Beyond Context-Sensitive Solutions: Using Value-Sensitive Design to Identify Needed Transit Information Tools

Although the practice of Context-Sensitive Solutions instructs transportation designers to respect community values, the focus is typically on the surroundings of the project rather than the direct and indirect stakeholders who will be affected by a solution. Therefore, the team designing the OneBusAway transit traveler information system turned to the Value-Sensitive Design process from information and computer science to help determine what transit rider information tools to build next. Through conceptual, empirical, and technical investigations, the OneBusAway team has developed a list of potential transit information tools and begun to prioritize projects based on the needs of riders of all types and effects on indirect stakeholders. The use of VSD has helped guide the use of our limited resources, so that they are spent meeting the actual needs of the larger public-transit-using community. The principles of VSD can be applied throughout the transportation industry, especially when considering broader transportation planning goals.