Geehan and Deslauriers – TRANSIT ROUTE GUIDES 1978

Description

The Ontario Ministry of Transportation & Communications commissioned a study to evaluate transit route guides’ readability and utility in small cities (<200,000). N.D. Lea & Associates and Stanton Consulting tested five representative guides via a questionnaire (behavioral, attitudinal, sociological) administered to ~580 respondents who were not recent transit users. Results showed substantial difficulty using guides to plan trips—49% could not plan a trip using their local guide, and even excluding timetable questions, 26% still struggled. Timetables were the weakest element: headings, route designations, sparse timepoints and condensed formats confused users, and many overestimated travel times. Attitudinal feedback did not reliably predict actual performance, and no clear demographic patterns emerged. Recommendations: define the guide’s function (information, marketing, PR); use a detailed city base map for broader utility; design clear route overlays and timetables with many checkpoints or clear headway information; employ color and adapted base maps judiciously; balance simplicity and necessary detail; and test drafts with the public.