Improving the clarity of travel information for familiar and unfamiliar travellers in public transport travel information systems

Abstract

Every day, UK towns and cities are full of different traveller types, each with a different level of exposure to the environment around them, which is made up of the local landscape and transport system operations. For example, the travellers that are most comfortable with the information around them and can respond accurately to it are those who travel regularly and are familiar with the environment. However, other travellers unfamiliar with these things will need a little more help in understanding it and the available information relating to it.

In some cases, service providers and key stakeholders turn to external information systems to resolve pressure points caused by a lack of local familiarity. These include journey planners used to help travellers gain an understanding of day-to-day operations within that landscape. These external systems focus on distributing the available travel information and not on the user’s primary travel information needs relating to their journey. Little research has addressed how travel information should be presented to travellers to inform effective action. In essence, giving an individual access to relevant information and advice means the production of accurate travel plans that correctly match the local landscape and transport operations in a clear and understandable way.

This thesis established a broad view of the different traveller type personas based on their level of familiarity and the stages of information use. That knowledge was captured in a Traveller Planning Types (TPT) framework conceptualised through a triangulation study comprised of a contextual review, focus groups and a literature review collated using thematic analysis. The TPT framework was confirmed as an appropriate framework using a Delphi study of these key stakeholders of external information provision systems. The TPT framework was then used to establish a new method of measuring pre-trip travel information needs for familiar or unfamiliar
journey planning situations using probing and process observation techniques using a screen monitoring system.

The results show that there is a statistically significant difference in how travellers feel when pre-planning a familiar or unfamiliar journey, especially with regards to translating that information into accurate travel plans and the confidence to conduct the pre-planned journey. The research has identified that pre-planning travel information has yet to meet the standards set by the fourth rule of citizenship. Specific strategic guidelines were developed to guide future development of such external information systems to take into account user’s travel information needs.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Thomas Cherrett: orcid.org/0000-0003-0394-5459

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