Traveller's Diary
After a certain time of preparation, the planned services were finally implemented and tested in the pilot regions. During this testing phase we collected some experencies from the users.
Digitransit in Ulm
During the event “Green Parking Day” in September 2020 about 20 users were able to test Digitransit on a tablet and then give feedback. The same setting was used before in February 2020 in the city owned showroom, where about 30 participants took part. At both events, the users were very happy with the service and they liked the idea, that not only public transport is included in Digitransit. Another positive aspect was the possibility to choose, which vehicle you want to use and can be combined freely. The users pointed out, that the layers for integrating different user needs and for turning off features that are not interesting for them now are very useful. Another positive aspect mentioned by the users was the possibility to adapt data like the speed of walking or biking and to route via park and ride stations when you travel by car. The users like the most the integration and combination of different transport modes with public transport.
A proposal to improve the service was the integration of ticketing and an introduction how to turn on and off different layers and how to choose personal settings. Some users whished for a native app but when we showed them how the Web-App can be added to the start screen on the mobile phone, they were also happy with that. To improve the inclusiveness of the app some users asked for integration of wheel chair routing. Users were slightly disappointed when we had to tell them that Openbike is in the moment still a prototype. The need for bike sharing was mentioned sometimes. On the other hand users also told us that in their opinion bike sharing would not work in such a small town like Ulm. What users missed was the integration of the existing carsharing stations. We tried to integrate them but unfortunately, data providers did not provide us with the necessary GBFS data. Also a problem is that data from the train operator is not real-time information as the German railway company does not provide this information as real-time.
DRT in Zalaegerszeg
The testing phase in Zalaegerszeg started on 19th October and lasted until 29th November 2020. The DRT service was operating on four routes with two vehicles for which users could check in via phone or online in the web-based booking system. About 1000 journeys were booked in the second testing phase. The experiences of the users are very good, especially the safety and the punctuality of the service were seen as very positive. Another positive aspect was the easy booking process. The best experience is the improvement of the level of service in case of the vehicles. Most of the users pointed out that it would be a pleasure to have the service after the test as well, even if passengers should pay for it. To improve the system a direct connection to the city centre would be fine and to extend the routes so that also schools can be reached better.
Experiences from Osijek
In Osijek the routing application was tested. Users of the application in the vast majority of cases were satisfied with a few objections, while a small number of people compared the application with Google Maps. Users of the app liked the easy-to-use interface the most. They also praised the main, side and forest footpaths, were able to determine the location of the stop and the time spent at that location, and combine several modes of transportation. Regarding the improvement of the application, a large number of users would like to choose the movement around the city with a bicycle and the marked bicycle routes within the application.
MioBus in Crema
In February 2020 the bus system "MioBus" was tested. Most of the users were satisfied with the service and think that the service is organized in an efficiant way. A suggestion from the users was to improve the timetable especially in the evening hours.
