Transportation: Ferry Boats
I grew up in the Seattle area. What a beautiful place. We tell everyone not from there that it rains to much. That’s simply to discourage any migration. Seattle, the “Emerald City” and land of the Mariners, Microsoft, the Space Needle, Mt. Rainier and Ferry Boats. Previously, I wrote a post on digital signage in transportation. It outlined some of the benefits of implementing display screens in taxis, buses, and other transportation vehicles. This specific post will bespeak all about digital signage on ferry boats.
Boats, and specifically ferry boats are an integral part of Seattle’s (and other port cities’) transportation system. I had an old roommate from the San Juan Islands who, if he ever wanted to visit the mainland, had to jump on a ferry and shuttle himself in. While the life on a the islands is beautiful, it does have its inconveniences. If you’re from out of town, riding a ferry can be a nice novelty and a beautiful respite. For those who do it regularly, it becomes a part of the routine. If the scenery of a ferry boat ride is not enough to keep your attention, then perhaps the digital signage installed inside will take it’s place (It’s really sad if this is the case).
Ferry boat rides can be the source of a very captive audience. Some rides can last over an hour with persons on them simply sitting. In the winter, there is much less sight seeing and more of a “hunker down” mentality, while everyone simply sits inside trying to stay warm. The summers on ferry boats are certainly much less conducive for holding the attention of passengers.
Content for Ferry Boats
I’m sure a very interesting case study could be implemented for signs on ferry boats. The study could include both content recommendations for times of the year (based on the changes in audience behavior mentioned previously) and schedule/loop time recommendations based on studies of the traffic of persons on the boat. Certainly this type of transportation install would be very different from those of other transportation types. People are free to get up, move around, walk outside, and ignore the message. Whereas a digital sign installed in a bus, train, or taxi is playing for a much more sedentary audience. Accordingly the content would have to be adjusted for the audience’s behavior. Observations of that behavior would most likely need to take place before a full implementation could take place. And, as part of the observation, a pilot would most certainly need to take place.
Most likely, winter content loops would need to be much longer than those in the summer. Also, the summer content loops would also need the ability to change depending on the weather. For a city like Seattle, one could assume the rainy days–which are many–would, like the winter, require longer content loop times. One very important aspect of transportation/wayfinding signs is their ability to alert the traveler of his/her destination. For instance, if passengers on a ferry boat wanted to see estimated arrival/departure times of their specific vessel, or if they wanted to know something about the departures and arrivals of other boats between islands all they would need to do is simply glance up at the installed signage. An installation such as this would most certainly require GPS integration and tracking to determine route estimation times.
Hardware for Ferry Boats
Much like other forms of transportation, ferry boats would require some unique hardware applications. Like I mentioned previously, GPS devices equipped on each boat would most likely need installed if the signs were to act as an informational device for arrivals and departures of the boats. This would require the extra expense of GPS, but would also include the ability to offer timely and somewhat necessary information to passengers and travelers.
In addition, there could also be the need for outdoor advertising on the ships. If this is the case, temperature-controlled waterproof display encasements and other hardware implementations may be necessary to make the outdoor signs function properly under even normal conditions (normal in Washington is 42 degrees and raining). Finally, connectivity options, including cellular connectivity, would be necessary for the players to pull content from the digital media server. All of these somewhat abnormal considerations would need to be taken into account when implementing such a system.
For Emergencies
Two movies come to mind: The Dark Knight and Deja Vu. If you ever find yourself in an emergency situation, like Denzel Washington in Deja Vu or the people on the ferries in the latest Batman thriller, I don’t know if digital signage will necessarily help, but it’s a comfort to know that an emergency alert can be sounded. Perhaps it would be a false comfort, but a comfort nonetheless. Either way, based on what I’ve seen from Hollywood lately, it’s not super safe to be riding a ferry boat these days.
Like any other transportation vehicle, ferry boats can be an excellent place for installing digital signage. Their effect can be measured not only as an advertising vehicle, but more importantly, as an information delivery mechanism for tourists and businessmen alike.