Helena Strömberg

Implementing mobility as a service: challenges in integrating user, commercial, and societal perspectives

This paper presents insights from a six-month field operational test (FOT) in Gothenburg, Sweden, during which 195 participants tested the UbiGo mobility service for everyday travel. The service integrated both public and private solutions into a new type of collective transport and thereby contributed to Swedish societal goals of a reduction of private car use and ownership. A triangulation approach to data sources and collection methods was adopted to identify matches and mismatches between the expectations and experiences of three stakeholder groups: users (FOT participants–customers), commercial actors (mobility broker and service providers), and society. Identified matches included the concept of a transportation smorgasbord, reduced private car ownership, and increased pretrip planning. Identified mismatches related to the greater than expected reduction in car use, the respective business models of the mobility broker and service providers, back-office administration, and the smartphone platform. Gaps included the infeasibility of some trips and the need for more carsharing sites. The FOT was successful, with 93% of participants satisfied with their travel and 97% wanting to continue using UbiGo. However, before a commercially viable mobility service can be created, the mismatches and gaps need to be resolved or at least deliberated. The conclusion is that to create integrated solutions, truly collective transport must involve close cooperation between public and private actors and the consideration of at least the three, sometimes conflicting, stakeholder perspectives. Furthermore, new business models are needed to address the challenges associated with future integrated urban mobility solutions.

Trying Out Mobility as a Service: Experiences from a Field Trial and Implications for Understanding Demand

The concept of mobility as a service (MaaS) has been proposed as a feasible way to achieve more sustainable transport. One example of such a service is UbiGo, a broker service for everyday urban travel developed and evaluated within the Go:Smart project in Gothenburg, Sweden. This paper presents evidence of travel behavior and related changes from a 6-month field operational test (FOT), during which 195 participants tested the new service. On the basis of the responses to participant questionnaires and interviews and the information recorded in travel diaries, change-enabling service attributes were identified. Such attributes included the transportation smorgasbord concept, simplicity, improved access and flexibility, and economy. Although not a service attribute per se, the FOT also enabled the new behaviors to be evaluated in a trial and a reevaluation of convenience. The broader implications of the findings of the FOT to obtain an understanding of travelers’ new choices and behaviors for the future design of MaaS are discussed. Service design and demand are not independent of each other, and if a mobility service is to change behavior (i.e., achieve an impact) as well as create added value, these goals need to drive design decisions and the deliberate, conscious development of service dimensions, such as customization, bundling, and the range of the offer. On the basis of the experiences gained, the authors emphasize the need for a more holistic and flexible perspective on mobility (and the design perspective on mobility services) that is focused on serving users’ needs and that involves capitalizing on synergies between public and private actors to develop the MaaS offer and better meet the urban mobility challenge ahead.

Mapping out the design opportunities: pathways of sustainable behaviour

To advance the area of design for sustainable behaviour (DfSB), a common behaviour terminology is needed to enable comparisons of studies across application areas. Thus, the map of pathways of sustainable behaviour was created with the aim of charting different paths that users can follow to reduce environmental impact when interacting with artefacts. The construction of the map results from a comparative analysis of sustainable behaviours identified in previous studies in conjunction with a review of existing behaviour classifications. The proposed map of pathways gives a comprehensive overview of all artefact-related resource-consuming usage behaviours, organised according to a design perspective and divided with regard to aspects of use and obtainment, primary and secondary artefact, duration and type of effort. Through design, the user can be encouraged to take any of the five identified paths: choice of artefact, changed use, maintenance and repair, mediated use and regulated artefact. Using the map in a DfSB process can guide the exploration phase and highlight potential design opportunities when choosing target behaviour. If adopted by the DfSB community, the united typology of the map also provides means necessary to make rigorous comparisons and develop the field and its tools.

The Added Value of a New, Innovative Travel Service: Insights from the UbiGo Field Operational Test in Gothenburg, Sweden

The aim of this chapter is to introduce the UbiGo transport broker service developed in Gothenburg, Sweden, and to discuss insights from the six-month field operational test regarding incentives for users adopting new travel services as well as perceived added value. Results are presented from participant questionnaires, interviews, and travel diaries. Findings suggest that potential early users are initially incentivized by curiosity, but that this must be transformed into practical incentives such as convenience and economic advantage if the users are to continue using the service. Customers also found added value in the “transportation smorgasbord” concept, 24-hour customer support, new types of subscriptions and tickets, and having everything in their smartphone, but wished for more personalized decision support and feedback. Concern for the environment functioned more as a bonus than as an incentive, meaning that the environmentally friendly choice must also be the practical choice in order to promote sustainability.

