Oil in the Machine: Technical Support for a Human-Centred Service System for Public Transport

The Mobia project is a 3-year R&D project focussing on making public transport more accessible for elderly persons and persons with mobility impairments. We research and develop of a combination of a human service system consisting of on the one hand mobility helpers, that is, humans available for helping passengers with things they cannot do or are uncomfortable with, such as, entering and exiting the carriers. On the other hand, we develop a technological backbone containing a coordination system and user interfaces for passengers, mobility helpers and the Mobia call center with the goal of coordinating the point of service. The project applies a user-centred design methodology in which qualitative (N = 29) and quantitative (N = 250) interviews have been used to identify barriers in public transport, develop personae and scenarios.