One of the biggest challenges facing a public transit operator is explaining to the public in layman’s terms how to use the system and how planned or unplanned service changes will impact people’s travels.  Often times, these materials are produced by agency staff using a context internal to the agency.  While this is not done deliberately, the end result for customers is that the transit system appears hard to navigate or that the operating agency does not care about establishing good lines of communication with riders.

I have been involved in establishing wayfinding tools and copywriting material that travelers may encounter at any point on their journey.  I oversaw the establishment of new wayfinding standards for Jerusalem’s 1,500 bus stops following the opening of that city’s light rail in 2011.  The updated wayfinding standards reflect the notion that each bus stop is a “welcome mat” for any potential passengers, and that useful information on these signs makes the transit system easier for a first time passenger to use or causes a potential passenger to become a regular passenger.  I also have experience taking the internal documents that are used in the service planning process and rewriting them for public consumption, both for small scale changes that only impact a handful of stops and for network redesigns that require material to be generated for transit ambassadors to assist passengers systemwide.  Finally, I served as a consultant for the design of Jerusalem’s first official bus map to be published in over 15 years, assisting the graphic design firm contracted to produce the map in understanding the principles of transportation communication that are essential to a successful map design.