Audit information board stations commuter trains

My ability to criticize everything that catches the eye has long overgrown the scale of proofreading of texts. And if I do not use this talent to improve the Universe, then I risk to grow old with absolute obscene.



The most effective way of becoming a profession, I see practice. Therefore, I looked around a bit and chose an object for criticism - fresh information boards on the platforms of electric trains in Moscow and Moscow region. In the composition they look like this:


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And this is the contents of the screen on closer inspection:



In general, the appearance of a board at a private station is a pleasant surprise. Previously, they met me only at major railway stations and airports. However, the performance, as is the case with the novelties, is far from perfect.

Space is not used rationally

• Under the words "To Moscow", "From Moscow" there is an unused zone.
• In the last two columns of the text is collected in a heap.
• Columns “Departure Time” and “Scheduled Time” are duplicates.
• The clock stuck to the running line (213 hours and 6 minutes).

Content is largely illogical

• Sorting flights
  Passengers who travel to the Moscow region, first look at the time in the first line of the board, then consider the waiting time in their mind, and then from the name of the final station they understand that the train does not suit them, as it moves in the opposite direction. They perform the same sequence of actions for the second and third lines. Only when moving to the fourth, they understand that there is no such usual sorting by time, and they start looking for another pattern.
• Clock in the basement
  This indicates that they are of secondary importance, although the passenger needs the clock literally immediately to calculate the gap between the current time and the train's arrival time.
• Date, month, year, day of the week
  For a screen capable of displaying train schedules no more than 2 hours ahead, this information is redundant.
• Stop-stops
  The last column of the scoreboard is called “Stops”, and its contents indicate stations where, on the contrary, there are no stops.
• Paradox running line
  At the beginning of the running line there is a mark "Test translation". Does this mean that in the running line is written information that can not be trusted? And if she cannot be trusted, then why is she broadcast and for whom?
• Solid upper case
  This graphic technique serves to highlight information. When kapslokom typed all the text, the reception does not work.

I think you can easily detect other problems with this screen. This is normal, because there can be no limit to perfection, and I am writing only the first article about interfaces.

In the meantime, a day passed, and I mastered Inkscape.

Redundancy

- Delete a column with “Scheduled Times”
- Change the column name "Stops"
- Remove the mark "Test translation"
- Get rid of upper case



Got better.

The names of the end stations are now more often placed in one row, and the creeping line can be trusted, because it is no longer a test line (in all other cases it should just be turned off). In the third column, the extra words “except” and “everywhere” disappeared. The letters on the scoreboard have ceased to be CALLING.

Structure

- Sort train by arrival time
- Find a place for "on Moscow" / "from Moscow" in a new layout
- Get rid of crowding in the third column
- Make text comfortable for quick reading with alignment



Already good.

• It was possible to achieve the same point in the name of all the stations with the help of the space freed from the left and the compacted headset.
• The direction of travel is now indicated under each train. Together with sorting by arrival time, this should reduce the time a passenger spends searching for the desired train.
• The third column finally got a well-deserved 60% horizontally and does not spread beyond two lines. For this, we had to sacrifice the quality of the header in the second column and reduce the “End Station” to just “End”.

Hours and running line

- put clock in title
- Come up with a headline



Now everything is in place.

• Hours are visible and stand in the same row with the minute of departure. It has become convenient to glance up and down, comparing the time.
• The creeping line is highlighted in a standalone item. The black underlay in combination with the black case of the LCD panel will make it possible to perceive the ticker as an independent interface element, and not a continuation of the trip table.
• The carrier's logo is muffled and retracted to the far corner so as not to distract attention.

Justice

Combining the "Departure Time" and "Scheduled Time" columns into one, I made it impossible for the scoreboard to display information about delays. Undoubtedly, this functionality is best preserved. And here is my decision:



The solution is a compromise, because the flickering inscription is more difficult to notice than the static one. Yes, and the word "delayed" appears where there should be the direction of the train, and not its status. However, I expect that color coding will help passengers to hold their eyes on the labels and to consider information about the delay.

Test on a screen of similar size

Perhaps that's all.
As such, I am sending this text to the feedback center of the CPPK company and am waiting for your comments and advice.

Open questions

• Do I need to force people to independently calculate the waiting time, if you can count and show it automatically, as in the popular mobile application?
• Was the technical assignment allowed to display on the board not six, but fewer flights? Fewer rows would increase the size or change the function of the third column (display stops, not exceptions).
• Why designate a station with the long phrase “Stopping point of 50 km” if the nameplate at the station contains the short name “Platform 50 km”, and people even know this station as “50 km”?
• How justified is the use of traditional “to Moscow” and “from Moscow”, if you can use phrases that are easier to distinguish from each other, without reading out (for example, “on Moscow” and “into the region”).