While travelling yesterday a poster at one of the train stations I was travelling through caught my eye. At the time I was working on a lecture about user interface and am currently very interested in the misinterpretation of instructions.

The intended purpose of the poster is obviously to encourage and remind people to purchase appropriate train tickets. A message which under the current social contract is entirely appropriate. However the choice of illustration strikes me as being poor. Car sharing, car pooling, journey sharing or historically hitch-hiking are surely equally valid forms of transport which also come with cost and environmental advantages to both the individual and society at large.

Now I understand that the intention of the poster is not to deter car sharing approaches but I fear that it also presents a less apparent revenue maximisation message. It is disappointing that they did not feel able to present this as a positive message, one that enables investments and helps to reduce ticket fairs.

Here is the complete video advert as well which for dramatic effects features a driver who apparently does not use his mirrors at all!