This paper has four objectives: to further develop the understanding of public transport users information needs and how these may be provided for as a follow up to the paper Pells et al. presented at this seminar in 1994; to present a novel application of touch screen technology to an information product developed over the last 5 years for and by West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive; to discuss the results of market testing of this system both against the results of previous work and a market research exercise designed to test the system's particular characteristics, and to discuss the wider implication for the provision of consumer information needs and desires. Section 1 of the paper provides a background to the history of public transport information planning and provision in West Yorkshire and within this context, states the strategic and operation objectives set for the Info Point project. Section 2 of the paper describes the technical features of the system, discusses the main design and operational constraints and how these were overcome. Section 3 reviews the criteria from the consumers' perspective for passenger information systems, arising from work carried out elsewhere, and describes the approach taken to researching consumers' reactions to the Info Point. Section 4 summarises the principal results of the market research exercise. Section 5 describes the implications of the research results for final design of the operational characteristics and ergonomics of the system in preparation for its general introduction, and Section 6 presents conclusions.
Abstract