistency for this individual on a week-to-week basis. Nick needs to get all around the
Ithaca area. He has a variety of times and locations, and he really needs to make sure he is on time because
there is a chance he could be fired. He also works late at night occasionally, and would really prefer to get
home before it is too late.
This is how a typical week may look for Nick:
Monday – Friday:
 Arrive at Collegetown from outskirts of Ithaca (near Lansing) at 8 AM to work. He is allowed to be a
few minutes late, but he has seen several co-workers fired due to consistent lateness.
 Nick gets out of work at 4:15 PM. Where he goes after this depends on the day of the week.
Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday:
 Nick needs to get from Collegetown down to the catering location in downtown Ithaca. He needs to
help set up an event, and he needs to be down there by 4:30, 4:32 at the latest.
 At around 8:30 he is all done with the event and needs to be back at his place near Lansing.
Tuesday:
 After being let out from work, Nick needs to get to East Hill Plaza for promotional work at the radio station. Although there is no set time he needs to be there, he wants to get there early because he usually
has meetings with advertisers at 5:00.
 At around 7 PM, he is done with all he needs to do.
Friday:
 Nick does not have anything until 9 at night. He is not sure whether he should go home for a little bit, or
just hang around the Collegetown area.
 At nine, he does some more promotional work for the radio, and the location changes from week to
week. Usually, he either needs to go to the Haunt on route 13, Castaways in the Commons, or the Nines
in Collegetown. Shows start at 10, but he really would prefer to get there an hour early because he has
experienced some serious technical problems in the past that have hurt his relationship with advertisers.
 He goes home around midnight.
Sunday:
 Nick needs to get to the catering place bright and early at 9 AM to set up a Sunday brunch event.
 Nick is finished with this event around 2 PM, and goes home for free time.
B. John Thomson
John Thomson is a 56-year-old Ithaca resident who has been living in Ithaca for approximately 35 years. John
lives on the East Hill of Ithaca, just west of the Cornell University campus, and his full-time job is located in
downtown Ithaca. This job requires John to work night hours, approximately 7 PM – 4 AM, from Sunday night
through Thursday night.
John doesn’t own a car and prefers to keep it that way. When necessary, because of weather or other conditions,
John will take a TCAT bus to travel downtown to his job; otherwise, he often walks. Once he is done his duties
at his job, he tends to stay and take a nap on a futon in the break room because buses don’t begin to run until
later in the morning. He eventually makes his way home in the morning to go to bed.
Outside of his job, John is active in the local government. He is a member of at least one city committee and he
occasionally needs to get to meetings pertaining to this role. On average, he goes to about one meeting every
two weeks, which generally happen in the late afternoon or early evening. He needs transportation from his
house (or his office if he hasn’t gone home in the morning) to the local government building for this meeting,
and back home again afterwards.
John usually runs his personal errands on Friday and Saturday, and thus needs to go from his home to a variety
of different locations scattered throughout Ithaca. He always goes food shopping at Tops on Saturday afternoon,
and tries to fit in a trip to his bank on Friday in between his usual activities. John occasionally needs to spend
some extra time at his office getting work done on large projects, so he sometimes needs to reschedule his personal errands around this extra work.
Here are a few scenarios John may encounter:
Sunday – Thursday nights:
 John wakes up at 5:30 PM and gets ready to go to work. He needs to be at work by 7 PM.
Monday – Friday mornings:
 John will generally want to go home in the morning to get sleep. He is finished his job duties by approximately 4 AM, but often stays in the break-room to get a nap.
Friday & Saturday:
 Over the weekend is when John generally runs personal errands. He may need to go from home to a variety of different locations around Ithaca (shopping, doctors, etc.).
Friday & Saturday:
 Occasionally John will need to spend some extra time at work over the weekend getting work done on
large projects.
Occasional weekday afternoons/evenings:
 John needs to get from his house (or his office, if he slept there) to another location in downtown Ithaca
for a local government meeting.
C. Susan Wright
Susan Wright is a sophomore Biology major at Cornell. She was born and raised in New York City, and has
always been somewhat of an independent person. Her parents are relatively wealthy, and although she no longer has that good of a relationship with them, she still travels home on occasion to visit. She still receives a
monthly stipend from her parents, but has been trying to earn a living on her own by working part-time at a
clothing store down in the Commons.
