An Evaluation of the Signposting System in Large Subway Station

The purpose of this study was to objectively evaluate the signposting system within the Metro Center subway station of the WMATA (Washington Metro Area Transit Authority). The approach taken was: first, to estimate the prevalence of passenger behaviors indicative of deficiencies in wayfinding; second, to evaluate the adequacy of the signposting within various decision areas of the station; and finally, to evaluate the individual components of the signage system. The first objective was addressed by observing 507 passengers selected via a pseudo-random sampling technique. From this sample an overview of traffic patterns was developed and it was determined that roughly 7% of these passengers followed a route that did not comply with the directions provided by the stations sign posting system. It was further found that an additional 2% asked for direction. These figures were combined with data provided by the WMATA to project that 6,000 to 7,000 of the passengers disembarking a train within Metro Center will evidence some form of inefficient wayfinding behavior each day. To address the second question portions of the randomly sampled data were combined with data gathered from a selectively sampled group of passengers operationally defined as needing wayfinding assistance (n = 359). This data was analyzed to determine the relative difficulty that information needy passengers had in finding their way through the various areas of the station. The final objective was addressed by comparing individual components of the signage system to current human factors guidelines.