Techniques available for the assessment of passenger comfort

This paper considers the many techniques which are available to the ergonomist for the assessment of passenger comfort. It is argued that the initial question to be answered asks whether the system as a whole is to be investigated or whether specific aspects of the journey are under consideration. If the answer is the former, then a questionnaire technique is suggested. If an investigation of a more specific nature is required, then consideration should be given to whether it is to be conducted in the 'field' using passengers, in the 'field' using subjects, or in the laboratory. Techniques such as rating scales, observation, paired comparison, and the semantic differential are described, although many other laboratory based techniques are available.