When it comes to web design, every Fadtastic reader knows how important user testing is. The way you design a site isn’t exactly how people will use it; the feedback loop is what helps a site function at its best. But it’s always nice to have a potent reminder.

Here’s a report from my city to illustrate just how important user testing is, especially in situations (very common to web design) when you’re introducing new technology. . . .

Over the last year Boston has been installing new fare-collection boxes in all of its buses. The transportation authority’s goal was to integrate new fare-collection technology (the boxes) with old fare technology (swipe cards, bills, coins, and transfer tickets), primarily in order to a) thwart fraud and b) finally allow customers to use the same tickets on the bus as they do on the Boston subway.

Here’s an image of the new box, lifted from the website of its designer, the German firm of Scheidt & Bachman:

To the left is a bill slot and a coin slot. To the right is a feeder for monthly passes and subway cards.

Here is a photo of the old fare box, courtesy Mika Product Design at MIT:

To the left is a coin funnel. To the right is a card swiper. Where does cash go in the old box? Why shoved in the side of course :-)…

The need for a new fare box was clear, but the choice of Scheidt & Bachman’s machine clearly neglected the mechanics of riding a Boston bus. These blogs cover the frustration very well—here, here, and here—but it boils down to three big design mistakes:

1. Passes must now be fed into the fare box instead of swiped, but countless commuters attach their pass to a lanyard or keychain for quick access/fast boarding. The new design not only adds time for those getting their passes out (namely women, who tend to keep their passes in a wallet in a purse or bag) but instead of a split second swipe, each pass user must wait a few seconds while the machine sucks in the pass, verifies it, and spits it back out. (UPDATE: A coworker just suggested that this is because with stored-value cards the cards must be written to, not just read.)
2. Dollar bills must also be fed into the machine, rather than shoved in the side. This takes time as well, especially when you don’t have a crisp bill handy. The side-shove might have been unsightly, but it was effective, especially when the driver had one of these:
   
3. Worst of all, coins must be fed one coin at a time instead of dropped in a funnel. Not only is this incredibly time-consuming—certain bus lines can have 20+ passengers getting on at once, with at least half of them using coins, with the fare being $.90, meaning five coins apiece—but it’s dangerous. People will be fumbling with bags and winter gloves, often on a bus that’s starting to move, all just to pay the fare.

It’s design at its worst. The meannest thing you can do to a faithful user is introduce something new and fancy to your site that destroys their ability to use it. Just as when you ignore accessibility issues, it shows a lack of respect and at the very least a lack of professionalism.

So when you’re planning out your next web project, keep the lesson of Boston’s buses in mind.

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