Information Design for Public Transportation

This research project explores how effective information design can increase public transportation ridership by making transit systems more accessible and understandable for all users. Despite public transportation’s role in enhancing safety and promoting mobility equity, there are gaps in how information such as maps, schedules, and safety updates are communicated, leaving many potential riders unaware of available services. By analyzing how various information types affect users' travel choices, this study aims to create a strategic information dissemination framework that can improve public awareness and encourage a shift from private car use to public transit. Leveraging insights from information design, marketing, and game theory, the project will develop a choice experiment to assess the preferences of different transit information formats. This data will inform a model for optimizing information presentation to maximize ridership and support safety and equity goals. Ultimately, the project will provide public transit agencies with actionable strategies to design information in ways that encourage transit usage, potentially reducing traffic fatalities and making transportation more affordable for economically disadvantaged populations.

    Language

    • English

    Project

    • Status: Active
    • Funding: $206000
    • Contract Numbers:

      69A3552348301

    • Sponsor Organizations:

      Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

      University Transportation Centers Program
      Department of Transportation
      Washington, DC  United States  20590
    • Managing Organizations:

      University of Massachusetts, Amherst

      Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
      130 Natural Resources Road
      Amherst, MA  United States  01003
    • Performing Organizations:

      University of Connecticut, Storrs

      Connecticut Transportation Institute
      270 Middle Turnpike, Unit 5202
      Storrs, CT  United States  06269-5202
    • Principal Investigators:

      Lownes, Nicholas

      Day, Robert

    • Start Date: 20240901
    • Expected Completion Date: 20250831
    • Actual Completion Date: 0
    • USDOT Program: University Transportation Centers Program
    • Subprogram: University Transportation Centers

    Subject/Index Terms

    Filing Info

    • Accession Number: 01935922
    • Record Type: Research project
    • Source Agency: New England University Transportation Center
    • Contract Numbers: 69A3552348301
    • Files: UTC, RIP
    • Created Date: Nov 5 2024 11:36AM