Living Room on the Move: Autonomous Vehicles and Social Experiences

Developing autonomous vehicles is technically complex and up to now research has focused on technical improvement and operative safety. As the level of automation increases the role of the driver will change; from controlling every movement of the vehicle into becoming an operator/passenger. Little is known about how this new context will affect the social experiences with and within the vehicle. This workshop focuses on three different kinds of social experience and socializing, namely; between other road users and the autonomous car, the social activities taking place within the autonomous car, and lastly the relationship between the car and the operator. The workshop aims at exploring possible practices, research and design directions of autonomous vehicles in relation to these social experiences. A human-centered design approach is the core of the workshop, with playful field excursions and ideation sessions.

Setting the Stage with Metaphors for Interaction -- Researching Methodological Approaches for Interaction Design of Autonomous Vehicles

Development of autonomous vehicles is progressing. As automation levels increase, the roles of both the driver and the vehicle are changing, meaning that they need to forge a new relationship to each other as the vehicle gains more agency. We believe this requires approaches that address that relationship early in the design process. One such approach is choosing a metaphor as a guiding principle for the interaction to set the preconditions for the relationship. Another approach is early evaluation of designs between system concept prototypes and the user. The aim of this one-day workshop is to explore the use of metaphors and evaluation though enactment in the design of human-vehicle interaction. This will be done through a short concept development process, where participants are asked to reflect on the process. Outcomes will be an evolved understanding of using the design approaches, as well as identified collaboration and research needs.

Developers as Users: Exploring the Experiences of Using a New Theoretical Method for Usability Assessment

There is a need for appropriate evaluation methods to efficiently identify and counteract usability issues early in the development process. The aim of this study was to investigate how product developers assessed a new theoretical method for identifying usability problems and use errors. Two cases where the method had been applied were selected and the users of the method in them were asked to fill in a questionnaire and were then interviewed about their experiences of using the method. Overall, the participants (students and professionals) found the methods useful and their outcome trustworthy. At the same time, the methods were assessed as difficult to learn and as cumbersome and tedious to use. Nevertheless, both students and professionals thought that the methods would be useful in future development work. Suggestions for further improvement included provision of further instructions, for example, on how to adapt the methods and development of an IT-support tool.

HMI of autonomous vehicles - more than meets the eye

Cars are becoming increasingly automated and intelligent and will soon be able to drive on their own. The new intelligent technology will mean that communication between driver and vehicle will and must change. However, much of the research in autonomous vehicle interaction still revolves around the traditional GU interfaces and modes. To open up the full potential of interactive possibilities and allow for the creation of interfaces that can enable effective and satisfactory communication between driver and vehicle, this paper will present and argue for a holistic framework to aid analysis and design of human – vehicle interaction. The framework is based on four types of interactive surfaces. The first is the explicitly designed interfaces of today, the second is the interior design of the vehicle as a whole, the third is the implicit information included in the vehicle’s movement pattern, and the fourth is the interactive technology brought into the vehicle. The framework focuses on the interaction related to the operation of the vehicle (not in-car entertainment) and on the vehicle information output.

Anthropomorphism: An Investigation of Its Effect on Trust in Human-Machine Interfaces for Highly Automated Vehicles

Trust has been identified as a major factor in relation to user acceptance of Highly Automated Vehicles (HAV). A positive correlation has been suggested between increased trust and the use of anthropomorphic features in interfaces. However, more research is necessary to establish whether this is true in an HAV context. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate how trust in HAVs is influenced by HMI design with different degrees of anthropomorphism: baseline, caricature, and human. Ten subjects participated in an in-vehicle trial to test the designs. The results showed no significant difference in levels of trust between conditions. Instead, it was found that anthropomorphism may affect user acceptance indirectly through its effect on perceived ease of use and usefulness. The findings imply that designers must be cautious when using anthropomorphism and consider adaptability and customisability to incorporate new and diverse user needs associated with the use of HAV.