Gamification and engagement of tourists and residents in public transportation exploiting location-based technologies

Abstract

Cities are becoming very congested. There is a need to reduce the number of private cars on the roads, by maximising the potential for local public transport. With the increasing awareness of transport that is sustainable in the sense of environmental impact, but also climate and social, there is the need to create engagement into public transportation. Gamification, which is the use of game elements in non-game contexts, has proven to deliver very positive results, by turning regular activities into engaging ones, which are fun to perform. We have designed a mobile application, that interacts with short-range wireless communication technologies, inviting people to use public transport. To evaluate the solution, we have created a questionnaire based on the System Usability Scale, but also using usability testing with specific tasks.