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Examining the Provision of Railway Transit Information to Foreign Visitors in the Tokyo 1
Metropolitan Area and Strategies for Improvement 2
3
4
5
Xiao Yun Chang, Corresponding Author 6
Frontier Service Laboratory, R&D Center for JR East Group 7
East Japan Railway Company 8
2-479 Nissin-cho, Kita-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture, 331-8513 JAPAN 9
10
Current affiliation: University of California, Berkeley 11
Berkeley, CA 94720 12
Tel: +1 617 314 5059, Fax: +1 510 642 3585, Email: xy.chang@berkeley.edu 13
14
Yoshiki Ikeda 15
Frontier Service Laboratory, R&D Center for JR East Group 16
East Japan Railway Company 17
2-479 Nissin-cho, Kita-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture, 331-8513 JAPAN 18
Tel/Fax: +81 48 651 2552, Email: yo-ikeda@jreast.co.jp 19
20
Sohei Tsujimura 21
Department of Urban and Civil Engineering, Ibaraki University 22
4-12-1 Nakanarusawa-cho, Hitachi-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture, 310-0056 JAPAN 23
Tel: +81 294 38 5290, Fax: +81 294 38 5268, Email: sohei.tsujimura.fifty@vc.ibaraki.ac.jp 24
25
Kiyoshi Sakamoto 26
Frontier Service Laboratory, R&D Center for JR East Group 27
East Japan Railway Company 28
2-479 Nissin-cho, Kita-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama Prefecture, 331-8513 JAPAN 29
Tel/Fax: +81 48 651 2552, Email: k-sakamoto@jreast.co.jp 30
31
Word count: 5,839 words text + 6 figures x 250 words (each) = 7,339 words 32
33
Submission date: November 15, 2017 34
35
Chang, Ikeda, Tsujimura, Sakamoto
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ABSTRACT 1
Well known for its extensive network and state-of-the-art technology, the Japanese railway system has 2
become a must-see attraction for foreign tourists and yet has not ceased to perplex them. Despite the 3
growing use of multilingual signs, real-time train information, and Information Centers equipped with 4
English-speaking staff, visitors from abroad could still find themselves lost when navigating the railway 5
system. This research aims to examine the provision of railway transit information to foreign visitors in 6
the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, and focuses on the railway system of JR East, the largest railway company 7
in Japan and a global railway leader, as a case study. We identified four areas of research that are critical 8
to the ease-of-use of railway systems, namely wayfinding, route planning, ticketing, and staff assistance. 9
We examined the factors contributing to successful information provision and quantified the influences of 10
sign design on the cognitive cost of wayfinding through interviews and surveys. We found that sign 11
legibility, inadequate explanation for those with little background knowledge, and station staff’s language 12
skills were pressing concerns among foreign passengers, and transit information needs to be addressed 13
systematically. This research will contribute to the understanding of tourists' use of public transit and 14
provide a practical guide to improving the usability of urban railway systems not only in Japan but also 15
worldwide. 16
17
Keywords: information design, transit information, transit usability, newcomer learning 18
19
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1 INTRODUCTION 1
2
1.1 Background 3
4
1.1.1 Overview of the railway system in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area 5
A country well known for its state-of-the-art railway system, Japan has been facing a spike of inbound 6
tourism as a result of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and aggressive inbound travel stimulation policies (1). 7
In response to the increase in mobility demand of foreign tourists, the topic of foreigner-friendly design in 8
transportation systems has gained much more attention over the past few years. However, the conceptual 9
difficulties in realizing this goal are multifold given the complexity of the Japanese railway system. 10
A brief introduction of the Japanese railway system shall set the background for readers’ 11
understanding. The development of railway infrastructure in Japan could be backdated as far as in the 19th 12
century; a mix of private and public railway projects in the past century have contributed to the 13
widespread of railways in Japan, resulting in a total of 27,268 kilometers of rail nationwide. The six Japan 14
Railway (JR) companies, products of the privatization of public entity named Japanese National Railways 15
(JNR), operate 19,470 kilometers as of 2014, while the rest is operated by other public and private 16
organizations. The Tokyo Metropolitan Area is home to most of the lines operated by JR East, the largest 17
JR company among the six, more than ten private commuter lines, the Tokyo subway network, and other 18
suburban railway networks. Now, the railway system in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area stands among the 19
