Overview
The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council launched a door-to-door Internet journey planner in November 2001. The new system provides door-to-door itinerary planning, timetable and route information for the whole public transport system in the area. The idea was to make a rather complex transport system more easily accessible; to combine information from various sources to provide an optimum itinerary, designed purely on individual needs and preferences.
The usage has been constantly rising since the beginning of the service. The number of accessed main pages is on average 12 000 and total number of accessed pages 100 000 each weekday. Novo Meridian Ltd is the system developer and maintainer.
The objectives of this project are to:
- Analyse the use of the service, define user groups;
- Collect and analyse user opinions and development needs;
- Evaluate technology and usability;
- Evaluate publicity of the service;
- Estimate effects on public transport usage and information acquisition;
- Develop methodology to estimate socio-economical profitability of an internet journey planner; and
- Guide future development.
In order to estimate socio-economical profitability, a calculation model, based on users' own experience on different effects and their magnitude, was developed. The model uses statistics and various study results as an input and calculates cost-benefit ratio as a result.
Funding
Results
According to the phone interview study:
- 28 % of citizens over 14 years old in Helsinki Metropolitan Region have used the service at least once;
- 2 % of the citizens use it weekly;
- 9 % 1-3 times a month and
- 18 % randomly.
The usage is more popular to areas that require interchanges. The most active users were found in the 25-34 age group, students and senior officials and in the highest income group. The availability of a car does not affect the use of the service, hence the system is likely to have some effect on public transport usage.
The chosen technology has proved reliable in practice. The modular system is based on tailored Linux-based software components. Hence, the system maintenance requires some special expertise, but on the other hand, service breakdowns have not been experienced.
Users value the speed of the service very highly. Also the usability of the user interface was valued as high, as well as the 'reasonableness' of the itineraries produced. The map interface received some criticism from the users.
In Spring 2003 an updated version of the software became operational with improved personalisation features and an improved map interface.
To sum up, trip decisions have become better informed and travelling more efficient. Study results indicate that trip planner increases the use of public transport and shifts trips from private car.
Even with a very cautious estimate, the investment has been highly profitable for society. This case is a good example of new technology bringing great benefits with little investment in infrastructure. The potential is out there - intelligent and informed decisions are needed to get the most out of it.
Policy implications
The most important developments in the near future are new infokiosk interface and the option to specify travel by low-floor vehicles only.
The most important development area at the moment is the marketing of the service for new users. According to the phone interview, 57 % of the citizens in Helsinki Metropolitan Area had heard about the service in December 2002. What is notable is that 36 % of the citizens who use public transport daily have not heard about the service. Only 27 % of all citizens knew about the mobile phone interfaces.
Users value the speed of the service very highly. Also the usability of the user interface was valued as high, as well as the 'reasonableness' of produced itineraries. The map interface received some criticism from users. In spring 2003 an updated version of the software became into operation with improved personalisation features and an improved map interface.
According to the phone interview study, 28 % of citizens over 14 years old in Helsinki Metropolitan Region have used the service at least once. 2% of the citizens use it weekly, 9% 1-3 times a month and 18% randomly. The usage is more popular to areas that require interchanges. The most active users were found in the age group of 25–34, students and upper officials and in the highest income group. The possibility to use car does not affect the use of the service, hence the system is likely to have some effect on public transport usage.
To sum up, trip decisions have become better informed and travelling more efficient. Study results indicate that trip planner increases the use of public transport and shifts trips from private car.
Even with a very cautious estimate, the investment has been highly profitable for the society. This case is a good example of new technology bringing great benefits with little investment in infrastructure. The potential is out there – intelligent and informed decisions are needed to get the most out of it.