Wheelchair service at Indian Railway Station

Sahayatri

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Design of wheelchair service at the

Indian Railway Station

Experience

Railways are one of the important means of public transport.

Here, we want to share a process experienced by a friend, while she was travelling at Mumbai Railway station with her Aunt who is partially paralized.

She observed a problem that is experienced by people whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient, while travelling with her relative who is paralyzed on one side.

Problems faced by the user :

Issuing the wheel chair by depositing an ID card
Travelling from one platform to another with luggage along with pushing the chair
Return the chair to another platform
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

Problem Statement :

How can we enhance the accessibility of the wheel chair service for people whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient at Indian railway stations.

Visit School for differently abled :

Build empathy & normalize

Learning :

The school taught the differetly abled kids with the other kids.
This builds empathy and normalizes the differences

Pain Points observed at Railway Stations :

Locations :

Pune, Ahmednagar, Kolkata, Naguchia, Kolkata

Dependency on more people while travelling, for those whose ability to walk is limited or inefficient
Difficulty to find wheel-chair services
Inconvenient ergonomics of the infrastructure at the Station eg. seating, ticket counters, washrooms ramps / stairways, lack of ramps
Signage not adequate
Id cards to be deposited while issuing the wheel chair and are to be taken from the counter after returning the wheelchair
Online facility to opt for a wheelchair is available by IRCTC
Electric vehicles available at tier 1 city railway stations, but are not in use

Flow of Travelers : (with wheel chair*)

Audit

Existing E -Wheelchair service analysis :

Survey

Responses from the wheelchair users :

Responses from the ones assisting the wheelchair users :

Interviews Wheelchair users

Interviews Assisting the wheelchair users

Mina Bansod

Age : 76

Vidya Jundre

Age : 57

Ajoy Chakraborty

Age : 72

Sara Bansod

Age : 19

Abhik Joshi

Age : 23

Arindom Chakraborty

Age : 33

Inference

from the interviews

Carrying luggage is a difficulty

Difficulty to find the wheelchair counter at Railway Station

Not confident to travel alone

It is essential to create awareness regarding the wheelchair service

Id card being deposited and taken back after the wheelchair is given back

Assistance is essential for pushing the wheelchair

Taking back the wheelchair to the counter to deposit it back - will require assistance from co-traveler or a coolie

Root Cause of the Problem

from the Primary and Secondary Research

Root Cause of the Problem

Negligence , inadequacy and non user-friendly system

Persona

Wheelchair user

Name : Meena Kulkarni

Age : 70

Occupation : Retired Employee

Location : Mumbai

Goals :

She wants to be able to go to her daughter’s place in Ahmednagar by herself.

Pain points :

Dependency on others - requires help is most outdoor activities
Difficulty to travel alone
Not technology friendly, hence, can not book tickets etc online - uses a feature phone
Trips have to be planned according the schedule of the one assisting her

Assisting the Wheelchair user

Name : Abhik Kulkarni

Age : 30 Years

Occupation : Family Business

Location : Mumbai

Goals :

Take time off his busy schedule and be there for this grandmother.

Pain points :

Time - consuming process
Slow internet speed while travelling to rural destinations/places.
Carrying heavy luggage
Finding the service counter and depositing and taking back the id-card

Empathy Map

Along the steps in the journey

Final Set of Needs

Easy location of the wheelchair service

To reduce the waiting time for the wheelchair allotment to the user

To minus the need of depositing the ID card to issue the wheelchair

Hiring assistance for using the wheelchair made easier

To be able to book the wheelchair at the platforms while arriving at a station

Making return of the wheelchair easier in terms of time and efforts

Problem Statement

To ensure convenient and prompt use of wheelchair service at the Indian Railway Station for people whose ability to walk is limited and for those accompanying them on their journey.

Ideation