Using Pictograms to Make Transit Easier to Navigate for Customers with Communication Barriers (2013)

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TCRP A-33A Final Report 33 CHAPTER 4 Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Study Conclusions The results of this study suggest the value of pictograms in emergency communications in buses and paratransit, and, indeed, the value for non-emergency circumstances, as well. Clearly, this study is just a first examination at the possibilities, with an enormous range of opportunities for further exploration. It is foreseeable that a set of universal pictograms could be developed for transit. Ten important conclusions from the study are these: 1. Picture-based communication with bus transit riders is necessary, especially in emergencies, but also in ordinary travel, because based on driver comments most bus passengers are “incommunicado.” They are isolated from the driver and to a large degree from each other voluntarily by digital devices or cultural behaviors, or involuntarily, because of language, disability, or distraction (care-giving, pestering by other passengers, etc.). 2. Pictograms that are connected to material facts or objects are the easiest for most people to grasp with or without explanatory text. 3. Pictograms that give directions that involve an object or person (e.g., headphones, the driver, “Stay In Your Seat”) also were mostly well understood whether presented with or without descriptive words. 4. Pictograms that give directions about simple behaviors without a material object were more difficult to understand (e.g. “Listen”), but more people grasped them than not, regardless of having or not having descriptive text. Some participants said they were confused about what they were supposed to listen to. 5. Pictograms about an idea (“Help Is Coming”) or an emotional state (“Stay Calm”) were the least understood with or without explanatory words. 6. Pictograms are useful for conveying authority. People responded to the images and reported that in an emergency, seeing pictograms held up by a driver would focus their attention. Participants indicated they would do as the directions in a pictogram told them (if they could understand it). 7. Bus drivers said they wanted effective tools for communicating with passengers and would welcome pictograms as a useful addition. 8. Passengers want direction, especially in emergencies. Participants said they would be glad to have simple pictures available to explain some aspects of public transit in general, especially when they can’t understand the language spoken. 9. Pictograms that are immediately understandable are a valuable tool. Any that are difficult for most people to decipher add to confusion and could make an emergency situation more stressful for all involved. No pictograms should be put into use without careful testing. Substantial research is needed to take the idea of using pictograms for transportation into effective reality. 10. Previous familiarity with the images would be helpful to passengers (this reinforced research findings from other studies). Flyers or other educational tools to familiarize passengers with images that would be used in emergencies would be important for transit agencies to provide their publics.

TCRP A-33A Final Report 34 Overall, there is no doubt that pictograms can be effective for communication with transit passengers who have voluntary or involuntary communication barriers. The opportunities for further research and implementation of pictograms are myriad. The importance of this future inquiry to public transit in a multicultural, multi-lingual, diverse passenger environment and in a world where private digital devices are defining people’s behavior in public space cannot be overstated. Standardization Standardization is the procedure whereby a new graphical symbol is validated against the relevant design criteria and then accepted as a standard and published. Standardization is not mandatory, but it encourages greater use of graphical symbols leading to better public adoption. (Perry) Certification or accreditation through documented attainment of agreed upon and recognized standards can be a mechanism for assuring consumers about reliability and/or utility of a product or service. Standardization is seen as a “seal of approval” that gives users confidence to choose and then rely on a product or service. Panelists expressed interest in obtaining information about standardization or some type of formal accreditation attesting to the universality as well as utility of tested pictograms. The most likely body through which pictograms might be accredited is the American National Standards Institute (ANSI 2012). ANSI facilitates voluntary, consensus-based standards that protect consumers and the environment and makes U.S. businesses more competitive internationally by promoting safety and reliability. Approval by ANSI lays the groundwork for consideration for adoption or approval by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). ISO 7001 addresses international standards for public information and ISO 22727:2007 provide standards for the creation and design of public information symbols. (ISO 2007) They define procedures for defining and testing of public information symbols, with the goal being the development and adoption of symbols that can be understood by large numbers of people regardless of their culture or language. ISO also depends of a highly collaborative and voluntary process utilizing technical committees and circulation among member nations. Especially useful for considering standards applied to pictograms that would be used by transit agencies could the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) Standards Development Program. APTA’s program, certified by ANSI, includes standards, recommended practices, guidelines and whitepapers, and one of its 10 program areas is bus transit. With more than 20 active standards development committees, APTA’s program might well include pictograms developed in this project for inclusion in its standards recommendations process. The standardization processes are demanding and lengthy, but confer a high degree of legitimacy for those symbols that are adopted. The research team recommends that embarking on this process should follow additional rounds of pictogram testing and evaluation. Another step in this effort would be to form a technical advisory committee of design experts in transportation, symbol, regulatory, and testing fields to provide guidance and advice on best practices. In addition, representatives of professional associations in graphic arts, transportation design, transit, and other related fields can be engaged to comment on the design and testing process and

