The idea of a burning platform comes from a story of a man on a platform in the sea. It catches fire and he must choose to stay on, and likely be burnt, or jump and try and swim to safety. The best choice is to jump – even though it’s not the most attractive… Read more
Monthly Archives: September 2013
Re-framing a bus stop: increasing customer access to essential services at transport hubs with digital information
The typical Australian bus stop is a seat, shelter and timetable. It could just be left as that – it functions perfectly well as is. But if the bus stop’s a point people come to just before they come home, what other things might they have to do? It’s possible they need to pick up… Read more
Why people are still important in automated public transport operations
Will a system that tells passengers where to stand on the platform be fully automated, or run by some sort of operator? In reality, it’s likely to be a little of both. A base system will probably have an algorithm which optimises where people stand on the platform, determined by all data collected by the… Read more
Digital information and customer service in public transport: the Service Quality Loop
In the past rail engineers often used to joke that train services would be fine if it weren’t for all those pesky passengers messing up their system. Howard Collins, new CEO of Sydney Trains, made reference to this old joke in his first public speaking engagement in his new role at an IPA luncheon. He… Read more
Introducing the Encircle blog
This website is the public online repository of the ARC-funded research project ‘Responsive transport environments: spatial and visual user information technologies to allow improved passenger flow and a better customer experience’. – A project collaboration between the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, the University of Technology, Sydney, OCAD University, and with… Read more