Different user groups’ perception, experience and need of spoken information in public transportation spaces

Paper in proceedings, 2019

Spoken information is the fastest way to reach many travellers with important information. To evaluate different user groups’ perception, experience and need of spoken information at railway stations, an online survey with 287 respondents and short interviews with 33 people were performed. The results showed that the need of spoken information and the users’ perception and experience differed considerably. Visual screens and mobile phones are used more frequently than spoken information. Spoken information is primarily preferred for alertness and during disturbances, where it is often considered contradictory. This affects users’ confidence, thus creating insecurity. Elderly want personal service due to unclear announcements and disturbing soundscape. Persons with impaired vision are informed primarily through spoken information and voice-over functions. The recommendation is to reduce the number of announcements, modify their content, increase the sound quality and review the possibility to improve the relationship between the background noise and the spoken information.