Since coming to Cornell, she has dabbled in an introductory computer science course or two, but never really
had much of any interest in technology beyond using it as part of something she wants to do. Growing up, she
was very familiar with the bus and subway systems in NYC. Since coming to Ithaca, she has tried to familiarize
herself with the TCAT schedules and routes, though she has trouble getting used to the buses not always being
on time.
Susan is incredibly dedicated to her college career, fitting in a few leisure activities and necessary errands
around her class and work schedules. She wants to spend as little “down time” as possible traveling between
errands and activities. She also wants to avoid being in inclement weather as much as possible, coming from a
place where overhangs and buildings block most of the effects of the elements.
A typical week for Susan might resemble the following:
Monday – Friday:
 Arrive on campus at 9:45 AM for class at 10:10. Her classes end at 1:10 PM on MWF, and at 4:10 PM
on TR.
 Arrive for work at 5 PM, where she works the cash register until 8 PM. Although her manager tends to
be very forgiving of lateness, she wants to make a good impression in hopes of getting a raise.
Wednesday:
 Susan has a group meeting for one of her classes at 3:30 PM, out at the Flower-Sprecher Veterinary Library. She needs to be able to get from here to her job on time, although she usually doesn’t know how
late her group meeting will run.
Saturday:
 Susan likes to go out on Saturday nights and hang out with her friends. She is often out quite late conversing and playing intellectual board games. She usually heads out between 6-8 PM, and ends up returning between 3 AM and 6 AM.
Sunday:
 Susan likes to catch up on her sleep in the morning, preferring to start her day at noon by getting her
weekly shopping.
 She wants to finish shopping by 3 PM at the latest, so she has time to get lunch with friends and spend a
while strolling around downtown Ithaca.
 She needs to be home by 8 PM so she can finish any work she has for her Monday classes.
Part IV: Design, Scenarios, and Storyboards
Our user research and observations consistently indicated that there were inefficiencies, inadequacies, and inconveniences in the TCAT bus system, so in order to improve the sustainability of traffic in Ithaca, we feel the
most progress can be made by addressing these issues and improving the public TCAT bus system.
One such improvement that we’ve considered is a back-end system for TCAT supervisors and other administrators to use to monitor the operating network in real-time (see Figure 1). This “Dashboard” would incorporate
many different features that could benefit administrators of the system such as alerts, system maps, etc., and
would be developed for not only desktop computers in offices, but also for mobile platforms (see Figure 2).
This is critical because a major part of the job of supervisors is to be out in the field. Having the ability to monitor the status of the system while carrying out tasks away from a desk is an important step in helping to improve efficiency.
The purpose of this Dashboard system is to improve overall efficiency as well as help administrators in planning routes and schedules for the system. An important aspect would be Trend reports that would help to identify and quantify performance issues having to do with equipment, personnel or routes in general (see Figure 3).
Our observations indicate that when buses arrive at their scheduled times, it is more likely that users will make
the choice to utilize public transportation.
A second idea to improve use of public transportation in Ithaca would be a comprehensive and intelligent system for text queries and alerts concerning the bus routes and schedules. These text queries and alerts could be
performed through multiple forms of media, including SMS and email messages. The alert system would allow
users to request alerts by setting up a profile on TCAT’s website, and requesting specific alerts that are most
relevant to them. For instance, a user who takes the bus home from work at The Statler Hotel could request that
alerts be sent to them between the hours of 4:15-5:15 PM concerning the Commons-bound Route 30 bus at the
Sage Hall stop. Additionally, they could specify what types of alerts to receive, such as, “only urgent route advisories,” “notify me of arriving buses 10 minutes prior to arrival,” and so forth.
The second aspect of this idea would be an intelligent query system by which users could send simple queries to
an address, and receive answers to questions such as “next 30 bus @ sage hall,” “commons to schwartz center
now,” “delays route 30” (see Figure 4). Having a simple way to access the schedule or system information
from anywhere, without the necessity for a full-fledged computer or Internet-capable mobile device would
make this information available to a far wider group of potential users at any time. The alternatives: memorizing schedules, keeping updated paper route pamphlets, or using an advanced internet device to get this information are all methods that are too inconvenient to get the masses to adopt. Our observations indicate that users
would view this capability as highly useful, and the hugely expanded range of possible users would translate
into more people opting to use the bus when they can easily find the information they need to do so.
