Everett, Anderson and Makranczy – TRANSIT ROUTE PAMPHLETS – DO THEY WORK 1977

Description

The paper examines how transit information aids affect riders’ ability to plan and execute bus trips, noting that systematic research is limited. Using 19 bus-route pamphlets from seven cities, the authors tested 209 university students on seven trip-planning tasks and collected subjective ratings. Overall accuracy was low (mean 41%, range 17–74%), with trip duration the hardest item. Cluster analysis identified three pamphlet types: single-route, compact fold-out, and multi-route/colorful pamphlets. Single-route pamphlets with bus-stop designations and limited (two) colors performed best (54% correct) versus 46% and 30% for the other groups. No meaningful correlation was found between prior transit experience or city familiarity and task performance; small practice effects were observed. The study concludes that many current pamphlets are ineffective, recommends design criteria favoring simple single-route formats, and calls for field-based replications and controlled experiments to refine pamphlet attributes that truly improve trip-making accuracy.