Live data from Hacker News

A Better BART Kiosk Interface

bartkiosk.com

21–30 of 35 posts

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention the need to add 5c to your ticket if you want it back at the end of the journey - say for expense or tax deduction purposes if you are making occasional but expensive long-distance trips for work assignments. I've spent >$300 on BART fares for a month-long project before, and if you exit the station with the exact fare on your ticket, there goes your receipt.

Every time I've used BART, in addition to emitting a ticket, the machine emits a receipt out of the same orifice.

For plastic yes, you're right. I tend to use cash for transit fares, I don't know why. I must have some mental block about it, because I'll even leave the station to go use the ATM, then come back and make change and then put the $5 bill in and grumble about having a pocket full of quarters. Oh well, I fail.

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#23
post #20

Looks nifty, but can anyone who is color-blind comment on the "select destination" page? I feel it may be difficult to tell which stop is in which region.

I am red-green color blind. Still this works, the colors chosen are easy to differentiate. Also the large letters next to each section help. It might be possible to add a bit more contrast in the "F" section.

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#24
I don't like not being able to specify the exact value of the ticket. I always buy tickets in multiples of the cost of a round trip commute, so that a) I'm on my home, not on my way to work, when I need to buy a new ticket, and thus not in a rush; b) my balance ends at zero, so that the exit turnstile eats the ticket, making me aware that it's out of money so that I'm not taken by surprise by an "insufficient value" message.

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#25
Like the SFO and Oak quick ticketing. However, there's an added issue with buying a ticket to Oak - you need to pay an extra $3 to get an AirBart Ticket to the actual airport. It would be nice to account for this.

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#27

I wish SEPTA (Philly's transit system) had any kind of ticket kiosks. As it is we have to wait in long lines and deal with slow tellers to buy tickets.

That's not true. SEPTA has token kiosks. There are at least three of them at Frankford Station in Northeast Philly. (Though I wouldn't hesitate to agree Philly needs to upgrade to at least a magnetic card system.)

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#28
post #4
post #2

Despite being told it wasn't a touchscreen I tried to click on individual stations on the map multiple times. People are focused on the station they want to go to; if you show it to them, it's going to be staticky for them to figure out they have to focus on something else.

The user interaction analysis on the page points out that people in transit stations don't have the same preconception about interface. In a noisy, dirty, worn out environment, people presented with a durable looking machine with shiny labeled buttons tend to use the buttons and not the screen.

But why break the already-established custom of big black arrows that point at the buttons every time you need to use one? I barely even saw the letters on the map.

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#29
post #24

I don't like not being able to specify the exact value of the ticket. I always buy tickets in multiples of the cost of a round trip commute, so that a) I'm on my home, not on my way to work, when I need to buy a new ticket, and thus not in a rush; b) my balance ends at zero, so that the exit turnstile eats the ticket, making me aware that it's out of money so that I'm not taken by surprise by an "insufficient value"…

This design has a "make round trip" button, which would fit your needs exactly.

Re: A Better BART Kiosk Interface

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every time I've used BART, in addition to emitting a ticket, the machine emits a receipt out of the same orifice.

For plastic yes, you're right. I tend to use cash for transit fares, I don't know why. I must have some mental block about it, because I'll even leave the station to go use the ATM, then come back and make change and then put the $5 bill in and grumble about having a pocket full of quarters. Oh well, I fail.

Ah, that's a weird quirk.

One time I got stuck inside a BART station because the machines on the outside take plastic, but the ones on the inside are cash-only. I was 40¢ short and had no cash. The person at the station let me through though.

Another one of their design decisions that makes no sense :)

Post reply on HN