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@article{200185,
        author = {Shilpa Rajith M and Lekshmi M P and Prashanth Cherian Kochuveetil},
        title = {Usability of Train Ticket Apps for Low-Literacy Migrant Workers in India: A SUS Study},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {12},
        pages = {2062-2071},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=200185},
        abstract = {Purpose: India's internal migrant workers estimated at 100 to 200 million drive urban India's construction, manufacturing, and domestic sectors, yet remain excluded from the ticket booking application, the sole official platform for online railway ticket booking. This study examines the app usability for low-literacy urban migrant workers, whose dependence on rail travel is structural and survival-linked, and whose interface needs have never been empirically measured.
Design/methodology/approach: A System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire, adapted into Hindi and basic English and administered orally to 44 low-literacy migrant workers in Bengaluru, was used alongside task-based observation. Descriptive statistics, Cronbach's alpha, Spearman correlations, and Mann-Whitney U tests were applied.
Findings: The mean SUS score of 55.16 falls below the accepted benchmark of 68. CAPTCHA complexity, inadequate vernacular language support, and non-linear navigation emerged as primary barriers. Exclusion does not stem from a single flaw but from cumulative technical and design processes across the system.
Research limitations/implications: Findings are limited to a single city with a cross-sectional sample of 44 participants, representing a diagnostic baseline.
Practical implications: The findings provide UX researchers and e-government designers with evidence-based directions for comprehension-first redesign, including simplified navigation, vernacular language support, and accessible authentication.
Social implications: A mandatory public service excluding its most transit-dependent users represents a structural equity failure, directly undermining digital inclusion for India's working poor.
Originality/value: This is among the first studies to measure ticket booking app usability with low-literate migrant workers who actively attempt and fail to book independently, filling a critical gap in HCI research on inclusive design for public-service platforms in the Global South.},
        keywords = {Low-Literacy Users, Urban Migrant Workers, HCI4D, Inclusive Design, Cross-sectional},
        month = {May},
        }