Ergonomic design of ticket barriers for use by the travelling public

This paper describes a two-stage study of the performance and acceptability of automatic ticket barriers. The aim of the research was to provide information to both manufacturers and transport operators to aid them in specifying equipment which would meet requirements for security and passenger flow and at the same time be acceptable, convenient and safe for use by passengers.

Stage one consisted of field studies at three railway stations and a laboratory evaluation of five types of ticket barrier. The field studies were undertaken to record and identify the characteristics of users and the type and frequency of problems they encountered. The laboratory trials consisted of objective and subjective evaluations of the four barriers by selected classes of user. Stage two consisted of a detailed study of certain features of barrier design, identified in stage one, including the type and speed of ticket checking, barrier dimensions and equipment for luggage handling. Results of the research have enabled design recommendations to be drawn up for use in the specification of future ticket barrier design.