The impact of human-centric public transport design principles on the desirability and operational success of public transport in the Gauteng province

Abstract

Commuters in South Africa rely on a variety of public transport (PT) modes every day to access various social and economic opportunities like the workplace, academic institutions, and healthcare. However, captive, reliant commuters are disappointed on countless occasions by unsafe, unreliable transport services and feel transport authorities and modal operators remain indifferent towards their needs and complaints, as solutions being implemented fail to address the actual problems needing attention and commuters are not consulted during PT service design. There exists a need to permanently close this negative cycle by ethically providing for the travel demands of captive lower-income commuters and establish a transport culture based in making human needs the centre of design thinking. This research paper describes an investigation into whether the inclusion of human-centric design (HCD) in the service- and operational design of PT in the Gauteng Province (GP) of South Africa, would establish a customer-orientated transport culture, and whether more human-centric transport service provision would appeal to commuters and address their specific travel needs and desires. This includes investigating how the priorities of transport institutions can be aligned with the core needs and desires of the commuters they serve, so a harmonious yet practical relationship can be cultivated between these stakeholders. Devised from primary research and global literature findings, the study tested five principles that combine principles of HCD and PT that were validated by a sample of 300 Gauteng commuters. The findings show that for PT services to be supported, successful and harmonised in Gauteng, the following is necessary: authentic, collaborative stakeholder consultation between leaders, designers and commuters; integrated PT control centres; practical empathy for commuters; centralising human needs, desires, and feedback in the PT design process, and enhancing a commuter’s perception and perceived value of a PT service. These principles can be used in the PT design process to promote elevated customer satisfaction, desirability to use PT and, in turn, the operational success of Gauteng’s PT services.