Analyzing the Behavior of Smartphone Service Users

This paper reports the findings of a study into the behavior of the users of a mobile service. The study analyses the behavior of travelers using a Smartphone application to access real-time transit information and contrasts such user behavior with that of users accessing a transit information service from a website. Previous research in this field has tended to focus upon the perceived benefits of providing real-time transit information and without investigating when and how often passengers would use such real-time transit information services. This paper specifically explores the behavior patterns of travelers using a Smartphone service and those of using a website to provide real-time transit information. Based on empirical data derived from real information services, the impact on user behavior of providing a mobile service is analyzed and contrasted to traditional Web-based service provision. The Smartphone service is furthermore used to conduct a passenger survey to obtain information on the individuals using the mobile service. The results of the analysis presented demonstrate that the demand for information from the website is constant throughout the working week whereas demand for Smartphone information increases during the week peaking during late afternoons and on Fridays. The results of the passenger survey demonstrate that over 80 percent of Smartphone application users are between 18 and 49 years of age and perhaps most importantly, that Smartphone survey questions are twice as likely to be answered compared to the response rates for Web or mail surveys.