A third potential improvement would be an interactive touch-screen display system that would be located in bus
stops and provide users with accurate, real-time information about the routes serving that stop (see Figure 5). It
would display an interactive system map, set up so that the bus stop the device is at is located at the center of
the screen. Users can drag the map to pan it, and can click on the “You Are Here” text at the top right of the
map to recenter it; the map could also recenter itself on the stop after a few minutes of not being used. The map
can also be zoomed in and out. Users can tap a route on the map or in the list on the right to select it, which
would make it visually stand out from the other routes (by fading the other routes out, and making the selected
route “pulse” or glow), so that it can be seen more easily.
This design makes it very easy to see when a particular bus will arrive at the stop, and offers some degree of
route planning capabilities by indicating the next stop for all buses that serve the stop as well as drawing the
routes those buses travel. An additional benefit of this design is that it incorporates an area for sponsored ads
that does not detract from the usability or functionality of the design itself. In today’s economy, the ability to
offset purchases of these devices with advertising revenue makes these devices more attractive and viable to
install.
For our final design, we propose a comprehensive modular system that can incorporate all three of our ideas.
Behind the scenes, each of our design ideas would benefit from a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking
system that can keep a real-time status for each bus in the network, and transmit information to TCAT, where it
can be processed and used to provide the public with very useful information about the transportation system.
GPS units would have to be fitted into all TCAT buses in order for the system to be effective. For added benefit
to administrators, the units could also measure diagnostics and transmit them back to the central computer.
The base of our modular system is the dashboard for administrators and supervisors. This is where the software
would analyze the data that the buses transmit in order to present the following items to dashboard users:

Alerts: A listing of alerts that are sent to the dashboard in real-time which include alert statuses (i.e. Urgent (red), Attention (yellow), and Notice (green))
Example alerts (see Figure 1):
o Urgent: Route 30 – Bus 1352/Operator 492 is running 10 minutes behind schedule
o Attention: Bus 3428 recorded 5 mpg – 52% of expected fuel efficiency
o Notice: Bus 2257/Operator 236 has gone out of service as scheduled





Real-time system map showing bus locations on routes
Messaging between administrators/supervisors
Trend Reports: Shows how equipment, personnel and routes are performing over time, along with relevant statistics and predictions
Equipment Inventory: A database of equipment in the network, along with necessary information
Personnel & Scheduling: A database of personnel in the system and their schedules
Both alerts and the map would be used to monitor the current status of the system. In addition, a very important
aspect of this dashboard is the trend reports feature. These reports would show data over time with relation to
overall routes, specific buses, and even specific personnel. It could be instrumental in improving the efficiency
of the network by allowing administrators and supervisors identify issues that are occurring consistently with
certain equipment or personnel, and then take the appropriate action to remedy those issues. Furthermore, the
system could identify when a certain route is showing consistent signs of trouble, regardless of the equipment or
personnel operating on that route. Having the ability to look at performance data over time could help these
administrators fine-tune schedules or even, in some situations, alter routes to improve efficiency.
With all of the information held in this system, our other design ideas could be added as modules and draw from
the existing information. The text alert and query design would be an additional piece of software that processes requests and sends alerts, but it could pull from real-time data in order to serve users with the most accurate
information like estimated arrival times, rather than having to simply use schedules that may not be accurate at
a given moment. Ideally, this system would work in a completely automated fashion. It would be necessary for
the parser of incoming messages to be very robust in order to attempt to handle a wide variety of requests that
may not always follow a standard syntax. Ideally, however, by working with contextual cues, this system
would be able to decipher the query and return relevant information. Examples of queries were listed above,
and one might imagine even more useful queries. One barrier to the adoption of this design would be educating
users of its existence, and the general rules for how queries are to be written. TCAT could use their highly visible advertising space on the inside and outside of buses to accomplish that task; they could also place posters
explaining the basics of the system inside each bus stop.
