COMMUNICATION CONSIDERATIONS FOR TRANSIT ROUTE AND SCHEDULE BROCHURES

Route and schedule brochures provide information on the specific service features of fixed-route transit. Clear, concise, and easy to understand information on these pamphlets is important to both users and prospective users of transit services. To date, insufficient attention has been directed toward development of effective communication techniques on these pamphlets. Many are difficult to interpret, incomplete, or poorly formatted, which makes them of marginal value to prospective users. The assumption that the reader is familiar with transit service characteristics, and thus able to translate any printed information, can make the brochures difficult to comprehend for automobile-oriented individuals. Nonusers cannot be expected to use the transit mode if they are uncertain about the characteristics of a specific service. The paper outlines methods by which communication techniques can be improved for route and schedule brochures. The design process should be governed by rational and systematic design principles, which are proposed and explained. The principles have been applied to the redesign of Knoxville Transit's route and schedule brochures. Each element on the brochure cover, timetable, and route map is briefly discussed in terms of desirable design practices and the rational for each. (Author)

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1979/735/735-007.pdf
• Summary URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=COMMUNICATION+CONSIDERATIONS+FOR+TRANSIT+ROUTE+AND+SCHEDULE+BROCHURES&author=K.+Thelen&publication_year=1979
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309029902
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Publication of this paper sponsored by Committee on Transit Service Characteristics. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
• Authors:
  • Thelen, Keith M
• Publication Date: 1979

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References;
• Pagination: pp 23-27
• Monograph Title: Public Transportation Planning and Development
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 735
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Communication; Design; Documents; Information dissemination; Maps; Needs assessment; Public transit; Routes; Scheduling
• Uncontrolled Terms: Publications; User needs
• Old TRIS Terms: Communicating
• Subject Areas: Data and Information Technology; Design; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Society;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00316664
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309029902
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Oct 27 1981 12:00AM