Pre-journey interaction and querying

When a user needs to get from any point A (U_o) to another point B (U_d), there are different kinds of information the user needs. They are as follows:

• Trip-Planner that gives complete details about bus stop, bus route, bus arrival time (Shalaik et al., 2010, 2011b, 2012).

• Which bus stop to go to catch the bus, directions to get there (Shalaik et al., 2010, 2011a,b).

• Time taken to get to the bus stop to reduce wait time at the bus stop (Shalaik et al., 2010).

• Arrival time of the bus at the bus stop (Shalaik et al., 2011a,b).

• Walking directions to get to a bus stop (Jacob et al., 2012a; Shalaik et al., 2011a).

The first phase involves getting from user’s current location U_oto the origin bus stop, B_o. The use of web services providing this information is still the most popular method for trip planning as planning a trip in advance is usually done at the comfort of a computer at home or in office. Here the interaction with the web service can ensure complete attention of the user as there are no other distractions. The use of printed transit information is still very popular with its availability mostly free of cost at train/bus stations.

The main types of information the trip planner provides is the bus stop to go to, the bus number to take, the arrival time of the bus at the origin bus stop, the expected arrival time of the bus at the destination (thus knowing total in-transit time), and the

distance to the actual destination from the destination bus stop. In our previous work, we integrated pedestrian navigation functionality with a real-time web service to enable better quality of service by reducing the wait time of passengers at bus stops (Shalaik et al., 2010). This was achieved by combining the time taken to get to the bus stop from the users current location and the arrival time of the bus (the user intends to take) at the bus stop. This system which worked on a web browser was extended to provide these services on a mobile device called TransitDroid (Shalaik et al., 2011b).

This system provided information about arrival time of bus at the bus stop and the time taken to reach the bus stop to ensure the user does not miss the bus and have to spend more time waiting at the bus stop for the next bus on that route towards the destination. This was beneficial as apart from the web service that can be used when the user is in the comfort of an indoor environment, when the user is on the move, or an easy to use service must provide information about expected bus arrival time. on mobile devices. We compared the use of web and mobile services and provided a model that integrates both user interaction models based on user location (Shalaik et al., 2012). Shalaik et al. in the paper emphasised the need for an easy to use mobile interaction model. Thus a model where the user could query for bus stops by using pointing gestures using their mobile phone was highlighted. The pointing and scanning gesture based querying for public transport information uses a Haptic GeoWand based querying system that provides haptic feedback when the user points the device in the direction of the desired bus stop (Jacob et al., 2012a).

The model of the route is stored in the spatial database. Each route R is an ordered sequence of stops B_o, B₁, . . . B_n−1, B_n. Here, the corresponding arrival time of the bus at each of the stops are represented as to, t1, . . . tn−1, tn. The expected arrival time of the next bus at the origin bus stop, B_o is t_o. The destination stop on a route is given by B_nwith the bus arrival time at destination is t_n and the stop just prior to this destination stop is B_n−1 has an arrival time of t_n−1. The time taken to walk from the user’s current location (U_o) to the origin bus stop (B_o) is t_wo. Based on the time taken to walk to the bus stop, B_o the user is provided with information about the bus arrival time and the system advises the user about the appropriate actions to take. Each stop Bi has attribute information associated with it including: stop number, or stop name.

Using the timetable/real-time bus arrival information for a given journey R_i along route R, we store the timing for the bus to reach that stop as t_o, t₁, . . . t_n−1, t_n. This can be stored as the number of minutes it will take the bus to reach an intermediate stop B_i after departing from B_o. This can also be stored as the actual time of day that a bus on

journey Ri will reach a stop Bi along a given route R. This is illustrated in Figure 88.

The user initiates the ‘point-to-query’ element of the system where the user selects the destination and then scans the area to find the general direction of the origin bus stop B_o. The “scan” operation is performed when the user holds the phone parallel to the ground and moving it around them (Figure 58). The user ‘scans the area to find the location (and general heading) of the origin bus stop, B_o. The information also provided is the expected arrival time of the bus at the origin bus top. By comparing the walking time to the origin bus stop and the expected arrival time of the bus at the bus stop, user is also alerted if they will be able to make it in time for the bus or if they will miss it. The user is said to miss the next bus from Bo if the walk time two from users current position U_oto the origin bus stop is greater than the time remaining for the bus to reach the origin bus stop B_o.

The compass and the location information via GPS will help query the system and provide directional information to the bus stop. This feedback is provided by textual description with bus number and arrival time at the bus stop along with the walking distance and time taken to reach the bus stop. Haptic feedback in the form of a vibration alarm is used to provide the user with information of the general direction of the bus stop when the user points the smartphone in the direction of the bus stop, B_o. Thus, this minimises the interaction with the visual interface while the user walks towards the bus stop thus ensuring faster travel to the bus stop. The user gets real-time information about the arrival time of the ideal bus to take to get to the bus stop B_nwhich is nearest to the actual destination U_d of the user.

The HapticNavigation sub-system within the public transit system for mobile provides the user with information about the bus stops, the arrival time of the bus at the origin bus stop based on the real-time location of the buses and also navigation assistance to get from the users current location Uo to the bus stop Bo. The wait time at the origin bus stop before boarding the bus is represented by t_wait. The real-time bus tracking system that provides the expected arrival time of the bus at the bus stop ensures that the user’s wait time at the bus stop is minimal.

We will now discuss the kinds of in-bus information and notification for public transport users and how tactile cues are used to provide the users with such information.