People Ticket machines cause
other problems for passengers, including lack of information on fare types. ‘They are slow and the touch-screens unresponsive’ was one complaint, ‘they use non-Qwerty keyboards making entry of destination information harder’ was another. By understanding the
different passenger types and their needs, designers can create machines that provide the same advice and guidance as passengers would get from staff at ticket office windows. A human-focused approach
can bring innovation when it comes to security, especially at small, unmanned stations. Passengers do not want to feel alone – they want to feel someone is looking out for them and to know criminals are being effectively deterred. This can be achieved by integrating other uses in the station area such as offices or other community buildings. Technology, such as CCTV, can also help. Stations are never the start
and finish points of a journey – people arrive and depart on foot, on bus, by car, by underground. Understanding this, and how passengers need information to take them on to the next step of their journey, challenges designers. Better information, more clearly presented, will achieve the higher satisfaction levels required today. With major investment
taking place to upgrade the country’s stations, best value can be achieved by applying a human-centred design approach, which will ensure rising customer satisfaction levels.
DAVID WATTS IS THE MANAGING DIRECTOR OF CCD HUMAN FACTORS, A CONSULTANCY THAT ADVISES BUSINESSES, GOVERNMENT AND OTHER ORGANISATIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCY AND REDUCE HUMAN ERROR:
www.ccd.org.uk
O’Toole to take over from Lockhead
n
Sir Moir Lockhead has announced his retirement from the FirstGroup. He will be replaced by Tim O’Toole, who joined the group as deputy chief executive earlier this year.
Lockhead said: ‘I firmly believe
that timing is everything and, with FirstGroup in a strong position to continue its successful development, the time is right for me to hand over to an outstanding team led by Tim O’Toole.’ Lockhead, 65, who famously
started out as an apprentice bus mechanic, led a management buyout of Grampian Regional Transport in 1989, forming a company that eventually became the FirstGroup. He will hand over to O’Toole in
Tim O’Toole (left) and Moir Lockhead at FirstGroup’s Aberdeen headquarters
November, but will not fully retire until March 2011 to enable a period of transition. O’Toole, 55, joined the board of
First in May 2009 as a non-executive director and was subsequently
appointed chief operating officer and deputy chief executive in June. O’Toole was previously managing director of London Underground, until he stepped down last year to return to his native Philadelphia. In his new role, he will spend half of his time in the USA, where FirstGroup owns Greyhound Buses, as well as several contracts to run yellow school buses. He made his name in transport
when he became the last chief executive of Conrail, one of the US’s biggest rail operations, before the company was split up, going to CSX and Norfolk Southern. Earlier this year O’Toole was in talks with Tube Lines to become its CEO, but then the company was bought by TfL.
Williams replaces Hogg at East Coast n
East Coast operations director Mike Hogg is to be replaced
by Danny Williams (right) who joined the company earlier this year. Karen Boswell, managing director of East Coast, said: ‘I want to pay tribute to Mike Hogg for his dedication to the role over many years. His operational judgment has never been in question at East Coast, and his knowledge and experience within our industry is highly respected.
‘But the move comes as a
result of our determination to make a significant step change in performance improvement – an area which has been challenging for our business over the last nine months. ‘Working closely with Network Rail and other industry partners, I expect Danny Williams to tackle this challenge with renewed vigour.’
Before
joining East Coast earlier this year, Williams, 36, was head of trains service for
First Capital Connect, where he helped to improve Thameslink’s punctuality. He was also nominated for the Young Professional of the Year at the Rail Business Awards. East Coast has suffered a decline
in punctuality of services – just 86.1 per cent of services arrived within 10 minutes of the scheduled time from January to March, compared to 88.6 per cent for the same period in 2009.
The problems are mainly due
to reliability issues with InterCity 225 electric trains, but some have
Interfleet brings Boyd back from Down Under
Rufus Boyd has joined Interfleet Technology’s UK operation from its Sydney office. A former South West Trains director, Boyd was the
deputy chief executive officer of the Sydney Metro. He has also worked for Stagecoach Rail, leading the bid teams for the South Western, East Midlands and InterCity East Coast franchises.
been caused by infrastructure failures, which are Network Rail’s responsibility.
Michael Holden, non-executive director of Directly Operated Railways, the parent company of East Coast, will initially work with Williams to provide advice on the implementation of initiatives to improve performance. Holden began his career at British Rail and had a spell as managing director of South Eastern Trains.
Ruddy takes on Sussex
Mark Ruddy has been appointed as Network Rail’s route director for Sussex. Ruddy, 50, joined
Network Rail in 2007 as head of competence and training, following a 27-year career in the Royal Engineers.
He saw active service in
Northern Ireland, the Balkans and Iraq, managing multiple construction programmes.
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