Design Thinking : Public Transport
This is the first pre-work challenge for the Ironhack UI/UX Bootcamp which I will be starting in August. This task is all about design thinking.
The Task
For this project, I was asked to create a feature for Citymapper that solves the issue of having to purchase different public transport tickets from various channels. We were told to find a quick, user-friendly solution without worrying about security issues and other limitations. This post will take you through my research and ideas for a solution.
About Citymapper
Citymapper was founded in 2011 by Azmat Yusuf . What started as a London-based transportation app is now in over 50 cities around the world. While it’s focus is on public transport, it also provides information for driving/cycling and is linked with other companies, such as Uber. If there is a way to navigate the city, chances are it is on Citymapper. There are also some bonus features such as how many English breakfasts is the equivalent of the walk you are about to take. It also has a very fun, slightly addictive skydiving game built in.
Consumer Testing
I interviewed 5 people, with varying levels of confidence while using public transport. I made sure that they were of various ages (24–63), in order to help get a balanced response. The main issues or ‘pain points’ I found (from them) were the following:
- Lack of clarity over where to buy tickets and which ones to buy, both physical and virtual.
- The timetable is not accurate. There is no live tracking for buses or trains.
- Confusion when in a different city. Such as language barriers, the transport operating slightly different from home city.
- Some felt very strongly about having a physical ticket, and some the same for virtual.
Issue I focused on
I wanted to find a solution that focused on clearing up the confusion over where to buy tickets and which ones to buy. I think that what Citymapper has in London with CitymapperPass is a good start in the right direction. CitymapperPass, is a physical card which users can preload a weekly ticket onto, that automatically renews weekly. They can also pause for a week for a small fee, and any tickets outside of their zone it takes a pay-as-you-go rate.
While this does solve part of the issue I’ve been tasked with, it doesn’t help with which tickets to buy. You need to decide beforehand which zones you will travel in, which you might not know as a tourist. Also having to wait the week for the physical card does not make it tourist friendly.
Proposed solutions
- Have a built in map, showing where the nearest ticket machine is. This would also include a step by step guide on how to purchase from the machine.
- Have links within Citymapper to the local apps for users to purchase virtual cards from.
- A dual virtual / physical card similar to CitymapperPass, but it records all travel, purchasing the cheapest option, payment in arrears.
My sketched solution
I think that the last idea solves the main issue the best. By making the payment in arrears, there is no need for the user to worry about which tickets to buy. The app would use algorithms and calculate that for you. The virtual card means you can use it instantly when you travel, but having the option of the physical card helps those who simply prefer it.
I wanted to build it into the navigation tools that Citymapper already has. The idea is just you activate the Pass and then when you use the ‘Go’ function, it becomes ‘add and GO’. If you tried to navigate without the pass being activated then there would be a notice appear at the top of the search page. The sketched solution is below:
What I learnt
This was my first experience going through the steps of UX. It was a massive learning curve for me from conducting the interviews, to ideating, to actually putting pen to paper and sketching out a design. It also emphasized for me the importance of research, by discovering that the CitymapperPass existed already, it allowed me to build upon that.
The hardest part for me I think was not making it all about what I wanted. I’m someone who uses public transport and public transport often so I have a lot of clear ideas on what I think the flaws are. The fact that some users have a strong preference for physical cards, even younger users, was not something that I would have thought. If I hadn’t done the interviews, I would have never thought to have an option for a physical card.
