November 13th is World Usability day this year, and the theme this year is on transportation.  I’ve written about some travel experiences here and here tangentially.  In Minneapolis we have a terrific UPA chapter, and the chapter is engaged in some fun and interesting activities around World Usability day.

Business is good right now, so I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to participate in the local event, i.e. I do not think I will have time to make the poster.  That said, I thought I would write in this blog post my idea and contribute to the discussion in some small way.

My thoughts on transportation relate to airline travel.  There are two ways to tackle what is for most people a consistently poor, and sometimes horrific experience.  One way is to look at the large systemic issues the airline industry has and attempt to resolve those, e.g. getting a state of the art Air Traffic Control system that will more efficiently manage air traffic.  Some of these issues are massive and will require either billions of dollars or thousands of hours in committee to resolve.

The other view is to acknowledge that delays and cancellations are going to be here and look at how to make people as comfortable as possible at the airport.  From a user experience approach, there are many opportunities here.  I recently was in the DFW (Dallas Fort-Worth) airport.  They’ve done a wonderful job of upgrading some sitting areas with new chairs, tables, and TV’s for viewing.  Yet, where do you find many business travelers?  Sitting on the floor, back against a wall, near a power outlet.  And if there are flight delays and cancellations, people huddle around these outlets the like the survivors in the movie Titanic huddle in their lifeboats.

If an airport were to engage a user experience designer to observe people in an airport, the layout would be much different, but some of those differences can be accommodated today with little expense or infrastructure change.

1. Add as many outlets near seating areas as possible where this can be done.

2. For any new construction, outlets should be accessible from any chair.

3. Free wifi: while this will definitely has a cost, the upside to the user experience would be amazing.  I used to fly to Moline Iowa and everyone would talk lovingly of this airport because of the free wifi.  The ramifications of free wifi are many, from allowing people to do work (who wouldn’t pay for wifi) during delays, to bringing people earlier into the airports prior to flights (since they can continue working).

4. Provide power strips.  When I travel I often have my laptop, a phone, and an ipod.  Others have four or five devices, and they cannot always charge via the computer.  Allowing usage of power strips at gates is also a stopgap to numbers 1 and 2 above.

5. Go Green.  I am not certain about the feasibility here, but this should be easy to do as a test case.  Virtually every gate at every airport has plenty of window space.  Airlines should put up solar chargers with various input interfaces for people to use to do a quick charge on their devices.

People will occupy themselves during delays and waits, if they can access the internet, talk on the phone, watch movies, play games, and listen to music.  If their devices are dead or dying, watch the anxiety rise.  You only have to go into the Airline Club lounges where outlets abound (as well as comfortable seating) to see the difference.

What are your thoughts for improving the user experience of transportation?  Leave a comment here, or go check out the World Usability day site and get involved.