The future bus station in the Dutch city of Enschede is to be served by busses allocated on the basis of a dynamic scheduling system. The information regarding the bus service will be shown on both static and dynamic displays. In this study the various factors are addressed that determine the legibility of a display. Recommendations are given with respect to the following aspects: (1) Letter height in relation to the viewing distance, including reading distance shorter than 1m; (2) Letter (body) width and stroke width (expressed in letter height), both for positive and negative contrast; (3) Spacing between letters, words, and lines (expressed in letter width); (4) Letter shape and the use of capitals and lower-case; capitals and lower-case; (5) Minimum and maximum luminance, both during nighttime and daytime, and the use of shields to reduce the glare from bright backgrounds; (6) Minimum and maximum luminance ratio between character and background light; (7) Use of colour in relation to conspicuity and legibility; and (8) acceptability limits for viewing distance and display heights, based on average eye height and preferred viewing angle. (A)
Abstract