Designing the User Experience of Auto-Rickshaw Commuters in Mumbai City
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Designing The User Experience Of Auto-rickshaw Commuters In Mumbai City Jesal Chitalia NSCAD University Masters of Design 2018 Designing The User Experience Of Auto-Rickshaw Commuters In Mumbai City By Jesal Chitalia This thesis is submitted to The School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for The Master of Design Degree. Approved By : Dr. Rudi Meyer (Director, Master of Design Program) Professor Michael LeBlanc (Division of Design) Designing The User Experience Of Auto-Rickshaw Commuters In Mumbai City Thesis project based on the Auto Rickshaw transit system in Mumbai, India. A thesis project presented to The School of Graduate Studies - Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for The Master of Design Degree Program. By Jesal Chitalia NSCAD University, Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada April 2018 This thesis focuses on auto rickshaw transport in Mumbai city and the challenges faced by its users. Auto rickshaws have survived in the country since the era of the British; they are small three-wheeled vehicles which serve as a paratransit system in Mumbai city and are used by the majority of city commuters. The basis for this research initially stemmed from my passion for designing for the society and improvising the current systems. As the world moves further into the digital age, generating innovative technology and digital- born content, there is a significant demand and need in India for this transition from the manual to the technological. The project has been undertaken as a requirement for the NSCAD Masters of Design program. My research was formulated together with my respectful mentor, Dr. Rudi Meyer. The study was challenging, but conducting extensive investigation has allowed me to identify the major hurdles and research questions. Fortunately, both Prof. Michael LeBlanc and Prof. Christopher Kaltenbach were always available and willing to guide me throughout my project. I would like to thank my professors for their excellent guidance and support during this process. I also wish to thank all of the respondents, without whose cooperation I would PREFACE not have been able to conduct this analysis. To my other colleagues at NSCAD University.: I would like to thank you for your excellent cooperation and critics. It was always helpful to bat ideas about my research around with you. I also benefited from debating issues with my friends and family. If I ever lost interest, you kept me motivated. My parents deserve a particular note of thanks: your wise counsel and kind words have, as always, served me well. I hope you enjoy your reading. Jesal Chitalia (UI/UX Designer) Since the development of auto-rickshaws in India in the late 1950s, these vehicles have become an indispensable part of urban mobility for millions of people. Auto rickshaws play a vital and vigorous role in India’s urban transport systems. They also represent a very improvisational and increasingly inefficient sector – and they are getting lost in the changing dynamics ABSTRACT of urban mobility in India. Today, with increasing urban populations, there is growth in demand for urban transport, growth in private motorization and a decline in public transport share. How do auto rickshaws fit in and have a role that is efficient – for both the operators and their passengers? And how can this mode of paratransit contribute to urban transport sustainability – through both increasing efficiency and safety for everyone on the roads? CONTENTS Introduction 16 Theoretical Framework 18 Background 19 About Mumbai City 21 Auto Rickshaws in Mumbai 30 Market Characteristics 36 Operational Characteristics 39 Auto Rickshaw Drivers & Users 40 Current Challenges 44 Problems faced by Drivers 45 TABLE OF Problems faced by Passengers 48 CONTENT Research Design 58 Methodology 60 Research Process 68 Design Iteration 71 Application Concept 76 User Interface Design 96 Application Design Prototype 114 Conclusion 116 Copyright © 2017 by Jesal Chitalia All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the References 118 express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Images in this book are taken from various sources. Design & illustrations are created by Jesal Chitalia LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 1 Map of Mumbai city 23 Fig. 2 Road way map of Mumbai city 29 Fig. 3 Auto Rickshaw fare chart by Ridlr 35 Fig. 4 Age profile of Auto drivers 40 Fig. 5 Outline of UX Design 63 Fig. 6 Mindmap of Auto Rickshaws in Mumbai 64 Fig. 7 Illustration sketch of Thesis problem 65 Fig. 8 Infographic of Thesis overview 67 Fig. 9 Flow Diagram - New users using the App 73 Fig. 10 Flow Diagram - Existing users using the App 74 Fig. 11 Rough Sketch - App process iteration 1 77 Fig. 12 Rough Sketch - App process iteration 2 78 Fig. 13 LFW - Application Landing Page 81 Fig. 14 LFW - On Boarding Process 82 Fig. 15 LFW - Application Features 84 Fig. 16 LFW - Application Features 86 Fig. 17 HFW - App Loading Page 89 Fig. 18 HFW - App On Boarding Process 