Proposed Solution

PROJECT
After 3 1/2 months (Fall 2008) and 2,500 collective project hours, studying the issue of mass transit in Central Indiana, we have arrived at a solution. On December 5, 2008 we prepared a 29-page Proposal and Implementation book outlining the solution. We handed the proposal over to the Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit in hopes that our thinking can be applied towards the development of a mass transit system.

PROBLEM
Central Indiana has inadequate public transportation options because there is a lack of urgency among lawmakers to act on the issue. This lack of urgency is (in part) the result of a lack of consistent pressure from the citizenry, who don’t have an effective channel for dialogue on the issue.

SOLUTION
A targeted campaign that raises awareness for a carefully designed interface that facilitates dialogue between the citizenry and legislature on the issue of public transportation.

CAMPAIGN
The campaign we’ve developed has two distinct parts.

1. The AWARENESS segment of the campaign seeks to generate a presence in the mind of pro-transit individuals, making them aware that there is a place where they can easily voice their concerns.

2. The FACILITATION segment of the campaign is the actual interface that the user interacts with, allowing them to easily engage in a dialogue with their legislature to voice their concerns about public transit issues.

ACTION PLAN
The following steps need to happen in order to move the issue from advocacy to development.

Mass Transit Advocacy - Awareness - Facilitation - Legislative Action - Mass Transit Development

(Pictures, links and more information will be available upon implementation of the proposed campaign.)

...

Special Acknowledgments

Marcia Stone
This project was developed under the instruction of Marcia Stone — “Designing for Innovation” class at Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit - Steering Committee
www.indianacat.org

Our 'Dream Team' members for their valuable insights and input.

Thank you.

Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit Meeting

On Friday, November 14, we presented our ideas to the Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit (ICAT). The Citizens' Alliance is uniting organizations and citizens under one single voice to address mass transit issues and advocate for the immediate development and ongoing support of comprehensive transit options in communities across Indiana. We are elated to work with the Citizens' Alliance in implementing a solution.

The Indiana Citizens' Alliance for Transit will have a public launch in the coming months. To learn more and to get involved visit ICAT's website.

Many thanks to ICAT's Steering Committee for inviting us to participate in this worthy initiative.

(Click images to enlarge)

Prototyping and Testing Ideas

We prototyped and tested four ideas. After analyzing user feedback we selected two ideas to optimize and implement.

We will release general solution information, to the public, after December 5.

(Click images to enlarge)

Media Board

We regularly update our media board with local newspaper and magazine articles about mass transit.

(Click images to enlarge)

'Dream Team' Brainstorm Ideas

We reviewed all the ideas from the group brainstorm jam sessions and the 'dream team' brainstorm event. We identified about a dozen ideas that best fit the project's objectives and goals. From those ideas we selected four.

Our next step is to prototype and test the selected ideas, in public spaces, for user feedback.

(Click images to enlarge)

Riding the "Magic Bus"

Here's a short video of the brainstorming event with our 'dream team' members.

'Dream Team' Brainstorming Event

The brainstorming event with our dream team members took place on a bus. We rode around downtown Indianapolis and stopped at key locations and did narratives (past, present and future) of mass transit as it relates to Central Indiana. We also facilitated brainstorming exercises.

(Click images to enlarge)

Group Brainstorming Jam Session

We came together to brainstorm possible ideas. The brainstorm session was very loose and all ideas were written down. We encourage "wild" ideas and to go for quantity.

Our Problem Statement: Inadequate public transportation funding, in Central Indiana, is the result of a lack of urgency to act within local government.

We started with the words; "ways to create urgency" from there the ideas started flowing. The pace was fast and steady. The goal of this session was to foster an environment were ideas are not judged.

(Click images to enlarge)








Our next step was to facilitate a brainstorming event with our dream team of content experts, front liners and users of public transportation.

City Leaders Take Trip to Study Mass Transit

Indianapolis - The city is looking at other cities for ideas to build an efficient mass-transit system in Indianapolis.

As part of their research, dozens of city leaders took a chartered jet to Denver for a three-day trip to study the Mile High City's new light rail.

"They've done a lot with mass transit," said Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce President Roland Dorson.

Read the article (WTHR 13)

City Planning More Bike Lanes

Indianapolis - Bike to work day happens once a year, but the mayor would like to see more people bike to work every day.

"As you know we're committed to being a more sustainable city and that includes being bike friendly," said Mayor Greg Ballard. (WTHR 13)



Read the article (WTRH 13)

Is Indy Cool-Proof?

This article mentions two innovative transportation options; The Bike Dispenser and Zipcar, currently not available in Indianapolis.

Read the article (Indy.com)

IndyGo Public Meeting

On Thursday, October 2 we attended a public meeting where IndyGo discussed fare increases, route eliminations and overall operation state of IndyGo. Many IndyGo riders expressed their concerns about the new changes.

After the meeting we met Michael A. Terry; Interim President & CEO of IndyGo and discussed some of the issues regarding Mass Transportation in Central Indiana as well as what other U.S. cities are doing to enhance their transit systems.

(Click images to enlarge)




Read and watch IndyGo meeting coverage, IndyGo Decides To Up Rates (WISH TV 8)

Research Findings Overview Presentation

After finding cited facts and analyzing our research we defined the problem; 'Inadequate public transportation funding, in Central Indiana, is the result of a lack of urgency to act within local government.'

We spent the following week editing copy and visual content for our presentation. We presented to the senior visual communication class at Herron.

(Click images to enlarge)



Selected screen captions of our presentation (above)



After the presentation we debriefed and started preparing for the next step.



Our next step is communicating with our 'dream team' members to further discuss the issues, brainstorm possible ideas and solutions.

Research Findings

We recently spent time talking with commuters and users of public transportation. Their input is greatly helping our research process. We are analyzing the information through different lenses. This is granting us deeper understanding of the issue from various perspectives.

(Click images to enlarge)

CIRTA Meeting

On Friday morning, September 26 (following the panel vote) we attended the Central Indiana Regional Transportation Authority (CIRTA) meeting held at the Grand Hall in the Indiana State Fair Grounds. We gained insight and met others involved in mass transit including; Ehren Bingaman; Executive Director of CIRTA, Jen Thomas of Jen Thomas PR and Kim Irwin; Executive Director of Alliance for Health Promotion.

(Click images to enlarge)