Bus information system for Bangalore city
Duration: 4 weeks
Keywords: Digital Design for Society,Design Research, City Map, Information Visualization, Kiosk Design
The project started with a very open ended brief to do an ethnographic exploration of the city life in Bangalore and try to find out the areas/tasks/processes which can be improved with digital design interventions.
For the initial few days we tried to find out the opportunity areas and found that most people have to spend a lot of time waiting for the bus or finding the correct bus. Mostly they prefer asking the fellow commuters or the conductors rather than referring to the huge & complex maps given in the terminus. So if there could be a solution which can forecast after how much time the next bus to a particular area will be arriving it would help the commuter in better route planning and would save time.
So we came up with this idea of a digital kiosk at the major bus stands where people can find the bus routes, updated bus arrival time (real time) and can renew or purchase bus passes. We also added some extra features like city info and utility bill payment.
The aim behind this project was to understand mediates between technology and society by continuously designing products and application for bettering the quality of life of city people. We had to do research on social phenomena which can be addressed through technology aided design. So we focused on three particular areas of the information system used in the bus service and hope that with the introduction of some basic technology we can improve the travel experience of bus commuters in Bangalore.
Keywords: Digital Design for Society,Design Research, City Map, Information Visualization, Kiosk Design
The project started with a very open ended brief to do an ethnographic exploration of the city life in Bangalore and try to find out the areas/tasks/processes which can be improved with digital design interventions.
For the initial few days we tried to find out the opportunity areas and found that most people have to spend a lot of time waiting for the bus or finding the correct bus. Mostly they prefer asking the fellow commuters or the conductors rather than referring to the huge & complex maps given in the terminus. So if there could be a solution which can forecast after how much time the next bus to a particular area will be arriving it would help the commuter in better route planning and would save time.
So we came up with this idea of a digital kiosk at the major bus stands where people can find the bus routes, updated bus arrival time (real time) and can renew or purchase bus passes. We also added some extra features like city info and utility bill payment.
The aim behind this project was to understand mediates between technology and society by continuously designing products and application for bettering the quality of life of city people. We had to do research on social phenomena which can be addressed through technology aided design. So we focused on three particular areas of the information system used in the bus service and hope that with the introduction of some basic technology we can improve the travel experience of bus commuters in Bangalore.