most complicated systems in the world. It is different from most railway systems in the world in the 20
following ways: 21
22
• Multiple agencies 23
Most cities in the world contain at most two or three railway agencies. 24
25
• Complex network 26
JR East and Tokyo Metro both have fairly complicated networks composed of more than ten lines and 27
hundreds of stations operated on complex schedules. 28
29
• Complex fare policies 30
Railway fares in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area are mostly distance-based and sometimes speed-based. 31
Even for the same pair of origin and destination stations, a speed-based premium charge could apply. 32
33
• Mega-sized, multipurpose station buildings 34
Due to the network complexity, several major train stations in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area can run more 35
than ten platforms and comprise lines from multiple agencies. These huge train stations are often crowded 36
and hard to navigate without proper wayfinding systems. Moreover, transit-oriented development has 37
brought large-scale shopping zones and ubiquitous advertisements to these stations. 38
39
These characteristics, while distinguishing the railway system in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area 40
from the majority of railway systems in the worlds, also have perplexed foreign passengers who are not 41
yet used to such complexity. There has been attempts to study the usability of transit (2,3,4); however, 42
very few literature of passenger navigation with a focus on foreign passengers in such large-scale train 43
stations exist. Kinsella et al. studied the usability of Dublin’s public transit for new users (5). Le-Klähn et 44
al. studied the usability of public transit in Munich for new users, frequent users, and non-users (6, 7, 8). 45
Studies by Dziekan (9, 10, 11, 12, 13) on the railway system in Munich, the scale of which is comparable 46
to the subject of this report, show that tourists who arrive at a new city experience a time-consuming 47
learning process as they try to explore the railway system. According to Dziekan’s works, the three stages 48
are: starting with the knowledge of the existence of public transportation options, advancing into the 49
identification of appropriate modes of transport, and finally learning how to navigate successfully in the 50
system. Short-term tourists usually do not have the luxury of time to learn completely, and we cannot 51
estimate the hardship they experience purely from the eyes of frequent, local users who have learned the 52
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system by heart. Furthermore, we need to anticipate their possible confusion and mistakes by 1
understanding their expectations, background knowledge about railway, and the process through which 2
they learn to use the railway system. 3
Information plays a key role in the interaction between users and the system. The complexity of 4
information provided to the railway users is determined by the structure of the railway system, and users’ 5
understanding of the system is dependent on the quality of information. Owning to the aggressive 6
promotion by JNTO and the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, the inbound tourism has guaranteed the 7
need for understandable information on the railway system. 8
The term “understandable” on the hand is challenged by another trend in inbound tourism, that is, 9
diversification of visitors by geographical regions. Traditionally, railway agencies provided information in 10
Japanese and English to accommodate their users until the late 2000s when information in Chinese and 11
Korean started to become available as inbound tourism diversified and railway agencies realized that the 12
bilingual standard was insufficient. Further, the diversifying inbound tourism over the recent years has 13
brought in more non-speakers of either of the four languages. Some railway agencies have been producing 14
information in Thai in attempt to further accommodate passengers from Thailand. At the same time, we 15
see a potentially perilous slippery slope: when do we stop adding languages? 16
This uncontrolled addition of information also would result in increasingly clumsier, messier 17
information, which could diminish the legibility of information and make the learning process harder for 18
foreign tourists. This problem needs to be handled delicately, potentially with the development of 19
translation technology on mobile devices. 20
21
1.1.2 Comprehensive transit information 22
A successful ride on railway requires one to obtain travel information, understand the information, and 23
make the right decisions at critical steps in the trip (14). As a starting point, we can consider the following 24
process. We need information regarding the routes we take on the network (route planning), information 25
about how to move within the system (wayfinding), and information about tickets, assuming that the users 26