TCRP A-33A Final Report 35 help develop an educational/public awareness effort for the use of pictograms to assist people with communication challenges to navigate the transit system. Recommendations for Further Study Available funding and time necessarily limited the scope of this research, but the work yielded results that are very promising. With more refinement, some of the pictograms tested could be ready for use by transit agencies. Plus, the value of picture-based communication in reaching transit passengers is clear and invites further study: more messages and images, more discovery of situations where pictograms can be effective tools, more consideration of transit agencies’ rapidly changing customer communication environment. The research team offers three recommendations for further study: 1. Refine the pictograms tested in this study, using guidance provided by participants, but, in addition, consulting more passengers, drivers, transit personnel and representatives of agencies that serve people with functional needs, to assure that images are understandable quickly by as many people as possible. Test revised images with a broader audience, representing locales and community sizes different from those used in A-33A, incorporating responses into a final set of images sufficiently understandable (e.g., 60 percent of people tested recognize what the pictogram is expressing or directing) to be useful in any bus transit irregular operations and during emergencies. Of the images the team tested, these are the six that are closest to being ready to use: (a) Look At Me, (b) Turn Off Electronics, (c) Listen, (d) Follow Me, (e) Stay Seated, (f) Danger. Images for Delay and Change in Route need more work, but they appear to be ones that could be made functional. Stay Calm and Help is Coming were the least understood and seem the least likely to be successful as pictograms. 2. Study the impact personal listening devices make on the communication circumstances in bus transit. One of the most surprising findings in this project was the prevalence of passengers’ use of digital sound devices, a trend that will likely only increase. Preparing for the challenges of this “incommunicado” communications environment will be important to transit agencies for regular messages and for emergencies. Accommodating passengers’ use of devices and still maintaining order, safety and customer connection presents a service challenge for transit agencies that pictograms could help address. A possible problem statement to study this phenomenon is attached in Appendix F. 3. Research communication tools in use currently by transit agencies, with descriptions and assessments (by the agencies) of their effectiveness. Currently, transit agencies have no way to know what is in use and working or not for other agencies, except in occasional examples. Drivers told this research team they need every communication tool available to address the diverse ridership they now serve and they expect only more diversity over time. A compendium of what is currently in use or is planned (or tried and abandoned) would be very valuable to the industry.

TCRP A-33A Final Report 36 This would be very good research for a University Transportation Center (UTC) to undertake because it would lend well to academic inquiry, analysis, and reporting and to the engagement of students as primary researchers. The pictogram project team found transit agencies very willing, even eager, to talk about their communication efforts. Research on this topic could be done electronically and at distance very readily, as agency personnel seem willing to engage on the topic. The results of such inquiry could be the ground of many interesting and strategic ideas that would further the service, security and preparedness goals of the transit industry. The opportunities for pictograms to make meaningful contributions to transit are sufficient that further study and future implementation could be led and conducted by a variety of organizations. The scope and findings of this project show that good progress can be made with relatively few resources. Six pictograms that were most easily understood with or without accompanying text offer benefit to the transit industry, bringing a measure of compelling simplicity to communication in an increasingly complex and diverse transit passenger setting.