[Sigia-l] NYC Metrocard Vending Machines

[lee.r.sachs at verizon.com]

<I posted this yesterday, but it didn't seem to take.>

Since several of you continued the Metrocard Vending Machines issue, I'm
going to repost what I put on lars pind's site.  Keep in mind this was
written in response to the original post & others in the SIGIA that (mostly
dissed the machines for usability).  the original site/critique is at:
http://www.pinds.com/ui-rants/metrocard

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thanks for your thoughtful commentary, but i have to disagree on several
points. you mention having lived in NYC for a year and a half. that doesn't
quite qualify you for the Veteran New Yorker Pin, but having lived there
over 15 years i have to admit the machine was a massive leap ahead for the
subway system. it's too easy to critique one system based on isolation from
the rest of the system it resides in. take a look at some of the historical
problems with the entire system:
      i can recall the days when scam artists used to put their mouths over
      the token slot on a turnstile, suck out a recently slotted token and
      then sell it back to arrivals to the subway station looking to buy
      tokens from the booth closed or packed with a long line. many
      customers bought many saliva-wet tokens simply because going to the
      booth was worse.
      movies from the 70s & 80s featuring subway cars covered with
      graffitti now seem nostalgic thanks to a very simple change the MTA
      made in the 90s: put the car railyard behind a razorwire fence that
      kept graffiti artists out. if the MTA took that long to build a
      fence, i would've suspected a leap like these machines would be ready
      by, say, 2050.
      have you ever tried to talk, engage, do anything other than shove
      some money and indicate w/your hands what you want to purchase from a
      token booth attendant??? their audio system features a limiter on the
      mic to keep them from actually having a 2-way conversation with
      customers. it's kind of like trying to IM someone face to face with a
      line of people behind you waiting for you to get out of the way. (to
      be sure, part of the reason for the sound problem is they sit
      literally behind bulletproof 3 inch glass.)


the first time i used these machines, i paused for a few seconds between
steps to figure out what to do, but the bottom line is i figured out what
to do with a minimum of trouble. this works because:
      the touch screen is at eye level and centers the main action in one
      place.
      this doesn't assume anything web-like. this is not the web and
      hierachical menus are less an impact on the interface. the device is
      color-coded in separate logical, physical sections to group the
      actions in separate places.
      i admit there's a lot going on, but these machines do a lot! they
      take credit cards, debit cards, cash in paper and coins, they allow
      you to recycle a used MetroCard. The fact that any institution in NYC
      would recycle anything is totally 21st century for those of us who
      saw the Fresh Kills Landfill grow from a hill to a 4000 foot
      mountain.
      this machine issues receipts. in the past, the only way you could
      submit a receipt for subway transit to a vendor was to use the torn
      plastic baggie that held a $N MetroCard. and before MetroCards? there
      were literally no receipts issued for tokens purchased. none. (try
      asking for a receipt through that bulletproof glass.)


that said, i do have a few gripes, some of which jibe with your concerns:
      having to wake-up the machine by touching the screen isn't always
      intuitive to me
      i don't really like having to pick English, but I don't really have a
      choice. this is just a reminder that NYC is one of the great
      international cities. (your solution to offer a language selection in
      only Chinatown or particular spots defeats the point: these people
      are in the subway to go somewhere. if they're in Chinatown w/a
      Chinese machine, don't you think they're going to want to see a
      Chinese-capable machine uptown or in Astoria, Queens.
      I hate the shape of the credit/debit card slot. Like the ones on the
      self-service gas station pumps, it doesn't fit the hand well and, if
      I recall, you have to turn your card upside down to get it in.

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