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CMU-HCII-23-100
Human-Computer Interaction Institute
School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
CMU-HCII-23-100
Forging a Path Towards Equity in Smart Public Transit Systems
Ecosystems & Trust
Lynn Kirabo
April 2023
Ph.D. Thesis
CMU-HCII-23-100.pdf
Keywords:
Designing equity in public transit interfaces, public transit interface futures, designing adaptive user interfaces for public transit, inclusive smart transit interfaces, public transit ecosystems, public transit in the global south
Public transit is the heartbeat of most cities around the world. It gives communities access to employment and services like health and education. Policy recommendations, interventions, and research on public transit often focuses on drivers as the primary stakeholder. This same focus is evident in the recent proliferation of machine learning interventions in public transit technologies. They neglect the influence and impact of these machine learning interventions on other stakeholders in the public transit ecosystem. This focus runs the risk of automating inequities within future mobility systems. In this dissertation, we argue that to design for equity in public transit, we should have an understanding of the broader public transit ecosystems in which we are deploying transit AI technologies. My completed research studies traverse two geographic contexts, East Africa and North America. My work shows an underlying influence of trust on relationships within the ecosystem, and unique stakeholder appropriation of transit technologies. Conversely, we also found a suspicion of advanced smart transit interfaces. Thus, we propose that to design for equity in smart transit systems, designers and researchers should consider two dimensions of trust: trust in the interfaces and trust between stakeholders within the ecosystem. My last work focuses on the first dimension, trust in the interface. We co-created the Jacaranda Framework – a framework of concerns relevant to disabled riders' use of smart transit interfaces. We also demonstrated how principles from the framework could improve users' holistic experience with smart transit interfaces. This thesis makes the following major contributions: 1) Establishes a multidimensional connection between Trust and Ecosystems, 2) Demonstrates a need to understanding the entire ecosystem when considering new technologies, 3) Presents the Jacaranda Framework – a framework of concerns relevant to disabled riders' use of smart transit interfaces, and 4) Demonstrates how methodologies can be adapted for research in these areas.
135 pages
Thesis Committee:
Aaron Steinfeld (Chair)
Jessica Hammer
Jeffrey Bigham
Destenie Nock
Tawanna Dillahunt (University of Michigan)
Brad A. Myers, Head, Human-Computer Interaction Institute
Martial Hebert, Dean, School of Computer Science
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