As train stations, airports and bus stations continue to get busier, technology is helping staff to cope and commuters to get where they need to go with fewer problems. Touchscreens in particular are proving a godsend to everyone concerned. In fact, touchscreens are proving integral to modern transport as a whole; and are revolutionizing the transport network and the way we commute:
Ticket Machines
Ticket machines are now ever present in train and bus stations all over the UK. Credit card slots prove very useful in the event that commuters don’t have enough change to pay for a ticket. Yet it is the touchscreen control panels on modern ticket machines which make things clear and quick for the user, reducing wait times and leading to a more positive travel experience.
Another huge benefit for companies and commuters alike is the 24 hour availability of touch screen technology. Due to the automated nature of the technology, ticket kiosks are able to run 24 hours a day, providing passengers with tickets long after the 9 to 5 ground staff have gone home.
Payment Kiosks
Self-service kiosks are similar to ticket machines, yet offer different services for commuters. In the UK, a number of the busiest airports are now moving towards implementing fast-track services that aim to speed up passenger queue times. Luton, East Midlands, Stanstead, Manchester, Heathrow and Liverpool have all benefited from using fast track payment kiosks from Cammax and other suppliers such as Touch4 in their terminals over recent years and they have proved very popular among passengers.
Touchscreens simplify the processes for tired and busy travellers, offering an out-of-hours service that eases the burden on busy airport staff.
Personal Entertainment Systems
Another great use for touch screen technology in the transport industry are the personal entertainment systems that have long been a fixture of distance flights. If you want to watch a film you have a choice of the latest blockbusters — you can! You can even watch TV, play video games or listen to music. If you have a family, these systems are perfect for keeping the kids quiet during long flights.
A touchscreen GUI provides easy-to-use and quick way for commuters to interact with the system. Like with the use of ticket and payment touch screens this is a case of technology providing a more positive travel experience for the user.
Digital Signs
Digital signs can also be a useful information hub for passengers looking to avoid the long queue at the information desk. Commuters can use the touchscreens to find the information relevant to their journey quickly and with ease, using such features as interactive maps.
Digital signs are a great way to advertise and engage with to commuters, transport companies can include more ads than on a static display.
Digital signage technology can be used creatively, just as in the CONTACT photography festival in Toronto where the digital signs around the subway system where transformed into a digital art exhibition.
EPOS Systems
As suggested above, staff at airports, as well as train and bus stations can also benefit from the use of touchscreens. If you’re working on the till, the use of EPOS hardware and touch PC systems reduce the length of queues and assist them in their jobs.
Pilots in US aeroplane cockpits now also make use of this technology in place of handwritten or manually-inputted paperwork, reducing the risk of human error and any dangers that it cause.
George H M Webb is a content exec with Cammaxlimited.co.uk.