90 Fig. 19 HFW - App Features 92 TERMS & DEFINITIONS NMT - Non Motorized Transport ASI - Avoid Shift Improve MCGM - Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai IT - Information Technology ITES - Information Technology Enabled Services MMR - Mumbai Metropolitan Region LFW - Low Fidelity Wireframe GLOSSARY HFW - High Fidelity Wireframe Urbanization is on the rise throughout the world, and there is no better example of this than Mumbai. Forty percent of the population in India lives in cities, a number increasing rapidly due to economic migration from rural areas. This movement places immense stress on the Mumbai infrastructure that is invariably catching up with this burgeoning growth. In particular, urban transportation is in tremendous demand as new and old residents need ways to get to jobs, often living far away where housing is more affordable. Mumbai, as a city of over 22 million people, is no exception and has severe transportation challenges. In addition to private transport and mass transit (local trains, Metro, Monorail and BEST Buses), there is a third form of transportation — standard public transport in the form of auto-rickshaws that serve an essential role in the para-transit system of the city. Auto-rickshaws provide door-to-door service and act as a feeder source to public transit, with eleven percent of railway commuters using rickshaws to access the stations. While auto-rickshaws serve an integral transport role to residents of Mumbai, there are still problems with the current system, from the perspective of passengers, drivers, and the government (Thomas, D. G. (2013). The goal of this study is to better understand the role of auto-rickshaws in Mumbai’s INTRODUCTION transport system and the distinct challenges and opportunities that the sector presents in promoting a sustainable transport method for Mumbai. In particular, the focus of the study is on auto-rickshaws that provide a taxi service and the share auto-rickshaws that provide fixed route easy public transport at some locations in Mumbai. I aim to answer some of the following questions: How is the auto-rickshaw industry in Mumbai part of a sustainable urban transport system? How can auto-rickshaws provide comparable mobility to that of a private vehicle? How do auto-rickshaws benefit residents and drivers? What are areas for improvement from the driver, user, and environmental perspectives? How do auto rickshaws fit in and have a role that is efficient – for both the operators and their passengers? And how can this mode of paratransit contribute to urban transport sustainability – through both increasing efficiency and safety for everyone on the roads? This study of auto-rickshaws assumes that both sustainable urban transport and sustainable livelihoods are desirable in the future of Indian cities, in particular, Mumbai. Sustainable urban transport aims to reduce reliance on automobiles and their corresponding problems of traffic congestion, air pollution (emissions) and road fatalities in favor of alternate forms of transport (such as non-motorized transport (NMT) and public transport) that allow the same degree of mobility. Page. 17 BACKGROUND A recent publication by EMBARQ India, highlights the role that auto- rickshaws can play in Indian cities in promoting sustainable urban transport, as part of the Avoid-Shift-Improve (ASI) framework. The Bhat, A’s.(2012) study shows that auto-rickshaws can help catalyze the shift from private vehicles to more sustainable transport modes, by i) providing access to public transport systems such as buses, railway, Metro-rail and Mono-rail, and ii) serving as an alternative to private vehicles for more occasional trips requiring on-demand, door-to-door connectivity. Sustainable livelihoods are those that contribute to better living conditions and an improvement of assets to help vulnerable populations withstand shocks and stresses to the system. The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach considers access to five holdings as crucial to being able to make a living: THEORETICAL • Social including networks, relationships, leadership; • Human such as knowledge, health, and education; • Natural including access to potable water, land, and nature; FRAMEWORK • Physical such as infrastructure and technology; • Financial such as access to monetary income, credit, and pension. These studies highlight the role that auto-rickshaws can play in promoting sustainable urban transport and sustainable livelihoods. This study sets out to explore how Mumbai’s auto-rickshaws fit into a viable public transport system and whether they can provide sustainable livelihoods to their drivers. The study is based on a ground-level assessment of the sector and its role, with the aim of understanding several potential challenges that it faces. Up to this point, there has been a comprehensive study of the auto-rickshaw sector in Mumbai. Auto-rickshaws have been studied in other Indian cities, and transport studies have been done in Mumbai, but never has one solely focused on exploring all the aspects of Mumbai’s auto-rickshaw sector and how it can be made more efficient.