Mix & Stir: SF Taxi & Mass Communication Challenge

Feb. 24-25, 2012

 Destination Known Team:

Cyd Harrell, Director, UX, Bolt | Peters
Deepak Jagdish, Senior Data Visualization Engineer, Nokia
Lauren Nham, MBA in Design Strategy
Alex Scott, MBA in Design Strategy

Tools utilizing transit data (like NextBus) predict bus departure times to help plan which bus or train to take at a particular stop, but we see the benefit of offering bus arrival times for all passengers — for those already inside the bus, and those waiting outside. 

We took great inspiration from freeway driving and our GPS systems. We believed these high-level perspectives would help to preempt a rider's decision to take a particular route (outside bus signage & bus stops). 

Similarly, the drill-down of approaching stops were mirrored from freeway offramp signs, where a rider could better anticipate where to go next and how to better plan their connecting routes. 

'Destination Known' leverages inexpensive technology to build an accurate forecast for a bus' arrival time at different stops so that the passengers can plan their route ahead pro-actively, rather than having to change their plans with little time left for changing routes.

To facilitate the delivery of this information to the end-user, 'Destination Known' incorporates the display of arrival time data either on current on-board technology or on inexpensive displays.  

To further simplify the users' experience on each ride, we've suggested that upcoming arrival times be grouped by geographic region/neighborhoods - through language that identifies more readily with users (i.e. SoMa: 5 MIN, Civic Center 10 min).

Not only would arrival information give riders accurate expectations for each trip, but build security and comfort for riders who face discomfort with where each bus is headed and when the bus reaches their intended waypoint/destination.

While a plethora of data and information could be displayed and offered to riders, we believed a curated data information that leveraged the existing infrastructure would best both quickly communicate information at a glance using existing language and fit the implementation requirements as well on a restricted budget. 

'Destination Known' was born out of the frustration many of us face when we travel by public transit throughout San Francisco. Delays force schedule changes, missed connections and late arrivals — creating stress in everyone from the busy commuter to the disoriented tourist.

The Signage is easily leveraged for local news and civic coverage.  This has been adopted by some SF Muni busses with "GO GIANTS" on the front signage.