obtain the information on their own. When users fail to obtain or understand the information on their own, 27
staff assistance comes into the picture to inform passengers. 28
29
30
FIGURE 1 Staff assistance supports decision making at every stage. 31
This traditional flow diagram can be modified to include passengers purchasing railway visitor 32
passes, who tend to only use routes covered by their passes. As mentioned in 1.1.1, these passes are often 33
valid on on a certain routes operated by selected railway agencies rather than all routes in a region, and 34
such exclusivity compels the passengers to plan their routes more carefully. 35
36
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1
FIGURE 2 Decision flow capturing interaction between route planning and ticketing. 2
With the framework illustrated in Figure 2, we now consider the issues with information provision. 3
First, the lack of integration among these components could lead to obstacles using the system smoothly. 4
Second, staff assistance acts only as a support of other means of obtaining information, and we cannot rely 5
solely on having more staff. Third, we need to appreciate the difference in information needs and thus the 6
variability in informational retrieval methods. Users with greater familiarity with the system are less likely 7
to look up fundamental information (for example, location of the station closest to home), while 8
newcomers still need knowledge that local users might deem as common sense. It was also found that 9
foreign passengers in Japan are less concerned with real-time delay information than static information 10
such as network, routes, and signs in stations. Foreign passengers also rely on tools that they are familiar 11
with, which results in the wide use of Internet-based tools, and the reluctance to switch to tools which they 12
do not know well. We found that Google Maps, despite occasional errors and incomplete information with 13
regard to its data sources in Japan, has been the most popular tool among railway users we surveyed. 14
We face a dilemma of presenting easily understood information that lowers the cognitive cost for 15
foreign users while confronted by the complexity of the system and the need for multilingual information, 16
which could worsen the information overload. We must also acknowledge the inadequacy of existing 17
solutions, for they do not entirely answer the fundamental questions foreign passengers may have. 18
Strategic information design that organizes information in an organic, efficient way ensuring correct 19
understanding at every step of a trip on the railway system is the answer to the question; it requires a 20
systematic analysis of the status quo, a thorough understanding of customers’ needs, and a set of 21
implementable strategies delivering the design philosophy in practice. 22
23
1.2 Objectives 24
The goals of this project are: 25
26
• Study the information needs of foreign passengers using railway in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area 27
• Quantitatively and qualitatively understand the gap between information needs and information 28
provision for foreign passengers 29
• Formulate strategies to bridge the gap through improved information on all steps of transit usage 30
31
1.3 Summary of the project 32
This project was carried out in June - December 2016 as a preliminary step towards a satisfactory solution 33
to the problems we have found. Upon quantitative and qualitative investigations regarding four aspects of 34
transit information provision, including wayfinding design, route planning information, ticketing 35
information, and staff assistance, we have come to understand the status quo and persistent problems and 36
formulated strategies towards improvement. 37
Chapter 2 provides a review of relevant literature from multiple disciplines that serves as the basis 38
of this project. Chapter 3 is a holistic discussion of the methods of investigation. Chapter 4 presents an 39
overview of foreign passengers’ information needs that could provide significant insights in the project. 40
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Chapters 5, 6, and 7 explore the four aspects of information provision, and Chapter 8 concludes the report 1
with a summary of strategies and areas of further research. 2
3
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2 METHODOLOGY 1
2
2.1 Field investigations 3
4
2.1.1 Study of signs at major JR East stations 5
In July 2016, we visited five JR East train stations in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area, including Ueno, 6
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Suidobashi, and Narita Airport Terminal 1. During these visits, we took photos of signs 7
in stations and simulated the experience of passengers looking for certain exits of and destinations outside 8
the stations. 9
10
2.1.2 Visits at the Narita Airport JR Travel Service Centers 11
