Distributing Carriage Loads in the London Underground
The idea: Propose a system to efficiently distribute passenger load in the London Underground by assisting passengers in choosing the emptiest carriage. The unforeseen challenge: Mid-way through design, I had found out that the London Overground had implemented a similar idea. The solution: Use the London Overground system as a prototype for improvement.
I conducted this out of personal interest. It involves secondary research, heuristic and think aloud evaluation, and subsequent design. This mini-project underwent significant changes due to unforeseen improvements in the London Underground at the time.
The proposed system uses several data inputs to determine the train carriage load at the time of boarding. The user only sees one output - a light located above the train carriage signifying load.
Figure 1 Diagram. Commuter view of load indicators. The lights' status is based on the number of people 1) in the carriage, 2) on the platform and 3) expected to disembark.
Initial Research and Design
Before working on the design, I conducted informal interviews with commuters and with a friend doing a phd with a focus on public transport. Secondary research also uncovered other systems that tackle the issue in Europe.
This helped to establish the importance of the issue for both commuters and stakeholders, and the different variables that define the issue - i.e. how much agency do commuters want in choosing the carriages for themselves; where/ when should commuters be informed of carriage load; how should the information be displayed.
The secondary research also informed me of other systems - largely used in transport between cities - in Europe. Two examples are the new Thameslink trains and the Den Bosch station in the Netherlands.
Subsequently, I created different sketches for design, eventually settling on a hybrid system involving smartphone and platform displays.
Design space for indicators. I sketched out the design space for the load indicators, thinking about the variables defining the problem: commuter agency, placement of solution, and type of visualization.
Wireframes. Initial proposed design for carriage load display on a platform-side screen and a mobile device.
Evaluation of Existing Systems - Citymapper
Next, I conducted more focused user research on the task of commuting with technology - looking specifically at Citymapper because of its popularity and its feature that recommends train carriages. The research uncovered different expectations and usage of public transport, and the transport app features to ease the commute.
Three key findings from the research - 1) there is no phone reception in the tube, so that commuters do not receive the right information on the spot, 2) misaligned expectations as commuters expected the visualization to be relating to carriage load when in fact it relates to the closest exit point at the destination station and 3) commuters are confused by the location of the best carriage - "Where is the front or back? Do I have to count the carriages?"
Think aloud evaluation. I conducted the research by following two participants, a Londoner, and a tourist.
Carriage recommendation feature. As seen in Citymapper.
Evaluation of Existing Systems - London Overground, Shoreditch High Street
The pilot for the load indicators was implemented in October 2017, after I had completed my secondary research on this project. This was disheartening, as it meant that the solution to the problem of distributing carriage loads could have already been designed.
However, upon further evaluation with additional participants, research on company publications, and feedback from train enthusiasts, I realised that the pilot system - accessible on a website and on a display in the train station - has much room for improvement.
My research uncovered three main issues - 1) this is not practical for the London Underground, where there may not be phone reception in the station, 2) commuters may have difficulty locating the appropriate carriage, 3) platform-side commuter behaviour is not accounted for - all commuters could crowd around the one least-empty carriage.
Evaluation - Shoreditch High Street Display. Note the similarity to my initial wireframes. The pilot system uses a website and one screen placed at the ticket gantry.
Carriage load recommendations. These are deliberately worded to describe the predicted load in actionable terms, as based on carriage capacity, carriage load, platform load and expected disembarkation of passengers.
Final Proposed Design
Taking the all the research into account, I determined that an improved design has to:
1) Provide just-in-time information, on the platform itself, independent of phone reception.
2) Allow commuters to work as little as possible - Information has to map directly onto the carriage and correspond to platform side, train side and disembarking commuters.
As such, my proposed design does away with the screen completely, replacing it with 'traffic lights' corresponding directly with the train carriage.
Limitations
This proposal imagines a blue sky scenario where coordination between different parties and data sources is seamless, which may not be the case for a system with such a long history as the London Underground. The largest obstacle to the implementation of this design, then, is less to do with user receptivity and more to do with interfacing between many (possibly inflexible) legacy systems.
Additionally, after further progression in my course, the notion of inclusion and accessibility of such a public service became a consideration. Further iteration needs to take into account the height of different commuters, as well as provisions for the visually impaired (e.g. colour blind commuters). Participant shadowing and co-design would be good methodologies to use as a basis for iteration.