Established public transportation systems are built on roads and rail: buses, trams and trains with fixed routes. Digital technology has brought some disruptive features to the mobility landscape. Rideshare, demand-responsive transport, and Mobility as a Service are examples of systems that rely on digital technology. Digital mobility users are a diverse group but what about those who are left out?
The rapid advancement of digital technology has led to a shift of travel habits. New business models have emerged along with transport patterns. But what if you can’t use this technology?
The race for improvements in digital services is good news for experienced users, but such improvements are lost on others. Exclusion arises from online only services, access to a suitable device, and ability to use the technology. Prior experience or negative attitudes are also a barrier to inclusion.
According to the literature, the main reasons for digital exclusion are:
- Age – being older is related to lower levels of tech use
- Income level – affordability of devices
- Gender – women underestimate their skills
- Education level – correlated with digital skills
- Place of residence – rural / urban divide
- Disability – physical ability to use transport and apps
- Migrant status – linguistic and cultural differences
Can personas explain diversity for designers?
In a case study, researchers found that only about 10% of the population uses the new mobility solutions regularly. So they devised 8 personas to see if this was a way of helping designers improve their applications.
Their research paper explains how the they devised the personas based on population data. They claim this is a new method for developing personas specifically for analysing the digital divide in mobility. While 90% of people had no problem using the internet regularly, around 15% had serious issues with mobility related technology.
The researchers were able to identify “pain points” for users and highlight the main limitations users have while using digital mobility solutions. Peoples’ motivations and attitudes also play an important role in the uptake of this technology.
The title of the article is, Exploring the diversity of users of digital mobility services by developing personas – A case study of the Barcelona metropolitan area.
From the abstract
Addressing digital exclusion requires an understanding of the factors leading to it. In this paper, we explore to what extent new digital mobility solutions can be considered inclusive. First we take into account the diverse perspectives of the users of transport services.
We present a set of personas which are derived from a population survey of a Barcelona metropolitan area. From this we gained an understanding of end user needs and capabilities in digital mobility. Overall, roughly 15% of this population cannot access and effectively use digital technologies, thereby hindering their use of many digital mobility services.
This work provides information about the diversity of potential users by analysing different stories and travel experiences of the personas; this in turn can inspire decision makers, developers, and other stakeholders along the design process. The methodological approach for developing personas could be also potentially useful for mobility service providers and policymakers who aim to create more inclusive and user-centred transport ecosystems that meet the needs of diverse users.