What is CATA: The Capital Area Transportation Authority is a key mode of public transportation for many students and community members of the Greater Lansing area since 1972.

What is Systems Thinking?


It is an approach to problem-solving that views issues as part of a larger system. Instead of focusing solely on the immediate problem, it considers how all the pieces interconnect to form the bigger picture.


Background

The MSU Mobility Plan: Before engaging with users, we looked at pre-existing research to understand the traffic conditions on Michigan State University’s (MSU) campus. Specifically, we looked for reports on traffic congestion and patterns on campus.


We found most of this data from the MSU Mobility Plan. Several significant figures were located in this report, including the fact that from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, MSU has a “rush hour” every hour in the 20 minutes between classes (Bauer, et. al.).  This crucial piece of information provided insight into how necessary an efficient bussing system is for MSU’s campus.




Diving into Preliminary Research

Goal of the Survey: This was conducted to gather information about what was the difference in rates between modes of transportation, how people access the information, and investigate the pain points of the users.The people we surveyed were a combination of MSU students and workers.


Main modes of Transportation: 76.5% take the bus as their means of transportation.

Level of Comfortability surveyees were at of explaining to someone else how the Bus System operated —

  • Level 1: Not Comfortable at All - 17.6%

  • Level 7: Very Comfortable - 29.4%

To plan Bus wait times and Locations:

  • 80% use the Transit App

  • 13.3% use the MSU App

  • 6.7% use Google Maps

  • 6.7% use Paper Brochure

  • 6.7% stand at the bus based on previous observations from taking it

Changes that could be made to make it better to navigate Bus Operations from Surveyees —

  • Better Accuracy: “A couple times the bus hasn't come at all, and I wasn't notified when I texted CATA from the bus stop (it just replied with the usual arrival time). It would be nice if the reply was something like ‘route temporarily cancelled’ etc. In fairness, that's happened maybe three times in ten years of riding the bus a couple times a week.”

  • Change of Frequency: “I would change how frequent the buses come. For example, how some bus routes (Route 32) stops at 7pm, when commuter students have classes ending at 8pm or later.”3.3% use the MSU App.

  • Getting more Clarity: “I find a lot of the language/timestamps used in the Transit app difficult to understand. For instance, when it says "6 minutes", does that mean you should start walking to the bus stop in 6 minutes, the travel time is 6 minutes, or wait 6 minutes.”

  • Information Accessibility via students at MSU: “I think there should be more information put out in dorms about it. Learning it on my own my first year here was pretty hard.”

  • Accommodations that could be made to make overall experience better:

    • Having more Buses & more Seating: “More off campus busses added. Sometimes I have to wait over 30 minutes for a bus to come. A majority of students live off campus since there isn’t room in the dorms for upperclassmen.”

    • “An ideal accommodation would be more seats for the buses that are always packed (30- East, 33- North, 31-Brody).”

Conducting a User Research Survey

User Personas based off Data

Tools Utilized: Google Suite, Slidesgo, MSU Mobility Plan

Methods: Systems Thinking, Literature Review, Data Analysis

Timeline: November - December 2023

Team: Annika Hauser-Brydon and I


This study was co-written with Annika Hauser-Brydon.


Project Objective:

  • Apply systems thinking, architecting systems to a topic, thinking about the system structure, and focusing this on the specific audience it is for.

Goals:

  • Identify and analyze the shortcomings of Lansing busing system services by conducting user research to provide recommendations.


UX Research

Systems Thinking

Information Architecture

Bus Routes

Role: Project Manager, Information Architect, UX Researcher


Bus Transportation Analysis

2 Main Issue themes from the Survey:


Attention to Safety: Our survey-takers called for more shelters, off-campus buses, more frequent buses, and a way to signal to drivers that they are waiting at the stop (particularly in the winter months when visibility is low).


Wanting improvement on Efficiency regarding Delays & Wait-times: Many pointed out that the wait-time between buses, especially off-to-on campus services, can be up to 30 minutes or more, which presents an efficiency and safety problem.

Strategies to Navigate issues:


Additional Bus Routes: Adding more bus routes would address users’ concerns about crowding and long wait times.


Implementation of Shelters at every Bus Stop: This would address concerns about safety on campus, particularly at night and in bad weather.


Adding Lights: Lights would address users’ concerns about safety and prevent buses from passing their stop, also reducing wait times.

Analyzing the Survey Data

What we learned: The strength of how our team divided its work lies in how involved both group members were in each other’s work. The result of this close collaboration is a comprehensive overlook presentation of issues with the CATA campus service and how to solve them. 



Future Purposes: Regarding next steps, it would be great if it was possible to get this in front of CATA and get some feedback from them.

Conclusion