
Using public transport paying with your phone: a reality or science fiction?
Can a simple yet efficient app be made to use our public transport instead of the obsolete card we currently have? We jump into designing through wireframes a simple, efficient and accessible interface to transform this wish into a reality.
As our first challenge in pairs we’ve been given the task to create a public transport app for the “Consorcio de Transporte de la Comunidad de Madrid”, with the use of a maximum of 3 wireframes, that could substitute the use of the physical transport card we still use nowadays.
This is the process that my partner and I followed:
- Brainstorming: What functions and buttons do we consider necessary? What information would we like to have as users? How can we make it comprehensible and easy to use for everyone? With these questions in mind we began to state out several functionalities and information that our app could have, like a drop-down menu or different user profiles and their expiration dates among other things.
2. Development:
- First wireframe: In this wireframe and on the ones to come, we decided to place on the upper left corner permanently a drop-down menu from which the user would be able to access other functions such as maps and timetables of Madrid’s Metro, “EMT”,” Renfe”, and the most forgettable, the suburban bus lines, news about the state of these transport systems and the possibility of adding and eliminating different profiles that the user might have. There will also be permanently on the upper right corner of all our wireframes the users name. Lastly, at the center, all the profiles that the user would have registered previously would be displayed, with their corresponding mobility zone, their expiration date and the number of trips that they have left. When the user taps over one of these profiles, the second wireframe would appear.
- Second wireframe: Once the profile is selected, a QR code will appear with some instructions beneath it for its proper scanning. Despite the QR code being somewhat outdated and not the most efficient scanning method out there, we’ve justified its use because it’s extremely accessible to all devices, since not all of them have NFC. Besides, this would also maintain the essence of the original transport card to which the user is already very familiar with. This QR code would be completely different in each use for security reasons.
- Third wireframe: Lastly, once the QR code has been scanned efficiently, a green checkmark would appear on the user’s screen giving them confirmation that the operation has been done successfully. Underneath the checkmark there will also be a message wishing the user a safe trip.



Although this approach might come out as too simple, it is possible to create an efficient and modern app for the citizens of Madrid to use on a daily basis in their public transport. Now it’s just a matter of time (and money) to materialize it and turn it into a reality.
To read this article in spanish, click here: https://medium.com/@martabestardnr/viajar-en-transporte-p%C3%BAblico-pagando-con-el-m%C3%B3vil-realidad-o-ciencia-ficci%C3%B3n-b2aa3528025c
