If you read my last post, you might have said, “what’s the big deal — can’t people just deal with it?” The answer is yes, of course they can… but there is a cost to the individual, to other people, and to the wider systems in which they participate. The mismatch between wallet design and the needs of the people who use wallets causes problems and slow things down.

I have compiled the list below of the implications of bad wallet design as they relate to swiping a transit card. I’ve observed this first hand both as a study and in my daily life. If you are anything like the millions of people who ride mass transit every day, I’m sure you have been frustrated by at least one of these items and probably several.

PROBLEMS FOR THE INDIVIDUAL RIDER

• “Show me the money”
  • To catch trains, people often run out of the turnstile with their wallets wide open. I observed several people do this and could clearly see all of their cash and credit cards. Not a good thing in a big city, or anywhere really.
• “I swear I had it earlier today”
  • By performing this process while walking, the rider can easily drop something without realizing it.
• “Oops”
  • Since the process requires two hands, swiping through a turnstile while carrying anything can cause the rider to drop and damage items.
• “Stand Clear of the Closing Doors”
  • Because there are many steps and each requires some level of precision, the rider could lose time and potentially miss trains if there is an error.
• “The Bottomless Pocket”
  • I noticed some people keep their card in their pocket, outside of a wallet. This can make it difficult to find the card at the right time. It also makes it easier to lose as the rider takes other things out of his pocket.

PROBLEMS FOR ALL RIDERS

• “C’mon, Buddy! Move it!”
  • At busy commuter times, I noticed that several riders are unable to get cards ready by the time they reach the turnstile, delaying other customers and creating a line.
• “Watch Out!”
  • People often look down at their wallets before and after going through the turnstile and therefore are not always watching where they are going. I observed several near-collisions for this reason.

Next time I’ll offer a few suggestions on how to improve wallet design.