A very typical scenario where this design would be useful to one of our interview subjects is the following: On
Tuesdays, Nick Marks decides to take TCAT to get around between his different jobs. He likes using TCAT,
but his schedule is not flexible enough to allow it on most days. Nick knows which bus he needs to take from
home to get to work in Collegetown, but since he rides between jobs so infrequently, he is not sure which bus to
take from Collegetown to East Hill Plaza. Approximately 15 minutes before Nick gets out of work, he sends a
text to the TCAT text service asking “collegetown to east hill plaza @ 4:15.” The system processes his request
quickly and returns the following: “Route 54 departs Schwartz PAC at 4:18, arrives at E. Hill Plaza at 4:34.”
Alternatively, if Nick were attempting to make his way between two different locations, on a route that was
more heavily trafficked by TCAT, the reply could include a second option if one exists.
Another typical scenario where this design would be useful is in Susan’s case, after her group meeting on
Wednesday. Because her meeting is out at the vet school, she doesn’t have the time to walk there and back.
She signs up online to get alerts about the Route 92 bus between 3 PM and 3:30 PM, so she always knows when
she has to be at the bus stop to catch it after her last class. Because she doesn’t know when her meeting will be
over, she texts the system with “vet school to commons now,” and gets back a text with the first bus she needs
to catch to make it down to the Commons, along with when it will be departing the vet school. Once she gets
on the bus, she texts the system with “next,” and gets back a text with the stop she has to get off at to catch her
transfer (Schwartz PAC), as well as the route number and departure time of the next bus that takes her to the
Commons the fastest.
The second module that could be added to the base system would be the real-time, interactive displays that are
placed at bus stops around Ithaca. This technology would essentially pull most of the same information that the
dashboard already displays to administrators, except it would only show the relevant information that users need,
such as a real-time map centered at the particular stop and accurate ETAs for buses at that stop. It could also
transmit usage metrics back to the base station, indicating how many people used the touch-screen display, or
(through sensors embedded in the floor in front of the display) approximately how many people were standing
in front of it, thereby approximating how many people actually looked at the display to determine route information. It could also transmit some basic information about the stop itself, such as temperature (so TCAT administrators could see whether the heat in a stop is broken) or population density inside the stop, via the same
sensors, so administrators could determine whether they need to work on expanding a given stop if it is popular
enough. This could also be combined with the data the drivers already gather about the number of people getting on at a given stop, to calculate the average waiting time for passengers; users of the TCAT Dashboard
could then use this information to try to improve route efficiency further.
A typical scenario for this design would include John, the 56-year-old Ithaca resident who works downtown.
When John leaves his house to go to work, he walks past the Stewart @ Williams stop. In most cases he walks
to work, but today the weather is particularly cold, and if there is a bus arriving within a few minutes, John will
wait so that he can ride instead of walking. When he arrives at the stop, he makes a point to check the next arrivals, and glances at the map. He sees that a bus is only 2 minutes away, just up Stewart Ave. Without the map,
he may have continued to walk if he hadn’t seen a bus at the stop when he walked past. In this case, with the
aid of our system, he is able to determine that a bus will soon come by, and he can spend the 10-minute ride inside a warm bus, instead of walking 20-25 minutes in the cold.
The base system on its own is a great tool for TCAT administrators to improve the efficiency of the transit system. Based on our user data, improving the accuracy of schedules and efficiency of the network overall would
lead to greater public perception and adoption of the public transit system in itself. Beyond that, more can be
done to increase adoption. By implementing the TCAText™ system, users could have access to the wealth of
information that is held within the dashboard system. Additionally, the bus stop displays directly build on top
of the same information and, in some cases, the same interface elements as the dashboard system. In a number
of cases, we observed users leaving a bus stop after waiting for too long. If they had a way of telling precisely
when their bus would arrive, they would have been better equipped to make the decision to stay, or to leave earlier and save time. Extending the functionality of the design, which tracks every aspect of the transit system, to
provide users with access to more information would almost certainly increase usage of public transportation in
Ithaca.
Appendix
Figure 1: TCAT Dashboard
Figure 2: TCAT Dashboard Trends
Figure 3: iPhone TCAT Dashboard Application
Figure 4: Text Message Interface
Figure 5: Bus Stop Interface at Schwartz PAC