Title: Information Technology to Support Alternative Vehicle Travel in Yellowstone National Park
Abstract: Because of crowding, overuse, and pollution, the National Park Service is conducting a major effort to develop alternative forms of transportation in the national parks. A new generation of busses and trams will provide features that motivate visitors to leave their private automobiles in favor of public transportation. One such feature might be an interactive computer-based information system that would provide riders with various kinds of interpretive and visit planning information. A series of surveys and focus groups explored visitors' motivations and expectations when visiting Yellowstone National Park. They also documented the features and the kinds of information visitors would like to have available during a trip through the park using an alternative vehicle system. These studies culminated in the functional design of a prototype visit enhancement system. Using the findings of the surveys and focus groups in the requirements development phase, a simulation of the visit enhancement system was developed. The simulation, in the form of an interactive website, includes sections containing maps; current and forecast weather; interpretive information on animals, vegetation, and thermal features; park regulations; and upcoming events of interest to the visitor. The simulation is designed in a modular structure to allow easy addition of new information pages within these basic sections. This report summarizes the user requirements analysis that led to the basic functional design of the prototype information system and then describes in detail the information structure and content of the simulation. Future efforts will evaluate the acceptance, usability of the prototype, expand the information content of the prototype, and port the user interface to a touch monitor computer system. Western Transportation Institute Page i Information Technology for Alternative Vehicles Acknowledgments ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The research described in this report was performed by the Western Transportation Institute, College of Engineering, of Montana State University under Subcontract KLK360-02-A from the University of Idaho. The research was a task under Contract DTFH61-01-X-00101 between the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration and the University of Idaho. Prof. Donald M. Blackketter, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Idaho was the subcontract monitor. Surveys and focus groups during the user requirements phase of the effort were conducted by Ms. Joann L. Moore with the assistance of Ms. Yvonne Wachutka. The visit enhancement system prototype was developed by Messrs. Sean Graham and Douglas Galarus. Focus group participants were coordinated by the Kriegel Marketing Group of Bozeman, Montana. Western Transportation Institute Page ii Information Technology for Alternative Vehicles Table of
Publication Year: 2003
Publication Date: 2003-10-01
Language: en
Type: article
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Cited By Count: 1
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