Information Kiosk - Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC)

"There are too many commuters!" said the Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission (SNHPC) when they first called Self-Service Networks. Southern New Hampshire is an area that has experienced a large population increase over the past 15 years, driven by the absence of personal income taxes and close proximity to the greater Boston area. Many residents in the area commute to jobs in and around Boston, which has led to an increase in traffic throughout a number of towns in Southern New Hampshire.

The SNHPC approached Self-Service Networks with the desire to create an interactive, kiosk-based system that would "perform ridesharing matches for daily commutes or single trips, provide information on intra-city bus schedules and fares, airport and airline schedules, inter-city bus schedules, and roadway construction projects." The goal of this project was to facilitate the flow of information relating to alternate commuting options, and help reduce car traffic in the affected communities. The SNHPC was interested in working with a vendor that could provide a complete turnkey kiosk solution, involving kiosk hardware production, kiosk application development, graphic design, kiosk installation, kiosk content hosting, remote kiosk monitoring and kiosk project management. After reviewing Self-Service Networks' capabilities, the SNHPC decided that Self-Service Networks was well-suited to help bring their vision to life.

Working closely with the SNHPC, Self-Service Networks designed and developed a Web site for this project, which acts as a directory for the various transportation-related Web sites that the SNHPC wanted to promote to commuters. The Commuter Information Web site was designed with both kiosk users and home users in mind, in order to maximize the reach of the program. Users to the Commuter Information Web are presented with a simple but eye-catching interface, with easy navigation and a list of general categories including Rideshare Services, Transit Services, Regional Airports, Current Traffic Conditions, and Alternate Commute Options. Beneath each of these categories, users find a wealth of information and links to related Web sites. In addition to these information options, Self-Service Networks worked with the SNHPC to develop a kiosk-based survey to assess the needs of commuters in the area.

In addition to the application development, Self-Service Networks has installed a SNHPC kiosk network that consists of kiosks designed and manufactured by Self-Service Networks. These kiosks have been deployed throughout Southern New Hampshire in local government buildings, airports, and malls. As part of the installation process, Self-Service Networks worked with the SNHPC to research and select the appropriate Internet connectivity solution for each individual location. Once live, these kiosks were set up with Self-Service Networks' inReach service, which provides remote kiosk monitoring, management and usage analysis to ensure maximum kiosk uptime.

This project enables the SNHPC to deliver valuable information to the public they serve, help reduce traffic, and improve the quality of life for area residents. For Self-Service Networks, this rewarding project exemplifies the turnkey service that we deliver to our clients, which in this case included:

• Project management
• Database development
• Graphic design
• Application development
• Web site design
  
• Kiosk manufacturing and integration
• Researching and identifying ISP options
• Installation
• Training
• Remote monitoring
• Content hosting
• Usage tracking
• On site maintenance