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access icon free Build an app and they will come? Lessons learnt from trialling the GetThereBus app in rural communities

© The Institution of Engineering and Technology
Received 16/08/2016, Accepted 30/10/2017, Revised 09/10/2017, Published 28/11/2017

Real-time passenger information (RTPI) systems have been identified as having benefits in terms of passenger willingness to travel by public transport and their satisfaction levels with services provided. The lack of this amenity in rural areas, however, may hamper public transport use, thus reinforcing patterns of over-reliance on personal vehicles. To explore the potential impacts of providing RTPI in rural areas, a smartphone application (GetThereBus) was developed to allow rural bus passengers to share real-time public transport data, and access real-time and timetable information. Through user testing of GetThereBus, this work aimed to address questions related to the impact of the limited availability of rural digital infrastructure on the provision of RTPI; the potential for crowdsourced information to supplement published timetable information given digital limitations; and the potential impacts of such a system on the traveller experience. This study describes the GetThereBus development and evaluation phases. The authors found it was possible to design and develop a system that overcame many of the technological limitations experienced in rural areas, and users reported a positive response to the system. However, despite a campaign of user engagement, it proved difficult to recruit and motivate sufficient users to provide the data needed to achieve area-wide coverage.

Inspec keywords: crowdsourcing; customer satisfaction; intelligent transportation systems; traffic information systems; smart phones; mobile computing; public transport

Other keywords: smart phone application; crowdsourced information; satisfaction levels; real-time passenger information system; user engagement; rural digital infrastructure; rural bus passengers; real-time public transport data; RTPI systems; GetThereBus app; rural communities; personal vehicles; user testing; timetable information

Subjects: Traffic engineering computing; Mobile, ubiquitous and pervasive computing

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