The Interaction:
The driver for Community Lines operates the controls in the cockpit of the Gate 51 minibus.
Setting:
The Gate 51 Bus which I ride to the Port Authority Bus Terminal
Physical Orientation:
The driver is seated
Background:
Each minibus has a personality of its own. The whole fleet of them is a motley crew — inside and out. I do not know who decorates these vehicles (whether the driver or a separate interior designer). They are not as colorful as I have heard their counterparts in India are, but nevertheless each seems optimized for the comfort and personality of the driver.
My Assumptions:
I assumed (and hoped) that the bus driver would pay attention to the road and traffic rather adjusting the many controls within his reach.
Quick Sketch of the Interaction Area:
- The areas of greatest activity were the steering wheel and the passenger door handle.
- While driving in New Jersey prior to entering the Lincoln Tunnel, the driver rested his right hand on the passenger door handle. He frequently opened and closed the door to allow passengers to enter and exit the bus. His right hand remained on the steering wheel except when he was counting money.
- A metal plate above the passenger door handle prevented it from opening unexpectedly. This locking mechanism required the driver to bend his hand forward so he could release the catch with his thumb before opening the door by swinging his arm out away from his body and towards the passenger door. This motion was very fluid.
- As riders exited the bus, the driver collected their money and inserted it into the slot between the air conditioning vent and the vent’s trim ring. To secure the dollar bills there, he pushed in the right side of the vent so it squashed the money against the trim ring. This is an innovation I had not seen on other bus trips.
- I could not perceive that the driver payed any attention to the engine monitor. He neither looked at it nor pressed any of the buttons on it. I had wondered on an earlier trip what the device was and spent most of the ride trying to figure out the pattern of the numbers on its display. Neither the engine monitor nor the lighting control panel appeared to be part of the original equipment of the minibus. Both appeared to have been bolted onto the dashboard after the vehicle had been purchased.
- Unlike other buses I have ridden, this one did not contain a radio. The trip was quite quiet except for the occassional bleep from the driver’s cell phone. I believe he stored his cell phone somewhere along the door to his right. After we exited the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, he picked up the phone after it bleeped at him.
- Having read CH 1 of the Design of Everyday Things (Norman), I was mindful of the design of the climate controls in the minibus. Even from a distance, it was clear where the controls were set: the knob was molded in the shape of a pointer which indicated the current setting.