In November 2016, we visited the two JR Travel Service Centers, located in Narita Airport Terminal 1 and 12
Terminal 2 respectively for a total of 9 hours. During these visits, we interacted with and assisted 13
customers at the Centers and observed other staff at the Centers serving customers. 14
15
2.2 Evaluation Grid Method 16
This interview method was used to understand the characteristics of desirable signs in the context of 17
transportation and wayfinding especially outside one’s home country. The participants were five US 18
college student volunteers. Through the categorization of a large number of photos of signs in train station 19
worldwide that are sufficiently different in the order of desirability, we collect participants’ stated 20
preferences. Then we extract their evaluation frameworks by asking them to describe the reasons by which 21
they make such classifications, how these reasons make signs more desirable, and features of signs leading 22
up to those reasons. We then generalize the results into a single evaluation framework. 23
24
2.3 Caption Evaluation Method 25
In December 2016, we carried out this experiment in Tokyo Station (one of the most complicated railway 26
stations in Tokyo) with five native speakers of English and five native speakers of Chinese mostly in their 27
20s who had stayed in Japan for less than six months. Participants were prompted to walk towards a 28
destination point in the station from a given starting point; while trying to reach the destination within time 29
limit, participants were told to take photos of objects and scenes that caught their attention and take note of 30
their impressions with these objects and scenes. A total of 101 photos along with impressions were 31
aggregated to show passengers’ attitudes towards various elements of train stations and implicitly their 32
preferences regarding functionality of train stations. 33
34
2.4 Survey at the Tokyo Station 35
In September 2016, we conducted a survey at the Sobu Underground Platform 4 in Tokyo Station, which 36
operates airport-bound Narita Express, a JR express train known to be mostly taken by foreign passengers. 37
The questionnaire consisted of three sections – (1) Internet access in Japan, (2) trip planning tools used in 38
Japan, and (3) satisfaction with railway in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. We collected 254 samples 39
featuring customers from Asia, North America, Europe, South America and Oceania. 40
41
2.5 Online survey 42
In December 2016, we conducted another survey targeting foreign users of the Japanese railway system on 43
the Internet. The samples consisted of 30 native speakers of Chinese residing in the Greater China Area, 44
30 native speakers of Korean residing in Korea, 30 native speakers of English, and 30 European and 45
Southeast Asian residents who are not native speakers of Chinese, Korean, or English, who had visited the 46
Tokyo Metropolitan Area in the past year and stayed less than 30 days. 47
48
Chang, Ikeda, Tsujimura, Sakamoto
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3 OVERALL INFORMATION NEEDS 1
From survey responses and interviews with foreign passengers, we have found that foreign visitors’ 2
experience of getting lost, confused, or disoriented is often related to unaddressed information needs that 3
are different from those of local passengers. By examining the results, we have found five representative 4
information needs currently not adequately fulfilled and deserve further attention. 5
6
7
FIGURE 3 Customer Satisfaction Portfolio analysis for foreign passengers. Source: Survey at Tokyo Station. 8
9
10
FIGURE 4 Customer complaints with regard to railway in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Source: Open-ended response in survey 11
at Tokyo Station. 12
13
14
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• Emphasis of Fundamental Information 1
As shown in Figure 3, foreign passengers are mostly concerned with fundamental information required for 2
a transit trip, i.e., route, ticket, and wayfinding information; real-time delay information is less important 3
in contrast. However, based on railway agencies’ attempt to make real-time delay information widely 4
available, real-time delay information is a higher priority for local passengers. This distinction indicates 5
that short-term passengers have not yet mastered basic knowledge about the system, unlike local 6
passengers who are more familiar with the static information and demand more accurate real-time 7
information to further perfect their trip planning process. 8
9
• Simplified Ticketing Process 10
A comprehensive railway system gives rise to more complicated fare system and ticketing procedures; 11
according to Figure 4, foreign passengers raise concerns about the ticketing process – where to buy, what 12
to buy, and how to use after purchasing tickets. Without clearing these types of confusion altogether, 13
foreign passengers will continue to find it difficult to purchase tickets. 14
15
