User Interface Design for Public Kiosks: An Evaluation of the Taiwan High Speed Rail Ticket Vending Machine

Low hardware costs and high staffing costs have resulted in an increase in public information and transaction kiosks. Ticket vending machines are one important subset of such kiosks. These machines must offer efficient service with zero tolerance for human error, require no user training and be accessible to a wide range of users. This study evaluates the user experience of the Taiwan high speed rail ticket vending machine in light of recent research results in human computer interaction. Several design problems are identified and improvements are suggested. A set of user interface design heuristics are suggested that can help kiosk designers avoid the most common design mistakes.