Ironhack’s Prework: Philipp Alt_Challenge 1

Citymapper combines all public transport options in one app for many major cities around the world. Means of transport include subways, suburban trains, buses, taxis, bicycles, scooters and mopeds. All the information is based on real-time data, and navigation takes place in the form of step-by-step instructions, similar to Google Maps. A great feature are personalizable reminders that ensure, for example, that you never miss an exit.

The Problem:

Despite all the great features, this app brings. Being quite a frequent traveller myself, it can get frustrating getting familiar with the local transportations- and ticketing system. Citymapper does an excellent job and hitting all the notes on the transportation point, but still there is that elephant in the room that waits to be solved.

Possible Solutions:

In order to get a broader vision of how other people see that issue and what their thoughts are on how it could be solved, I wanted to interview 5 people within my network, potentially all from different demographics and walks of life. Some of them use Citymapper as a tool to get around in foreign cities, others don’t, but they know the issue just all too well.

After going through all the interviews, it became obvious that we would need an in-app or wallet solution to fix the issue.

Solution 1: In-App purchasing

The title tells it all. In order to take all the uncertainty and potential stress away of purchasing a ticket in a potential foreign environment. The user just fills in where they want to go and have a direct option to purchase a ticket for that trip. Payment methods stored in the backend: PayPal, Credit Card.The virtual ticket is then put into your in-App wallet (with a qr code or just the ticket information, depending on how tickets are inspected locally)

Solution 2: CityMapper Card

The Citymapper Card is an option that you can get free of charge through the Citymapper App and it lives in your AppleWallet or StoCard. You have the option to put funds on yourself, with an attractive discount attached, of just pay as you go. When selecting a destination, with a click of a button, you can put the amount needed onto the card, loading it with all necessary information to be inspected. This card could not only gives you easy access to tickets, but also discounts to certain attractions etc. in the city you are staying.

Learnings:

This challenge showed me the importance of interviewing, which broadens your view on the problem and probably shows you new ways to solve it. Also analysing different pain points of different demographics and how the usage of their mobile phone affects the outcome.