News

Taking a TRIPS to Chicago?

April 3, 2005

It's official! The Regional Traveler Information Kiosk project is now ready for prime time. Officials are unveiling the Chicagoland Traveler Resource and Itinerary Planning System (TRIPS) at select locations downtown and around the regions. The innovative project is part of a greater goal of reducing traffic congestion while providing event and attraction information for visitors.

A multi-organizational commitment

In the 1990s, The Lakefront Alliance for Transportation Planning convened at the request of the city to help shape a Lakefront Transportation Study. The study, commissioned by CDOT, was released in 1997 and provided an analysis of specific issues affecting the Lakefront Transportation Corridor. While several major recommendations were highly advocated by the Lakefront Alliance and implemented ? such as Millennium Park and the McCormick Place Bus Way ? the recommendation of an integrated tourist and traveler information system intrigued committee members and brought to light an opportunity for intergovernmental and interagency cooperation. The Regional Traveler Information Kiosk project was created to increase transit use and the number of visitors to downtown central area attractions.

This first-of-its kind initiative for the Chicagoland region became a collaborative effort of the Metropolitan Planning Council, Regional Transportation Authority, City of Chicago and the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau.

"Not only is the kiosk project a first of its kind for Chicagoland, but it also represents a major step of bringing different governmental groups together into one constituency with a defined purpose," said Natasha Holmes, transportation associate with the Metropolitan Planning Council.

The Metropolitan Planning Council took the role of project manager and brought together the technology and project partners. The project's underlying concept was a centralized data source for event, attractions and transit information. The constituency, informally called the kiosk project advisory committee, or KPAC, was founded on a charter with the hope that each division would accept responsibility to work cohesively to get the kiosk program established. The project's key partners were the content providers: City of Chicago, Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau, Illinois Department of Tourism and the Regional Transportation Authority. Catalyst Consulting developed the interface, middleware and other software components of the project.

"TRIPS would never have been fully realized without the intergovernmental cooperation from our project partners and content providers," said Peter Skosey, vice president of external relations for the Metropolitan Planning Council. "Once revealed to the public, it will be a true asset to visitors and residents, and encourage the use of public transit throughout the region."

The user experience

Chicago is the fifth most congested city in the nation. If you factor out transit, it's number three. Thus, there is a direct correlation between the use of transit and congestion. KPAC envisions the impact of a real-time information system as both a visitor resource and a campaign tool for transit use.

"Getting the message about transit out there can only have positive effects," said Holmes. She also pointed out that having a good transit system is one thing, while making people aware of it can be another. "We've seen that not being familiar with the area can be overwhelming for the visitor. This system makes it more comfortable and user-friendly to encourage the use of public transit."

By tapping into a TRIPS kiosk, a user can find out how to get around the region via public transit. The overarching goal is to relieve congestion and increase tourism by providing easily accessible directions to and from attractions and events in the Chicagoland region. Drawing from a large database of information, visitors can find geographically relevant attractions and learn how they can reach their destination by public transit.

A different idea of what a kiosk is

The Metropolitan Planning Council has a different idea of what a kiosk is. Rather than planning for a kiosk and then building an information solution to fit the device, the group built a database-driven system in which the information ? not the device ? was king. "The kiosk is nothing more than a tool to disseminate the information going on behind the kiosk," Holmes noted.

There are now nine kiosks employed for TRIPS, with plans to add more kiosks in the near future. An interesting part of the program is that the information was built in a way that it could be added to virtually any kiosk, such as those owned by the private sector. For example, hotels and convention centers could add the TRIPS program to their kiosks. The kiosks bought for the program thus far came from Colorado-based Kiosk Information Systems.

Six kiosks will be located in the downtown central area: Shedd Aquarium, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago Cultural Center, Northbridge West Field Shopping Mall, Navy Pier and Union Station. Additional locations include the RTA Customer Service Center, Midway Airport, Pace offices and the Metra Randolph Street station.

When asked about kiosks future role in the Chicagoland area, Holmes said that kiosk technology is popping up everywhere and that people now know that "kiosk" means self-service information. When asked about her personal impression of the technology, she said it is the "wave of the future."