• Consistent Information for Easy Identification 16
According to survey responses and interviews, foreign passengers often use their own apps and tools for 17
trip planning and wayfinding. However, the difficulty to distinguish lines, platforms, and areas within 18
maze-like stations renders these tools useless. For example, passengers who are informed from maps to 19
take northbound trains at a station would prefer seeing signs specifying the directions of the lines rather 20
than a cluster of final destinations of the lines. 21
22
• Clarification of Commonly Misunderstood Terms 23
We have found that foreign passengers can have systematic misunderstanding on some concepts, and these 24
could have been prevented if the railway agencies were more proactive about educating their customers 25
rather than expecting customers to properly self-educate before using the system. 26
27
• Multilingual Information 28
Figures 3 and 4 reveal that multilingual information is a significant area of improvement. This could range 29
from conversations with station staff, static and dynamic signs, announcements, and the like. Currently in 30
JR East’s railway system, general station staff are not specifically trained in foreign languages; not only 31
does it prevent station staff from effectively helping non-Japanese-speaking passengers, this creates deeper 32
communication issues when makeshift signs are to be made due to an indoor construction and temporary 33
announcements are needed because trains are delayed. The lack of a robust multilingual information 34
system has profound implications. 35
36
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4 THE WAYFINDING SYSTEM 1
2
4.1 Definition 3
Conventionally wayfinding systems refer to the guiding signs in a physical environment, and most 4
wayfinding design literature is concerned with these visual guides. In the context of railway transport, we 5
would like to enlarge the scope of the definition to include a broader range of elements that help 6
passengers navigate in the railway system. 7
Referring to Figure 1, we first identify the possible occasions for which wayfinding elements are 8
needed. Movement occurs not only in stations but also during boarding and alighting. On a moving train, 9
one could rely on cues including in-train announcements, network maps in train cars, and running in 10
boards located along platforms to identify his/her current location in the network and whether he/she 11
should get off at the next stop. These cues are a part of the wayfinding system because they enable 12
passengers to make correct movements. 13
Another dimension of enlargement has to do with the senses used to obtain wayfinding 14
information. This includes visual signs, audio announcements, and tactile cues related to wayfinding. 15
However, given the limited time span of the project, we will focus mainly on static signs in stations, the 16
most commonly seen type of wayfinding tools. They are heavily relied on and closely related to users’ 17
levels of satisfaction and trustworthiness with regard to railway. 18
19
4.2 Static Signs in Stations 20
Signs play significant in wayfinding especially in large, complicated train stations with limited view to the 21
outside where it is almost impossible to identity directions without proper guidance. The following types 22
of signs are related to wayfinding (15): 23
24
• Identification signs: signs that act as identifiers allowing people to confirm their current locations 25
• Directional signs: signs pointing people towards specific directions 26
• Operational signs: signs providing information regarding the use and operation of a physical 27
environment, e.g., map signs and train timetables 28
29
We found three categories of issues related to these signs in the JR East stations as elaborated in 30
4.2.1 through 4.2.3 below. These issues were synthesized from various sign design manuals (15, 16, 17), 31
interviews, surveys, and authors’ observations. 32
33
4.2.1 Visibility 34
The visibility of signs in stations is critical given the visual nature of signs, and it can be affected by: 35
36
• Density of installation 37
• Lighting 38
• Distinguishability from the surroundings 39
• Density of passengers in the station 40
• Physical elements blocking the view 41
• Size of sign boards 42
43
4.2.2 Content 44
Signs containing ambiguous information or information that takes longer than usual to understand could 45
undermine users’ confidence in navigating around the system and waste users’ time unnecessarily. The 46
factors influencing the legibility of a single sign are: 47
48
• Density of information on signs 49
• Font size from a certain distance 50
• Layout and hierarchy of information 51
• Availability of information in languages other than Japanese 52
Chang, Ikeda, Tsujimura, Sakamoto
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• Universally recognizable symbols 1
• Color coding 2
3
4.2.3 Installation 4
The configuration of signs in a station impacts passengers’ movement macroscopically. Common sign 5
