Understanding Passengers’ Experiences of Train Journeys to Inform the Design of Technological Innovations

In this paper, we present results from a collaborative research between academic institutions and industry partners in the UK, which aimed to understand the experience of rail passengers and to identify how the design of technology can improve this experience. Traveling by train can often provide passengers with negative experiences. New technologies give the opportunity to design new interactions that support the creation of positive experiences, but the design should be based on solid understanding of users, and their needs. We conducted in-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and used additional questionnaires given to passengers on board of trains to collect the data presented on this paper. A customer journey map was produced to illustrate the passengers’ experiences at diverse touchpoints with the rail system. The positive and negative aspects of each touchpoint are plotted over the course of a “typical” journey, followed by the explanations for these ratings. Results indicate how the design of technological innovations can enhance the passenger experience, especially at the problematic touchpoints, e.g. when collecting tickets, navigating to the platform, boarding the train, and finding a seat. We finalize this paper pointing towards requirements for future technological innovations to improve the passenger experience. Sometimes passengers have negative experiences when traveling by train (Wockatz & Schartau, 2015). There are diverse aspects of the rail transport that could be improved (Transport Focus, 2015) and experiences tend to worsen with the increasing demand to the rail system (Office of Rail and Road, 2015a & 2015b). Customer journey experience maps are commonly used to understand and visualize user experience (UX) (Jüttner et al., 2013), with examples picturing passenger’s interactions with transport systems (Aceves-González, 2014). The information provided by journey maps can be used to improve service operations (Tseng et al., 1999). There is potential for technology to be designed in a way that supports positive experiences (Desmet & Hassenzahl, 2012). This research aggregates existing knowledge and complements it with bespoke data collection to understand the interaction between passengers and the rail system. The aim was to understand how rail passengers currently experience their journeys, providing real-life insights on interactions with the system, from planning and buying to alighting at the final station, in order to identify how innovative technologies can improve this experience. The study design focused specifically on the points of interaction where technology can affect the UX. A passenger journey experience map was produced in order to illustrate how customers feel at each of these main touchpoints with the system, highlighting particularly where technology can play a role in improving the customer experience. The map is complemented by analysis of the interactions and suggestions for the development of technology to enhance customer experience for rail travelers. This work is part of a consortium formed by two academic institutions and four industry partners named CLoSeR. The collaborative nature of this research requires synergy between academia and external organizations, combining research methods to better inform the production of innovation that could improve UXs. The main phases of the project are being conducted over a 27-month period, from December 2015 to March 2018.