Intelligent Transportation Systems - City of Oakland

4.3.2 Kiosks
Kiosks are becoming an important traveler information communication device and have
been adopted by many transportation agencies. Kiosks can allow travelers to access
current data on road and weather conditions, directions to destinations specified, and
current news regarding local events.
An automated kiosk is a stand-alone unit most commonly containing a computer terminal
and some form of user interface (e.g., keyboard, touch screen). The Port of Oakland
has expressed a desire to install a kiosk in one of their Airport terminals. Kiosks also
could be installed at major transit centers near the Coliseum. Although a kiosk could be
installed in a completely stand-alone facility it is unlikely that a traveler would stop just to
use the kiosk, for both convenience and safety reasons.
A kiosk consists of four primary components: interactive presentation software; a
personal computer; user interfaces such as the display, keyboard, touch screen and
telephone; and the physical enclosure. Because the public has physical access to the
kiosk and is able to interact with a remote system, topics not always associated with
information systems must be addressed. Some of these topics are physical security,
data security, identification of the user, use by untrained operators, and compliance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act.
These last two topics present opportunities for state-of-the-art technology to aid the user
community. Hearing-impaired persons can use standard touch screens. For the visually
impaired, a telephone can be provided that uses audio prompts to activate kiosk
commands via a Braille-like telephone keypad. Additional Braille-like menus can be
mounted on the kiosk surface to aid in the communication. All users, whether physically
impaired or not, desire a positive feedback to know that they have successfully engaged
an interactive button or other input device; therefore, the kiosk must react with positive
visual and audio responses to all input by the user. Moreover, effective use of graphics
and sound provides an engaging presentation that makes the kiosk experience not only
informative but also entertaining.
Given the potentially high costs of implementing and maintaining kiosks, careful
consideration should go into their planning. It is anticipated that optimal benefits of
kiosks will be derived by those travelers with limited accessibility to traveler information
(e.g., travelers without Internet access).
Kiosk Recommendations – It is recommended that traveler information kiosks be
considered for medium- or long-term deployment in the City of Oakland. Unfortunately,
MTC has discontinued their TravInfo® kiosk initiative so there are currently no
opportunities to share in regional efforts to develop kiosks. However, the City should still
consider developing kiosks that would be based on a City traveler information web site
(see next section). The kiosks could be linked to the web site and provide the same
information including traffic maps, incident updates, traffic images and transit
information. The kiosks could also have a link to other regional traveler information
systems such as East Bay SMART Corridors and 511/TravInfo®. Kiosks should be
deployed at locations where many people are likely to pass them while traveling such as
Oakland Airport terminals, major transit hubs and the Downtown Convention Center.
City of Oakland ITS Strategic Plan
48 September, 2003