design standards stress the importance of installing signs that match passengers’ lines of movement, i.e., 6
having the right signs at the right places. The need of capturing possible confusion with the complexity of 7
the stations and the railway systems requires us to go beyond the general lines of movement and be more 8
specific at each critical decision point. The issues with the installation at a macroscopic level are described 9
below. 10
11
• Assumption of background knowledge 12
• Overuse of makeshift signs 13
• Untimely removal of obsolete signs 14
• Lack of consistency 15
• Missing signs at critical decision points 16
17
4.2.4 The Sign Design Manual 18
The JR East Sign Design Manual It provides standards of making and installing information signs in JR 19
East train stations. It lays out guidelines of sign configuration in train stations and both contents and 20
formats of various types of signs. In terms of sign contents, the manual also provides standardized 21
translations for most commonly seen information, such as station names, “Central Exit”, and “Restroom 22
for Women”, in English for all phrases and in Chinese and Korean for selected phrases. The manual is 23
updated every few years to incorporate changes with respect to all aspects of train operation, e.g., stations 24
on a particular line, translation of certain phrases, and the level of detail to which certain terms are 25
explained. 26
However, the scope of the manual is limited and does not cover the entire process of sign making. 27
Each station is in charge of managing its signs from the design stage to the final implementation, i.e., 28
installation. As a result, the sign manual acts as a reference to the station as to how signs should look and 29
where they should be installed when new signs belonging to the categories described in the manual are 30
introduced. On the other hand, the manual has no bearing on the removal of old signs and the installation 31
of signs outside the scope of the manual, for example. We discuss the issues with the current 32
implementation of the manual below. 33
34
4.2.4.1 It does not fully ensure the visibility of information on the signs. 35
Specifying signboard sizes, font sizes and height of placement alone cannot adequately ensure the 36
visibility of the information on the signs or even the signs themselves. The guidelines provided in the 37
manual cannot cover all the complexities due to station environments; nor do they provide approaches to 38
systematically evaluate the visibility of signs. 39
40
4.2.4.2 Its treatment of translations does not meet the needs of foreign passengers. 41
A huge step towards universal design, the majority of information on signs is available in English while 42
key terms such as “exit” and “fare adjustment machine” are available also in simplified Chinese and 43
Korean under the stipulation of the manual. However, the number of signs solely in Japanese is still 44
striking, and the translations are merely clones of existing information in Japanese. The quantity and the 45
quality of information that non-Japanese speakers receive from signs is lower than that received by the 46
Japanese-speaking passengers. 47
48
4.2.4.3 It lacks provision to cases of makeshift signs. 49
The manual covers the most regular types of signs but makeshift signs, which are often set up to explain 50
temporary situations, leaving the design to the hands of staff in charge at each station. As a result, these 51
signs lack consistency and sometimes fail to communicate effectively with the intended viewers. 52
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4.2.4.4 It does not actively solicit customers’ opinions, especially those of foreign passengers. 1
Currently, the manual is managed by the Marketing Department with little input from other departments of 2
the company, and changes, unless executive, were mostly motivated by complaints filed by passengers on 3
JR East’s website. This approach is fragile in the context today – those who are less likely to successfully 4
navigate in stations – foreign passengers, first-timers, and the visually impaired – happen to be those who 5
are less likely to make their voices heard. This prevents the authors of the manual from adjusting the 6
manual accordingly. 7
8
4.2.4.5 It does not provide standards for systematic renovation; nor does it maintain consistency across 9
stations. 10
Since the design and installation of signs are implemented by each station, the manual cannot dictate the 11
outcomes of the implementation and has no further control over actions that stations take on existing signs 12
and makeshift signs. Consequently, we still see unintegrated, inconsistent, and confusing signs in stations 13
today. 14
15
4.3 Desirable Signs 16
We have found through our evaluation grid method interviews, summarized in Figure 5, that signs 17
in train stations should meet certain conditions (right column) that eventually save user’ time, allow users 18
