A inner-city travel app that directs users to make the most optimal ticket purchases that befit the users inner city commute or itineraries. The intent of the app is to provide users with a variety of travel options for their inner-city commute; and while the works well as intended, and provides a robust amount of options, UrbanGo is still missing a convenient way for users to organize multimodal routes in their commute.
Empathize:
I decided to interview people aged 18–35. My reason being is that I wanted insight into the travel habits of the current emerging generation of people that are constantly on the move; Most of the young adults are under constant on the age group simply cannot afford to slow down — or be bogged down by any unforeseen travel interruptions. These people value speed and convenience, and so I set out to find a solution best befitting this aggressively enterprising generation.
After interviewing 8 people on their traveling experiences, I created a simple fictional persona representing the amalgamation of all their preferences that are ideal in regards to their past inner-city commute — be it locally, or abroad.
Define:
Closing the interviews, the data gathered from the interviewed individuals, here were some of the following grievances they had:
The primary issue is that they wished for a virtual ticket to be available, in order to avoid the issue of having to print multiple passes at different stops in their itinerary. This way they need not worry about depending on a ticket machine, which may or may not be inoperable, or losing the physical ticket.
To able to save itinerary information locally on the app, instead of keeping the itinerary in memory while using the app. This way they don’t need to worry about information being lost if the application were to be closed prematurely.
Most had trouble when it came to dealing with the possibility of running on their train for example, and dealing with the trip being cancelled while their in mid-transit the station for example to begin their trip.
To have live updates, and trip advisories accurate within the minute to keep users informed before setting out on their planned route.
Ideate:
The intended feeling app should be presenting is one of: security, reliability, and comfort. With the feedback provided I set out creating some solutions.
Virtual Ticket.
The app provides a virtual ticket service to eliminate the need for physical tickets. This way there’s no need to worry about losing ones itinerary if they’re planning on using them on any participating transit service using this system. The tickets are completely anonymous as well, presenting no other details other than the virtual bar code, and ticket number when it comes time to present it on the stop.
Saving itineraries.
Users shouldn’t be afraid of losing their travel plans because the phone decided to shut off. To solve this, the app can automatically save a certain amount of travel itineraries to keep the user’s plans safe, not have to re-input all the information due to the phone’s battery expiring or other such occurrence.
Live trip advisories on the itinerary.
Jamie would prefer to be advised ahead of time to any kind of road work, delays, or cancelations before setting out. This app can provide alternate routes/connection choices within a minute’s notice to help keep travel plans to their chosen destination intact.
Travel perks.
The app can present potential travel perks when available to users when picking a route. Certain modes of transportation such as: Buses, Trains, Metro cars, and among others that can provide services such a public-wifi, and even bathrooms will be presented in their route choice. This way they can plan the most comfortable travel experience possible.
PROTOTYPE
With all the data gathered from the interviews, I set out to draw some sketches of a prototype with the aforementioned virtual ticket system in mind. I integrated a new ‘’Route’’ button on the bottom of the home screen, which upon tapping takes user through a new screen; from here, they can plot in their current location, or another place they may have in mind. Once they enter their ‘A-to-B’, the app offers available routes, all potentially filterable by the user’s price or distance preferences.
From there on they select the route, from which they are taken to a map screen with the route displayed form them to see. The estimated trip cost, potential perks, and any potential trip advisories — and connection info all displayed. If the user is happy with their itinerary, the move on to hitting the ‘’Purchase Tickets’’ prompt on the bottom of the screen. They then arrive on their ticket booking screen which offers ticket options that are: One-way, All-Day, All-week, and so on. The final price is displayed and the option to finalize their buy.
When the purchase is successfully their virtual ticket is presented within the app, and they have the option to save it locally to their phone. Finally for convenience, the app then open the map screen once more and provides step-by-step directions to their plotted route.
What did I Learn? Discovering how invaluable the design thinking process is for user experience driven work; and for discerning, and implementing solutions that are most ideal in solving a user’s problem. It was an interesting experience trying to compile all the data I collected from interviews and other sources onto this project.
That being said, I did have some major struggle presenting my ideas and data as concisely as I could. I’m sure as I move further into the Ironhack program, the more I’ll be able to improve on extrapolating my data next time — and learn to work more fluidly as I practice.
