Case Study: Seattle Street Parking Meters
Parking meters are ubiquitous in dense cities, but their confusing interfaces can result in fines, late arrivals, and towed cars for a variety of users. Both the information presented and the physical machinery can often be overwhelming and overlook user needs.
We’re seeing a transition to mobile applications to resolve such issues, but this type of solution excludes people who don’t have access to smartphones or find using mobile apps to be difficult or overly complicated.
Our solution, the Otter Card, is a quick, efficient, and accessible multimodal street parking experience that streamlines the parking process without dependency on a mobile phone.
We’re seeing a transition to mobile applications to resolve such issues, but this type of solution excludes people who don’t have access to smartphones or find using mobile apps to be difficult or overly complicated.
Our solution, the Otter Card, is a quick, efficient, and accessible multimodal street parking experience that streamlines the parking process without dependency on a mobile phone.
Scope of Work:
User Research, User Experience Design, Prototyping, Branding & Visual Design
Design Question: How can we make street parking machines in Seattle more accessible and equitable for everyone who uses them?
UXPA Solution: We developed the Otter Parking Meter as a quick, efficient and reliable multimodal street parking experience that streamlines the parking process without dependency on a mobile phone.
Project Goals:
- Create an understandable interface
- Streamline the parking payment process
- Allow the user to only pay for the parking time used
- Avoid using smart phones as a solution, to help make our solution equitable to all
- Correct the physical machine design to allow more access by people with different abilities
Accessibility Features:
- Improved Visibility
- Color Palette
- Adjustable Screen
- Parking Meter redesign
RFID Card Concept: Otter Card
An RFID system was chosen because of its proven success in streamlining other modes of public transportation. The RFID system lends itself to a speedy interaction that is not dependent on WIFI or LTE.
Additionally, with the “tap in”, “tap out” system the user can prevent overpaying for parking, because it eliminates the guesswork of how long they will need parking. The user only pays for the exact time they need, and not a minute longer.
In our first round of usability testing, some users were slightly confused about the UI terminology “tap in”. They weren’t sure at first if they should tap the RFID card or a credit or debit card to make a payment. To provide clarity for this concept and make it relatable to other transit card solutions, we introduced a branding strategy called the OTTER Card.
In our second round of testing, many users expressed appreciation for our branding and some even called it “adorable”. Like magic, our OTTER branding seemed to make the RFID card system much more understandable.
In our first round of usability testing, some users were slightly confused about the UI terminology “tap in”. They weren’t sure at first if they should tap the RFID card or a credit or debit card to make a payment. To provide clarity for this concept and make it relatable to other transit card solutions, we introduced a branding strategy called the OTTER Card.
In our second round of testing, many users expressed appreciation for our branding and some even called it “adorable”. Like magic, our OTTER branding seemed to make the RFID card system much more understandable.
Map Receipt Concept
During our research we learned that there was room for improvement of the ticket artifact information and discovered that people sometimes forget where they park. We added a printable map in order to help orient users to their vehicle, so whether the user is from out of town or in a new neighborhood, they have a map that can help them find their way back to their car.
Test it out