to build confidence and trust, and feel relieved when navigating in the system (left column). These 19
conditions interact through the mechanism as laid out between the two columns and can inform sign 20
designers regarding design-related decisions. Most importantly, many of the conditions point at “faster 21
comprehension”, which is equivalent to reduction in cognitive costs; unfortunately, we have observed 22
many overloaded signs that do not meet this criterion for foreign passengers. 23
24
25
FIGURE 5 Aggregated result of evaluation grid method interviews. 26
27
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5 ROUTE PLANNING AND TICKETING 1
2
5.1 Route Planning 3
Route planning on a complicated railway network has irreplaceable significance; it allows users to 4
navigate the system with some degree of certainty and learn the system in the longer run. According to our 5
surveys, foreign passengers almost rely equally on traditional route planning tools such as paper maps and 6
Internet-based tools such as Google Maps. Figure 6 shows the result of the survey conducted in the Tokyo 7
Station. We found that foreign passengers are much more likely to use route planning apps that they 8
already know, e.g., Google Maps, rather than apps that are more popular in Japan and actually known to 9
be more accurate. This highlights the importance of having a global view when railway agencies design 10
information. Besides navigation apps, foreign passengers rely mostly on materials published by the 11
railway agencies and station staff to obtain route planning information. 12
13
14
FIGURE 6 Route Planning Tools Used by Foreign Passengers in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. Source: Survey at Tokyo Station. 15
16
5.2 Ticketing 17
As mentioned in Chapter 1, ticketing does not necessarily happen after route planning. We will discuss 18
both the information regarding tickets and the actual process of obtaining tickets in this section. 19
20
• Validity of tickets and passes unclear 21
We are aware that foreign passengers often have questions or doubts about the validity of their passes and 22
tickets, either before or after the purchase. Although railway agencies often try to explain the validity of 23
these tickets and passes, possibly to increase sales, there still seems to be a lack of effective 24
communication. As an example, passengers who hold a Japan Rail Pass are not always aware that they 25
need to reserve seats for the Narita Express before getting on board. There could be a few reasons leading 26
to the bafflement, for instance, not knowing about seat reservation rules, not being aware that Narita 27
Express only has reserved seats, or equating Narita Express with Shinkansen where unreserved seats are 28
available. Another common misunderstanding among foreign passengers is the distinction between basic 29
fare ticket and express fare ticket, which is the result of a long-standing historical fare system. 30
31
• Hard to purchase online 32
Online ticketing systems can be a very helpful tool for foreign passengers to decide the types of tickets to 33
obtain and a highly effective channel for the railway agencies to inform passengers about particular rules 34
and validity of tickets. Currently, there does not seem to be a railway agency in the Tokyo Metropolitan 35
Area that has a well-established, foreigner-friendly online ticketing system. 36
37
• Multiple types of ticket machines 38
Also for historical reasons, JR East has separate ticket machines for different types of tickets. The basic 39
ticket machines do not sell Shinkansen tickets, while the express ticket machines do not sell local train 40
Chang, Ikeda, Tsujimura, Sakamoto
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tickets. These machines have very distinct features, and even within a type of machine there exists several 1
generations with slightly different looks. 2
3
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6 STAFF ASSISTANCE 1
2
6.1 Status Quo and Issues 3
The current state of staff assistance as sampled across JR East’s stations and information centers shows 4
several patterns that call for strategic changes. The level of satisfaction with regard to service etiquette and 5
manner has been high while that with regard to language skills remains low. 6
JR East has been setting up Travel Service Centers, staffed with speakers of English and other 7
languages, in key stations starting in 2007. However, staff outside these information centers tend to be less 8
equipped with language skills necessary for interaction with foreign passengers, as our surveys suggest. 9
As a response, translation tools including tablets and apps are being used in some information 10
centers, the results of which are mixed. Despite JR East’s resolution in developing such tools, we have 11
witnessed cases where communication failed in the presence of translation software. Besides the limits of 12
