Need to replace scrolling signs

Hey guys, this is actually a letter I just sent to the BART general manager, Tom Margro. But I wanted to know if you guys felt the same way, or had anything to add. If you do, please email me back at tdhock AT ocf DOT berkeley DOT edu.

I have been riding BART frequently for 5 years, including on my commutes to and from work. I am generally content with the rapid, frequent, and inexpensive transportation that the BART system delivers.

However, I have noticed that the red-on-black signs on each BART platform could use some improvement, and literally everyone I have talked to in person about this topic expresses similar discontents with the current system. In particular, the use of scrolling messages on the electronic signs at each BART platform is inefficient, confusing, and annoying user interface device for BART riders.

In my experience, BART riders waiting for their trains at a platform only want to see (1) what trains are coming next, and (2) when they are coming. In contrast, the signs (1) give other information, and (2) scroll the text. Both of these factors contribute to the fact that a rider must watch the screen for sometimes up to 30 seconds before he gets the information he wants about the next trains. Often, conversations are interrupted and books are put down in order to stare at the screen long enough for the desired information to appear. This results in a time-consuming, annoying, and generally unpleasant experience when waiting for a train.

Furthermore, the situation could be easily remedied by omitting the extraneous information and stopping the scrolling. Instead, just show the departure times and destinations of the next 3 trains, like they do in the metro systems of, for example, Sydney and Tokyo. Such changes would create a simpler user interface that riders could use to instantly get the information they want, then leave them free to read, converse, or compute.

My desire for a simple and uncluttered user interface for the BART system is echoed by BART rider Jeffrey W. Baker, who claims that "All I need to know are: 1. When is the train coming? 2. Where is the train going? 3. Where is the station?" (http://barelyconnected.net/about.html). Frustrated with the overbearing user interface of the bart.gov website, he created a trip planning tool at barelyconnected.net that is simple, powerful, and effective.

It is certainly possible to implement a simplification of the existing electronic sign displays without reducing the actual information displayed. First, there are 3 lines of text on a standard display, which suggests that the schedule of the next 3 trains could be displayed there constantly. If the other information (i.e. elevator status updates, security warnings) still needs to be displayed, then perhaps one side of each sign could be used to display the schedule of the next 3 trains, and the other side could be used to display scrolling information. That way, you could always look to either your left or right and at least one of the displays you see will have the upcoming train schedules.

I humbly request that the BART management perform an audit of the user interface systems in general and the electronic platform signs in particular. If the simplifications I have suggested for the electronic platform signs are effected, I believe the BART ridership will benefit from the more efficient, intuitive, and usable system that results.