Within the world of public transport several parties are involved in a project called VINK. The aim of the project is to introduce a chip card system into the Dutch public transport. The system will be a so-called 'check-in, check-out' (Cico) system. Users will have to check in with their card when they enter the vehicle and check out when they leave. The system registers the travelled distance and calculates the price. The price is automatically paid electronically. Within the VINK project a Cico pilot study was commissioned to explore the feasibility of the system in an open environment (e.g. bus or tram). TNO-HF was asked to support this project with the formulation of the human factors aspects relevant to the Cico system. In addition,TNO-HF was asked to formulate guidelines for the implementation of the system. Three focus areas that play an important role in the use of the Cico system were defined: user friendliness, physical ergonomics and customer acceptance. Subsequently, an inventory was made of issues central to the human factors aspects of the Cico system. The literature and knowledge available within TNO-HF and VINK was used to achieve this. Clusters of issues were made within the three focus areas. The clusters were presented and discussed during a workshop. The workshop was participated by representatives from VINK and TNO-HF. The discussions resulted in a number of recommendations concerning the implementation of the system. In addition, a number of questions has been generated that need to be explored more thoroughly. The recommendations formulated in this report roughly show how the Cico system should be implemented within the open environment of public transport. A user study is highly recommended in order to answer the formulated questions. A potential design for this study is described in the report: 'User aspects of a chip card system in public transport : research proposal phase 2'. (A)
Abstract