translation software, there are at least two other reasons for not solely relying on these tool. First, the 13
accuracy of outputs of these tools are prone to errors especially in case of homonyms; second, passengers 14
might not know the names of the concepts they had in mind, e.g., visitor pass products, lines to take, when 15
talking to a staff. In these cases, these tools alone cannot solve the communication problems due to the 16
lack of language skills. 17
At the organizational level, there has been little effort connecting the dots of customer facing at 18
individual stations and information booths. This can be easily understood by looking at the variety of the 19
forms in which identical or similar information is displayed at different stations. In comparison, questions 20
that were repeatedly asked at a single location could suggest unaddressed needs or unresolved problems 21
which require changes at a higher level. 22
23
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7 CONCLUSIONS AND STRATEGIES 1
7.1 Conclusions 2
We have examined the extent to which foreign railway users’ information needs are underaddressed in the 3
Tokyo Metropolitan Area. The lack of proper understanding of what foreign passengers do and do not 4
know, the passiveness in soliciting feedback and post-design evaluation, and unsystematic information 5
provision are the three common themes that have diminished the usability of the transit system. We 6
propose the following strategies to improve transit information. 7
8
7.2 Strategies on Wayfinding 9
Since we have explored that signs have not adequately addressed foreign passengers’ needs, our strategies 10
aim to ensure that these needs are well-considered. The first step is to utilize some of the findings from 11
this project, and in the longer run more macroscopic efforts will be required. We strongly recommend that 12
our findings be circulated with sign designers of railway agencies and put to use as soon as possible. 13
Visibility issues, on the other hand, are still challenges for foreign passengers as well; we 14
recommend that the agencies develop proper measures for sign visibility and reconsider the relationship 15
between signs and profit-generating elements including but not limited to store banners and advertisement. 16
In the long run, the agencies should make sure that foreign passengers’ needs are met, and this 17
requires the establishment of validation mechanisms; the agencies should actively reach out to foreign 18
users of their systems and solicit feedback on a regular basis. 19
20
7.3 Strategies on Route Planning and Ticketing 21
Since foreign passengers tend to use a different set of route planning tools from local passengers, there is 22
value to learn more about their experience with these tools. For example, if a navigation app uses exits as 23
locational identifiers while a certain station uses landmarks frequently as locational identifiers, then it 24
would be beneficial for this station to install more signs about exits. On the other hand, railway agencies 25
can cooperate with route planning tool companies (e.g., Google) to ensure the quality of information 26
provided to customers. 27
Realizing the close tie between route planning and ticketing, we recommend that the two be 28
integrated through convenient, easily accessible means, possibly through mobile apps. Deutsche Bahn’s 29
DB Navigator app is a successful case that provides navigating and ticket booking services simultaneously. 30
Railway agencies could design a section in the app specifically for visitor passes that explains the validity 31
of visitor passes and allows users to plan trips by only using routes covered by their visitor passes. 32
To simplify ticketing, we could either improve the ticketing facilities or ultimately simplify the 33
fare system. Considering the challenges of revolutionizing the entire fare system in Japan, we recommend 34
that railway agencies upgrade ticket machines, develop user-friendly online ticketing systems, and make 35
ticketing information more accessible. 36
37
7.4 Strategies on Staff Assistance 38
The agencies should centralize the disaggregate experience of customer facing and address foreign 39
passengers’ underlying needs. At the most basic level, station staff’s lack of foreign language skills should 40
be improved systematically; there have been attempts to develop better translation tools as a response to 41
this issue, and agencies could hire more staff who speak languages other than Japanese. 42
The agencies should collect repeated issues and come up with unified responses to save human 43
capital at the station level and provide consistent answers. On the other hand, repeated questions are 44
indicators of underlying issues that await bigger changes. We suggest that the agencies incorporate these 45
issues into resolving the fundamental issues that cause distress and confusion. 46
47
Chang, Ikeda, Tsujimura, Sakamoto
17
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