Battle of the beeps | the usability of sound
– posted February 9th, 2010 by Peter Keane Comments (5)
I recently bought a 10-journey ticket for Dublin bus. When I swiped the card at the reader, it emitted a beep.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
This is one Dublin bus beep
This beep suggests an error.
So I looked closely at the reader, where the display was very faint. I could just make out ‘9 journeys left.’ I looked at the driver for approval and he nodded as if to say, no problem, go on.
Now compare that to the LUAS. The LUAS smartcard is similar to a Dublin bus ticket. When you swipe at the reader, it too emits a beep.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
These are several LUAS beeps during morning rush hour
This beep suggests success, rather than failure.
Why?
At its simplest, it’s the length of the beep. A success beep should be short, and in turn, an error longer. The Dublin bus beep is more than a second long and is insistent, suggesting that you need to take action.
The LUAS beep is short, suggesting all is fine and you go on your way.
It is subtle, but it makes all the difference. An ominous beep slows people down; they will take a moment to realise everything is fine and they can board the bus. That makes a big difference during rush hour.
Any Dublin bus users out there think this is a problem?
Thanks to my colleague John Wood for twitter research on this subject.
5 comments so far
1. Sylvia on Feb 9th, 2010 - 18:20
Call me a pedant, but I’m delighted someone has posted about this. I find the Dublin Bus beep noise profoundly irritating. It’s very high pitched and not at all ‘friendly’ sounding. The old noise (do you remember it?) was much better - it was lower-pitched and consisted of a couple of short tones, one after the other.
You are right to say the current sound seems like an error tone - the high pitch and the length scream ’something is wrong!’ Every time I hear that sound I wonder who designed it, and I feel sorry for the bus drivers who have to listen to it all day.
2. Anthony McG on Feb 10th, 2010 - 10:29
I don’t normally use smart cards on the bus but that’s such a good point. The Dublin Bus beep suggests something needs to be actioned.
3. Smoke Detector Wiring | Information | Battalion 22 on Mar 3rd, 2010 - 16:06
[...] » Battle of the beeps | the usability of sound - iQ Blog [...]
4. Keith on Mar 3rd, 2010 - 17:21
A post on phychoacoustics, nice! I guess that because hearing is a sensory experience it can determine how we perceive things. Having said that, if you ever sit near the back on a 78A, that beeping starts to sound a whole lot better.
5. Shane Hogan on Mar 16th, 2010 - 16:06
Let’s not forget that some people won’t be able to hear the beep. The Luas machines do provide a decent visual readout as well, though it is not very big.
[PS, check out that tab sequence for those entering comments! It jumps from the 'comments' box back to the top of the page for me]