TransitVision: Approximating Vehicle Locations Using SIRI-SM Real-Time Data

118 Pages·2015·13.44 MB·English

TransitVision: Approximating Vehicle
Locations Using SIRI-SM Real-Time Data
Sofia Nascimento Bakke
Ole Kristian Nakken
Master of Science in Computer Science
Submission date: June 2015
Supervisor: Rune Sætre, IDI
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Department of Computer and Information Science

Abstract
Many public transportation agencies around the world track their vehicles using
GPS.However,theGPSdataisusuallynotdirectlyaccessiblebypassengers,but
isusedtoprovidereal-timearrivalestimates. Thisthesisattemptstoapproximate
the locations of vehicles using the available real-time arrival estimates, through
asmartphoneapplicationnamedTransitVision. ByutilizingtheSIRIstandard1,
TransitVision is interoperable with other public transportation agencies.
Apreliminarystudyontravelers’habitsandperceivedwaitingtime,createda
solidfoundationforTransitVision. Thisthesisalsoincludesastudyintothestate-
of-the-art, to examine other applications, technologies and discover limitations.
The study included a thorough examination of several SIRI implementations, to
consider how to incorporate them in TransitVision. Finally, 15 testers evaluated
the application’s usability through the System Usability Scale2.
Thepreliminarystudyindicatedthatmobiletransitapplicationusersbelieved
they waited on average five minutes, which was about the same as those using
non-digitalretrievalmethods. TransitVisionwasinitiallydevelopedforOslo,but
was also tested on transit data from Tampere. It worked well in both cities,
confirming TransitVision’s interoperability. However, other cities require major
modifications to TransitVision. TransitVision achieved a System Usability Scale
score of 86, which is close to a superior score.
1ServiceInterfaceforRealTimeInformation,moreatwww.siri.org.uk
2MoreinformationonSUSathttp://www.measuringu.com/sus.php
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Sammendrag
Flerekollektivtransportselskaperverdenoverharsystemerforåsporekjøretøyene
sinemedGPS.GPS-dataenersomoftestikkedirektetilgjengeligforpassasjerer,
menblirbrukttilåoppgisanntidsestimaterforankomst. Dennemasteroppgaven
prøver å tilnærme en plassering av kjøretøy ved å bruke tilgjengelig sanntidsesti-
mater. DetteblirgjortmedensmarttelefonapplikasjonsomheterTransitVision.
Ved å utnytte SIRI-standarden3 kan TransitVision modifiseres til å fungere med
andre kollektivtransportselskaper.
En forstudie om reisevaner og oppfattet ventetid dannet et solid grunnlag
for TransitVision. Denne masteroppgaven inkluderer også en “state-of-the-art”
studieforåundersøkeandreapplikasjoner,teknologierogoppdagebegrensninger.
Studien inkluderte en grundig undersøkelse av flere SIRI-implementasjoner for å
se hva som kreves for å innarbeide de i TransitVision. Til slutt evaluerte 15
testere applikasjonens brukbarhet ved hjelp av System Usability Scale4.
Forstudiet indikerte at reisende som brukte mobilapplikasjoner for å hente
sanntidsinformasjon om kollektivtransporten tror de venter 5 minutter i gjen-
nomsnitt, som var omtrent det samme som de som brukte ikke-digitale metoder.
TransitVision var i utgangspunktet utviklet for Oslo, men ble også testet på
transportdata fra Tampere. Det fungerte bra i begge byene, noe som bekrefter
TransitVision sin interoperabilitet. Allikevel kan noen andre byer kreve større
modifikasjoner av TransitVision. TransitVision oppnådde en System Usability
Scale score på 86, noe som er nære en overlegen poengsum.
3ServiceInterfaceforRealTimeInformation,merpåwww.siri.org.uk
4MerinformasjonomSUSpåhttp://www.measuringu.com/sus.php
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Preface
This report presents the master project conducted by Sofia Nascimento Bakke
and Ole Kristian Nakken. The work is a fulfillment of a Master of Science in
Computer Science at the Department of Computer and Information Science at
theNorwegianUniversityofScienceandTechnology. Theprojectwassupervised
by Associate Professor Rune Sætre.
The thesis is a contribution to the FUIROS project. While earlier FUIROS
projectshaveprimarilyfocusedontheuseofnaturallanguageforroutequerying
in Trondheim, this thesis focuses on displaying real-time public transit data in
Oslo on a smartphone map application.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank our supervisor Rune Sætre, for his guidance throughout
the development of this master thesis. We would also like to thank Carl-Fredrik
Sørensen, for helping with proofreading and structuring the report. Thank you
to all the people participating in both the preliminary study and the usability
test of TransitVision. Finally, we would like to thank our friends and family for
their moral support throughout this project.
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