Sahayatri
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Design of wheelchair service at the
Indian Railway Station
Embedded Files
Experience
Railways are one of the important means of public transport.
Here, we want to share a process experienced by a friend, while she was travelling at Mumbai Railway station with her Aunt who is partially paralized.
She observed a problem that is experienced by people whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient, while travelling with her relative who is paralyzed on one side.
Problems faced by the user :
Issuing the wheel chair by depositing an ID card
Travelling from one platform to another with luggage along with pushing the chair
Return the chair to another platform
Since the lift wasn't working and ramps were not available, we had to lift the wheel chair to take it to the next level via stairs
Problem Statement :
How can we enhance the accessibility of the wheel chair service for people whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient at Indian railway stations.
Visit School for differently abled :
Build empathy & normalize
Learning :
The school taught the differetly abled kids with the other kids.
This builds empathy and normalizes the differences
Pain Points observed at Railway Stations :
Locations :
Pune, Ahmednagar, Kolkata, Naguchia, Kolkata
Dependency on more people while travelling, for those whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient
Difficulty to find wheel-chair services
Inconvenient ergonomics of the infrastructure at the Station eg. seating, ticket counters, washrooms ramps / stairways, lack of ramps
Signage not adequate
Id cards to be deposited while issuing the wheel chair and are to be taken from the counter after returning the wheelchair
Online facility to opt for a wheelchair is available by IRCTC
Electric vehicles available at tier 1 city railway stations, but are not in use
Flow of Travelers : (with wheel chair*)
Audit
Existing E -Wheelchair service analysis :
Survey
Responses from the wheelchair users :
Responses from the ones assisting the wheelchair users :
Interviews Wheelchair users
Interviews Assisting the wheelchair users
Mina Bansod
Age : 76
Vidya Jundre
Age : 57
Ajoy Chakraborty
Age : 72
Sara Bansod
Age : 19
Abhik Joshi
Age : 23
Arindom Chakraborty
Age : 33
Inference
from the interviews
Carrying luggage is a difficulty
Difficulty to find the wheelchair counter at Railway Station
Not confident to travel alone
It is essential to create awareness regarding the wheelchair service
Id card being deposited and taken back after the wheelchair is given back
Assistance is essential for pushing the wheelchair
Taking back the wheelchair to the counter to deposit it back - will require assistance from co-traveler or a coolie
Root Cause of the Problem
from the Primary and Secondary Research
Root Cause of the Problem
Negligence , inadequacy and non user-friendly system
Persona
Wheelchair user
Name : Meena Kulkarni
Age : 70
Occupation : Retired Employee
Location : Mumbai
Goals :
She wants to be able to go to her daughter’s place in Ahmednagar by herself.
Pain points :
Dependency on others - requires help is most outdoor activities
Difficulty to travel alone
Not technology friendly, hence, can not book tickets etc online - uses a feature phone
Trips have to be planned according the schedule of the one assisting her
Assisting the Wheelchair user
Name : Abhik Kulkarni
Age : 30 Years
Occupation : Family Business
Location : Mumbai
Goals :
Take time off his busy schedule and be there for this grandmother.
Pain points :
Time - consuming process
Slow internet speed while travelling to rural destinations/places.
Carrying heavy luggage
Finding the service counter and depositing and taking back the id-card
Empathy Map
Along the steps in the journey
Final Set of Needs
Easy location of the wheelchair service
To reduce the waiting time for the wheelchair allotment to the user
To minus the need of depositing the ID card to issue the wheelchair
Hiring assistance for using the wheelchair made easier
To be able to book the wheelchair at the platforms while arriving at a station
Making return of the wheelchair easier in terms of time and efforts
Problem Statement
To ensure convenient and prompt use of wheelchair service at the Indian Railway Station for people whose ability to walk is limited and for those accompanying them on their journey.
Ideation
Concepts Generated
Vending system for wheelchair at multiple places/stations (ONLINE \ OFFLINE System)
Railway certified shops on platforms, distribute and collect chairs
AR service for better navigation on the station - GPS & Tracking
Buzzer system - To get assistance for wheelchair service
Call based service to book the wheelchair for non-smart phone users
One wheelchair for the complete journey (Daily pass)
Final Concept
Railway certified shops on platforms, distribute and collect wheelchairs.
Two primary users : Customers and Vendors
Book the service via :
Website and Application
Call and Message
Kiosk at Stations
Process of using the service :
Impacts of the service
We can achieve independence of the wheelchair users.
Fixed price of the service will reduce the hassle of unfair prices imposed.
Increased employment for the people
There will be ease of travelling on using the app.
Perception of masses towards the differently abled is likely to change.
Increased earnings for the vendor.
More confident while travelling, more confident in life!
Even a small change, is a big change in totality.
User Journey - Customers
User Journey - Vendors
Information Architecture - Customers
Information Architecture - Vendors
Low-fidelity Screens
Colour & Type
Team : Ashish Das | Pouravi Jundre |Sanu Kumar| Shubhaswi Bansod : Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad
Project : 2021
Duration : 1 month
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