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Assisted Wheelchair Services
at Indian Railway stations
Weelio
Weelio aims to solve problems faced by the senior citizens or the disabled, while travelling on Indian Railways and enable them to travel independently and confidently.
The app helps disabled citizens connect to willing vendors at major railway stations, and access on demand wheelchair assistance to have a hassle free train boarding and deboarding experience.
Background
While travelling from Mumbai Railway station. We observed a problem that is experienced by people whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient, while travelling with a relative who is paralyzed on one side.
Problems faced
Issuing the wheel chair by depositing an IDcard
Travelling from one platform to another with luggage along with pushing the chair
Since the lift wasn't working and ramps were not available, we had to lift the wheel chair to take it to the next level via stairs
Return the chair to another platform
Constraints
Low budget
Inadequate infrastructure at medium and small railway stations of tier 2 and tier 3 cities
Maintenance of the Wheel chair
Management officials required
Problem Statement
How can we enhance the accessibility and usability of the wheel chair service at Indian railway stations.
End Goals
Take a step towards disable friendly railway station
Reduce the time required in the process of issuing and depositing the wheelchair
Finding the location of the service at Railway Station easily
Redesigning the wheel chair for better usability for the traveler
Existing E - Wheel Chair Service
Not easy to locate on the IRCTC website
Location of wheel chair services is not shown in the final booking details
Booking only through PNR number and one booking per PNR
Information required to make booking can be reduced
Role playing at the railway station
Our Observations :
Dependency on people while traveling.
Difficult to find wheel chair services.
Inconvenient ergonomics of the infrastructure at the stations. eg seating, ticket counters, washroom ramps and stairways.
Analysis of the wheel chair
Heavy : It weighs 12 kilos, making it difficult for users to propel themselves.
It is also difficult for co travelers to
carry the chair through stairs
Maintenance : chairs are not
maintained properly, making them
dirty, rusted and inconvenient to use
Insights from the survey
The survey got 25 responses out of which 2 were wheel chair users and 18 had helped a wheel chair user. Age group of users 18 - 45
Responses by Users
Reason for using a wheel chair?
54.2%
Senior Citizen
21%
Temporary Injury
21%
Specially Abled
8%
Sickness
Wheel chair is propelled by?
100%
By Co - Travelers
Problem issuing wheelchair?
100%
Difficult to locate services
Luggage is
carried by?
100%
By Co - Travelers
Responses by Helpers
How did you issue a wheel chair?
43.5%
Deposited ID Card
43.5%
Could not find services
8.7%
Used E wheel chair service
Who provided the wheel chair service?
61%
Indian Railways
13%
Private Vendors
26%
Got our own wheelchair
Difficulty in issuing wheel chair?
78%
Locating services
43.5%
Wheelchair condition
39.1%
Returning chair to get ID
After issuing the wheel chair
56%
Helped propel the wheel chair
61%
Helped carry luggage
8.7%
Hired a coolie
Insights from Interviews
We had conversations with wheelchair users to understand more about their pain points
About
Vidya Jundre | Age - 57
She is been paralyzed for 7 years and her walking is supported through a walker stick. She loves traveling and has traveled a lot of places. Disability never stopped her from traveling.
Pain points at Railway Stations :
Carry light Luggage which has wheels
Difficulty walking when the station is crowded
Always rely on the wheelchair
Difficulty walking at the station without any external support
Difficult to access bathroom facilities on the platform and in trains
Have to travel in a group as solo travel is not possible
About
Archana Bansod | Age - 74
She went through the surgery of Knee- replacement a couple of months ago and have been experiencing hindrance in walking for past 10 years
Pain points at Railway Stations :
Uneven surface of the platforms
Difficulty to understand the right information of platforms
Always travel light
The co-traveler gets the wheelchair for her, she waits at the benches on the platform
Always accompanied by someone on the journey or at least at the Railway Stations
Have to travel in a group as solo travel is not possible
Says, will be great if she could travel alone but she is not confident about it anymore.
User Persona
About
Marzina Begum | Age - 56
Occupation - Govt Employee
Location - Kolkata
She is proud of managing work- life balance over years and has led an independent life. Due to old age, she has problem in her knees which restricts her walking for long distances.
Pain points at Railway Stations :
Dependency on others - requires help is most outdoor activities
Have to travel in a group as solo travel is not possible
Trips have to be planned acording the schedule of the one assisting her, her son in this case, who has a very busy schedule.
Goals :
Should be able to go to her daughter’s place in Assam by herself.
Says, will be great if she could travel alone but she is not confident about it anymore.
Problem Statement
How can we enable the elderly to travel independently by providing accessible wheel chair services at railway stations
Ideation
We used customer journey mapping, yes and, and 6 3 5 methods of brainstorming to ideate and came up with possible solutions and ideas
Yes And...
>
6 3 5
>
Affinity Mapping
Where should the counter of the wheelchair be located?
How can we reduce the waiting time to get the wheel chair from the counter?
What are the possible ways of handling the luggage along with the wheel chair?
What can be the alternatives of depositing id card?
How can we solve the problems faced while returning the wheel chair?
Easy finding of wheel chair service counter
How to minus the need of depositing the ID card to issue the wheelchair ?
How To reduce the waiting time for the wheel chair allotment to the user?
Parking
Issuing the wheel chair
Using wheel chair at Platforms
Return of wheel chair
Collected ideas
Affinity mapping of ideas from our ideation exercises lead us to these final Ideas. We analyzed the ideas based on their originality and feasibility.
Vending system for wheelchair at multiple places/stations (ONLINE \ OFFLINE System)
Call based service to book the wheelchair for feature phone users
Railway certified shops on platforms, distribute and collect chairs
AR service for better navigation on the station
Buzzer System - To get assistance for wheelchair service
One wheelchair for the complete journey (Daily pass)
Through democratic discussions and voting, It was decided that we would create a platform where wheelchair users can avail wheelchair services provided by existing railway certified vendors on platforms
User Flow
Information Architecture
Wireframing
UI Style
A monochromatic colour scheme was selected to create a simple user interface for our main user group - senior citizens. We aimed at reducing cognitive load and provide all information, tasks and feedback clearly as possible.
Aa Roboto
Regular Medium Bold
Onboarding
Impact of the service
Wheel chair User
We can achieve independence of wheelchair users.
There will be ease of travelling on using the service.
Confident while travelling.
Weelio Platform Partner
Increased earnings for Platform vendors.
Satisfaction of helping our elderly and disabled citizens.
Learnings
Analysis of the surveys, interviews, observations and primary research, connecting the dots
Identifying wicked problems
Identifying invisible stake holders
Learning various methods of research, ideation, and idea selection
Importance of positive approach in design process
References
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/918425/design-standards-accessible-stations.pdf
https://ebooks.iospress.nl/volumearticle/44542
http://irsdc.in/sites/default/files/Website%20upload%20Document.pdf
http://accessibleindia.gov.in/content/innerpage/about-accessible-india-campaign.php
https://yourstory.com/socialstory/2019/05/india-first-railway-station-blind-disabled/amp
https://www.instagram.com/reel/CWTdYs-lkzR/?utm_medium=copy_link
https://instagram.com/sunitha_onwheels?utm_medium=copy_link
https://erail.in/info/station-maps-old-delhi/1703
https://censusindia.gov.in/census_and_you/disabled_population.aspx
https://zafigo.com/news/mytraintoo-a-differently-abled-womans-fight-to-improve-train-travel-in-india/
*That's all folks*
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