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Suggested Citation:"Report Contents." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22598.
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Suggested Citation:"Report Contents." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22598.
×
Page 2
Page 3
Suggested Citation:"Report Contents." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22598.
×
Page 3
Page 4
Suggested Citation:"Report Contents." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22598.
×
Page 4
Page 5
Suggested Citation:"Report Contents." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22598.
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The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. On the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, on its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. The Transportation Research Board is one of six major divisions of the National Research Council. The mission of the Transporta- tion Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation innovation and progress through research and information exchange, conducted within a setting that is objective, interdisciplinary, and multimodal. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 7,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individu- als interested in the development of transportation. www.TRB.org www.national-academies.org

TCRP A-33A Final Report iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PANEL ROSTERS .........................................................................................................................1 AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..............................................................................................2 ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................................3 SUMMARY .....................................................................................................................................4 CHAPTER 1 Background ...............................................................................................................7 1.1 Problem Statement and Research Objective 1.2 Scope of Study CHAPTER 2 Research Approach ..................................................................................................10 2.0 Approach – Literature Review 2.1 Summary 2.2 Interviews with Transit Providers 2.3 Interviews with Experts Serving Vulnerable Populations 2.4 Select a Scenario for Developing and Testing Messages 2.5 Develop and Test Pictograms 2.6 Conduct Pilot Tests CHAPTER 3 Findings and Applications .......................................................................................30 CHAPTER 4 Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Study ...........................................33 REFERENCES ..............................................................................................................................37 ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS, INITIALISMS, AND SYMBOLS ......................................39 APPENDIX A DRIVER INTERVIEW DISCUSSION GUIDE .............................................43 APPENDIX B INTERVIEW DISCUSSION GUIDE WITH EXPERTS REPRESENTING POPULATIONS WITH COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES ....................45 APPENDIX C PICTOGRAMS ................................................................................................47 APPENDIX D INSTRUCTIONS FOR TRANSIT AGENCIES .............................................58 APPENDIX E INSTRUCTIONS FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS ...........................................80 APPENDIX F RESEARCH PROBLEM STATEMENT FOR FUTURE STUDY ................93

TCRP A-33A Final Report 1 PANEL ROSTERS TCRP PROJECT A-33 PANEL Communication with Vulnerable Populations: A Transportation and Emergency Management Toolkit Dwight A. Ferrell, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, Atlanta, GA (Chair) Valerie Jo Anderson-Stallworth, Wesley Chapel, FL Roosevelt Bradley, The Allen Group, Miami, FL Judith A. Burrell, Burrell Project Consult LLC, Vienna, VA Mary Ann Collier, Swayzer Engineering, Inc., Dallas, TX Shoshana Cooper, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Transit, New York, NY Richard Devylder, Department of Transportation, Washington, DC Aida Berduo Douglas, Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Austin, TX Natalie Easterday, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, Chesapeake, VA Alexandra Enders, University of Montana/Rural Institute on Disabilities, Missoula, MT Cynthia A. Gallo, Norwell, MA Minnie Fells Johnson, Plantation, FL Yvonne M. Lyon, Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District, Portland, OR Meg H. Robertson, Massachusetts Commission for the Blind, Boston, MA Allen C. Smith, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (TX), Houston, TX Kimberly Lashelle Goins, FTA Liaison Laurel J. “Laurie” Radow, FHWA Liaison Corey Walker, FTA Liaison William Brownlow, AASHTO Liaison Julie Cunningham, COMTO Liaison David Hahn, APTA Liaison Karen Lowrie, Center for Transportation Safety, Security and Risk Liaison Keri Lubell, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Liaison Ramonica Moore, COMTO Liaison Kelly Shawn, Community Transportation Association of America Liaison Edward A. Tanzman, Argonne National Laboratory Liaison Joedy W. Cambridge, TRB Liaison TCRP PROJECT A-33A PANEL Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers Mary Ann Collier, Swayzer Engineering, Inc., Dallas, TX Alexandra Enders, Missoula, MT Margaret M. “Peggy” Groce, District 75, NYC Department of Education, New York, NY Brett Hansard, Argonne National Laboratory, Sherman Oaks, CA Yvonne M. Lyon, Boring, OR Allen C. Smith, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (TX), Houston, TX Kimberly Lashelle Goins, FTA Liaison Corey Walker, FTA Liaison

TCRP A-33A Final Report 2 AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research reported herein was performed under the TCRP Project A-33A by a team of Jane Mobley Associates (JMA) with administrative assistance from Louis Berger Group (BG). The researchers and authors of this report are Jane Mobley, Ph.D., Kelly Reinhardt, Julie MacLachlan, J.D., Rea Wilson, and Vivian Strand, the graphic designer who developed the pictograms. Deborah Matherly, P.E., of LBG, also contributed to the project. The authors would also like to acknowledge the invaluable contributions from the professionals and organizations that participated in interviews and conducted pilot tests of the pictograms. This includes drivers/operators and staff from the following: Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority, Des Moines, Iowa Houston Metro, Houston, Texas Kansas City Area Transportation Authority, Kansas City, Missouri Kentucky Department for Public Health, Frankfort, Kentucky. New York City Transit, New York, New York New York City Department of Education, Travel Training Office, New York, New York Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, St. Petersburg, Florida TriMet, Portland, Oregon Ride Connection, Portland, Oregon Tuscaloosa City Transit, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

TCRP A-33A Final Report 3 ABSTRACT This is an evidence-based report on efforts to determine if pictograms – picture-based communication tools that use illustrations with few or no words – can be effective in communicating emergency information and behavioral modification in a transit emergency to people with communication challenges. This report distills efforts that have gone into developing and implementing pictograms in a variety of settings, including transit, transportation, health, manufacturing, and hospitality. It also analyzes a body of primary research from interviews with bus drivers and operators who identified critical messages; experts who work with or serve people with communication challenges; and end users, passengers with communication challenges. The end users included people who were native English-speakers; who spoke little or no English; people who were deaf or hard of hearing; people with cognitive, sensory, or physical disabilities; people who were over the age of 65; and people who were new to the transit system. Bus transit was selected to fit the limited scope of this study, although the conclusions reached can have applicability to other transit modes as well. Four transit agencies and their partner community service providers conducted pilot tests inside parked buses to assess a set of 10 original pictograms designed to capture the drivers’ messages. The research proves that pictograms can be effective, but it also suggests that substantial study is yet to be done to identify universal images that would convey the messages transit drivers consider most important.

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Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers Get This Book
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TRB’s Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP) Web-Only Document 59: Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers explores whether pictograms–picture-based communication tools that use illustrations with few or no words–can be effective in communicating emergency information and behavioral modification to people with communication challenges during a transit emergency situation.

A PowerPoint presentation that summarizes Web-Only Document 59 is available for download.

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