This is the transcript of 'App design with Transport for NSW' video
Joachim Cohen:
Have you ever travelled on a train, a bus, or ferry? How about the Metro or Interstate XPT? Today we are going behind the scenes of Transport for New South Wales to discover the technology involved in getting you where you need to be, when you need to be there, all with safety in mind.
Joachim Cohen:
But it's not all about the travellers. What about the workers? Did you know there are thousands of people keeping buses, trains, and ferries moving every day? How can technology help keep them safe, and keep you on track? Let's hear from some Transport for New South Wales employees, as we find out how technology helps them and travellers just like you.
Joachim Cohen:
Make sure you are paying attention, because we might have a challenge for you, and it's all about developing your very own app idea and prototype. Let's not waste any more time. Let's jump on board.
Anna Pockley:
Transport helps you complete your journey through all sorts of different forms of technology. It might be through the announcements that you hear at a station or at a bus stop, it could be through the indicators which have got the service information on them, or it might be through the travel apps.
Anna Pockley:
So technology can help you in all aspects of completing your journey. Let's take your school trip as an example. We would be thinking about everything from the moment you needed to leave home, to arriving at your school gate. This might be what time you need to leave to get to catch your service; how long you need to wait; do you need to catch a connection? You might be catching a bus and a train, or vice versa; or it might then be the information you need to be able to make it to your school gates.
Anna Pockley:
There's all sorts of services that Transport offers, with technology helping behind the scenes. It's not just one mode of transport. You might be familiar with ferries or buses, light rail, the Metro, or the train, but it actually also includes anything by car, by ride-share, taxi, riding your bike, or even walking, because Transport maintains those roads and paths as well.
Joachim Cohen:
Let's find out about all the technology that Transport for New South Wales use now, and what they're thinking about using in the future. Mary, tell us about how technology helps workers.
Mary Nguyen:
So Joe, our team takes care of a track network over 1,600 kilometres long. That's twice the distance from Sydney to Melbourne.
Joachim Cohen:
Seriously?
Mary Nguyen:
Yeah. So some areas are hard to find, and difficult to get to, so we use technology to help our team find their way using augmented reality. This acts as a visual guide, just like in video games, to identify our track and other assets on the network. The app gives our team the ability to see in the dark, and in any weather.
Joachim Cohen:
Seriously? It sounds like Pokemon Go.
Mary Nguyen:
It is.
Joachim Cohen:
Unbelievable.
Anna Pockley:
We have recently implemented some really cool technology to help you receive service update information to complete your trip. We found a way to connect the staff-issued mobile phones to our public address system. This means that the staff can make announcements directly into their mobile phones, and you will be able to hear the information come through on the platform. We would really like your help to be able to come up with some new ideas and solutions to help people to complete their trips. Quite often, people don't have much confidence when they are traveling, and we are always trying to improve this.
Joachim Cohen:
What technology do you see, Sangavi, Transport For New South Wales using in the future?
Sangavi Santhikumar:
We are very excited about the potential of virtual reality to educate our staff before they go out into the field.
Joachim Cohen:
Oh, that is so important.
Sangavi Santhikumar:
Another important theme in engineering is to first understand the problem you are trying to solve. It's easy to get caught up in cool new technology, so it's always a good idea to start with understanding the main issue, and using technology to help with the solution.
Joachim Cohen:
Bingo.
Fiona Mathieu:
So we have customers that have hearing aids, and they can connect direct to the Transport website to get all the current, up to date statuses of their service, while they are traveling on the network.
Fiona Mathieu:
Google Maps is one of our vendors that are really trying to assist customers on their journey. They have footage from over 100 stations of the network in the app. So you can actually go and familiarise yourself with the location before you actually get to site. How good is that? That takes away the anxiety, and the concern of where do I go when I get there. You can have a look at your journey before you get there.
Fiona Mathieu:
Another cool thing we have is a boarding assistance app. If you need help getting on or off the train, we can assist you. You just need to go up to the friendly staff member, they will input the info into the app, and that way, when you get to your end station, they can help you off the train.
Fiona Mathieu:
So we understand English may not be your first language. That's okay. That is what we are trialling, announcements in different languages so we can help everyone.
Joachim Cohen:
Whilst the team at Transport for New South Wales are amazing, I am sure there are always more problems to be solved. So, do you have a challenge for the students of New South Wales public schools to solve with the power of app technology?
Sangavi Santhikumar:
Yeah. So in running a public transport system, we are always interested in improving the safety for members of the public. So how can we improve safety across the transport network, and increase awareness of typical hazards in the rail corridor?
Joachim Cohen:
Gosh, safety is so important.
Fiona Mathieu:
So we need your help. Not everyone is as comfortable traveling around the network. We want your ideas to come forward. Tell us how we can make a better solution for our customers that travel on the network every day.
Joachim Cohen:
So, budding technologists, developers, and designers out there, you have your challenge. Could you create an app... yes, that's right, an app... that could change the way people in New South Wales travel, be it a paper prototype, a digital prototype, or even a working app? Plan it, research it, prototype it, test it, and build it. And boy, do we have some resources to help you do it.
Joachim Cohen:
Make sure you check out the latest edition of T4L Kids magazine, watch the video that goes behind the scenes of an app development house, and there are loads of tutorials you can tune into. Then make it, get ready to video pitch it, and see if you can make impact
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