The study conducted says that a larger group of passengers do not use the on-board reader. The 82% of these riders include time ticket holders (who do not have to check in), SMS ticket holders, paper tickets, tickets purchased from the driver, riders with the option to use public transit for free, and this includes stowaways. The situation is slightly different when boarding through the front door, where passengers with a valid time ticket or a piece transfer ticket must also check in using a reader, and passenger interaction with the display is more than double. Which is what the research has shown and it fits the logic of the operation. 

 

 

Research has shown that 89% passengers who use the reader display check in quickly and without issue. Another 9% did take longer to purchase a ticket (the observed limit was 15 s), but they were also successful. More than 98% cases include buying a ticket with a credit card both for themselves and a fellow passenger, buying a ticket from a passenger's account credit or just validating, for example, a time or piece ticket after a transfer. 

 

One or two passengers out of 100 had some problem with check-in. As a result, they switched to another reader, followed the driver or showed a negative reaction. Thus, the reader failed to check in 1.8% people who attempted to service the display after boarding. This group may include situations where the reader is jammed but also where the passenger has no credit or an expired credit card or no money in their bank account. 

 

For the research, the most used public transport lines and the least used ones were selected in equal proportions. Thus, both situations when there are few passengers in the cars and moments when there are a large number of passengers in the cars, including those who need to check in at the display, were examined. The research was carried out for 14 days on weekdays and weekends from 5:00 am to 8:00 pm. It therefore included situations with front door boarding after 7pm. The study participants were always in the cars for the entire journey from end to end and continuously filled in pre-prepared sheets in which they sorted the passengers into different groups according to their performance in the check-in process or whether they reached a successful check-in. There was always one observer in the short cars and two in the articulated cars. 

 

„We really spent a lot of time on the methodological setup of the research to get the quantitative data we needed as accurately as possible. The aim was to record passenger check-in, their occurrence by different categories of time and place, and to identify potential problems,“ Miroslav Joukl, PhD from the University of Hradec Králové. „Our students were trained before the research started in the cars, which introduced them to the assignment in context and explained the current system of check-in in Hradec Králové public transport,“ Joukl added. 

 

According to the result of the research, it can be concluded that the absolute majority of passengers can handle check-in with the on-board reader without any problems. Even so, the transport company plans to continue monitoring, evaluating and improving the system. The immediate goal is to try to speed up the purchase of short tickets.