PSS Design: Trip Planner Rental System for Tourists

 

My PSS design is the trip planner rental system for tourists.

Statistic shows that large numbers of tourists are travelling using rental cars nowadays. Private cars generate much more co2 and harmful gas that contribute more on the greenhouse effect comparing to public transports. So the aim of my PSS is to encourage tourists to use public transports instead of renting cars by make it more convenient for them to take buses and trains in unfamiliar environment.

The trip planner is designed for tourists who come to Australia and just visiting for few days. This group of people is not familiar with the local public transportation system. They usually do not have internet access, so they can’t get the information online or from their apps. The trip planner has variety of language selections for tourists all around the world. It can help tourists plan trips using public transport, help tourist find the bus/train stations and navigate them there. It will provide with accurate live train/bus timetable by exchanging data with the gps on the trains and buses. This is much more useful than the current smartphone apps. Also, all map data is offline so no internet access is required, users won’t get the frustrating error message ’cannot connect the internet’. A lot of tourism information is also included in the trip planner and can suggest the near attraction to visit. Information of special transports for tourists is also provided like the hop on hop off buses, monorails and so on. The trip planner uses the iconic Australian aboriginal styled pattern that brings tourists closer to the local culture; the special looking also makes it more recognizable.

The rental system involves both operator service at service center and self-service vending machines. The vending machine provides rental service of the trip planner and the operator service provides renting, returning and also free charging of the trip planner. So tourists can rent a trip planner at the vending machine and return it at any of the service centers. When the battery of the trip planner runs out, users can simply swap it with a fully charged one at the nearest service center. The service center will be located at airports, hotels, and tourists’ attraction so tourists can have easier access to the service. And the vending machines can be put at the crowded places like city, train stations and so on; they all have solar panels on the top that can use solar energy to charge the trip planners inside.