OneBusAway is a set of tools for improving the usability of public transit, in particular tools for providing real-time arrival information for busses. The system is used by over 40,000 people per week in the Seattle area. Our research focusses on evaluating the effect on behavior of providing such tools, on improving the tools and adding new functionality, and on integrating them with mobility applications for blind and deaf-blind riders. Our results so far show significant positive impacts on rider satisfaction, reduced wait time and stress around taking transit, a modest increase in the number of trips taken (especially discretionary trips), and even increased walking, which has health benefits.

Collaborators

Shiri Azenkot
Alan Borning
Brian Ferris
Kari Watkins

Publications

Enhancing Independence and Safety for Blind and Deaf-Blind Public Transit Riders
Shiri Azenkot , Sanjana Prasain , Alan Borning , Emily Fortuna , Richard E. Ladner and Jacob O. Wobbrock
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2011. Full Paper (PDF)
OneBusAway: Improving the Usability of Public Transit OneBusAway: Improving the Usability of Public Transit
Brian Ferris
UW, 2011. Ph.D. Dissertation (PDF)
OneBusAway: Location-Aware Tools for Improving Public Transit Usability OneBusAway: Location-Aware Tools for Improving Public Transit Usability
Brian Ferris , Kari Watkins and Alan Borning
IEEE Pervasive Computing, 2010. Article (PDF)
OneBusAway: Results from Providing Real-Time Arrival Information for Public Transit. OneBusAway: Results from Providing Real-Time Arrival Information for Public Transit.
Brian Ferris , Kari Watkins and Alan Borning
Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2010. Full Paper (PDF)
    Best Paper Nominee