Waiting experience at train stations

TY - THES

T1 - Waiting experience at train stations

AU - van Hagen, M.

PY - 2011/4/1

Y1 - 2011/4/1

N2 - In the railway sector there is a great deal of interest in objective time but hardly any in passengers’ subjective experience of time. The focus of this publication is thus not on (shortening) objective time but on how time itself is experienced and how this can be improved. Aware that a journey must not only be quick but also pleasant, Netherlands Railways (NS) consequently sets itself the following objective: “To transport our passengers safely, on time and in comfort via appealing stations.” Particularly the wait is found to be unpleasant, with passengers regarding stations and especially platforms as sombre, boring and grey places, devoid of atmosphere and colour. By improving the waiting environment, we can kill two birds with one stone: passengers will find waiting more pleasant and the waiting time will appear to be shorter. The practical question in this research thus reads: “Which measures are effective to make the waiting time at stations more pleasant and/or to shorten the perception of waiting time?” The conclusion is that by adding the right environmental stimuli at the right moment, both the station and the wait are more positively evaluated, resulting in the score for the general appraisal of the platform increasing by half to one full point.

AB - In the railway sector there is a great deal of interest in objective time but hardly any in passengers’ subjective experience of time. The focus of this publication is thus not on (shortening) objective time but on how time itself is experienced and how this can be improved. Aware that a journey must not only be quick but also pleasant, Netherlands Railways (NS) consequently sets itself the following objective: “To transport our passengers safely, on time and in comfort via appealing stations.” Particularly the wait is found to be unpleasant, with passengers regarding stations and especially platforms as sombre, boring and grey places, devoid of atmosphere and colour. By improving the waiting environment, we can kill two birds with one stone: passengers will find waiting more pleasant and the waiting time will appear to be shorter. The practical question in this research thus reads: “Which measures are effective to make the waiting time at stations more pleasant and/or to shorten the perception of waiting time?” The conclusion is that by adding the right environmental stimuli at the right moment, both the station and the wait are more positively evaluated, resulting in the score for the general appraisal of the platform increasing by half to one full point.

KW - IR-80061

KW - METIS-280738

M3 - PhD Thesis - Research external, graduation UT

SN - 978-90-5972-506-5

PB - Eburon Academic Publishers

CY - Delft

ER -