Gamification and engagement of tourists and residents in public transportation exploiting location-based technologies

TL;DR

This paper explores using gamification and location-based technologies in a mobile app to boost public transportation engagement among tourists and residents, aiming to reduce congestion and promote sustainable travel.

Contribution

It introduces a novel mobile application integrating gamification with wireless tech to encourage public transport use and evaluates its usability through surveys and testing.

Findings

Positive user engagement observed

High usability scores achieved

Potential to reduce private car usage

Abstract

Cities are becoming very congested. There is a need to reduce the number of private cars on the roads, by maximising the potential for local public transport. With the increasing awareness of transport that is sustainable in the sense of environmental impact, but also climate and social, there is the need to create engagement into public transportation. Gamification, which is the use of game elements in non-game contexts, has proven to deliver very positive results, by turning regular activities into engaging ones, which are fun to perform. We have designed a mobile application, that interacts with short-range wireless communication technologies, inviting people to use public transport. To evaluate the solution, we have created a questionnaire based on the System Usability Scale, but also using usability testing with specific tasks.