Design thinking for urban mobility
There are a ton of mobile applications out there that help us get from point A to point B, like Google Maps or CityMapper. However, they don’t address one user pain point: the need to buy transport tickets from different places, providers, or websites in order to ride trains or buses.
In this article, I’ll address this existing gap in urban mobility applications by utilizing design thinking in order to come up with a prototype of a possible solution.
The approach
In order to arrive with a prototype of the solution, I did the following steps:
1. Empathize
I interviewed 5 users from different backgrounds who live in cities.
2. Define
Using insights from the interviews, I defined the main problem that these users face.
3. Ideate
I began to ideate solutions and narrowed it down to the strongest solutions.
4. Prototype
I reimagined the user experience based on the solutions and sketched a low-fidelity prototype on paper.
To bring this project to life, further user testing, design iterations, and high-fidelity prototype development should be done, but for this article, I will share my initial prototype sketches.
Main findings
After the user interviews, I was able to narrow down my findings into 3 main challenges:
1. Way-finding
How can the user be better guided by apps when using public transportation?
Interview quotes:
“It’s difficult for someone new because it doesn’t indicate where the bus is going.”
“To know that it’s your stop, you need to listen to the announcement or ask around.
2. Centralisation
How can the user avoid taking several steps to purchase transport tickets?
Interview quotes:
“Buses only take cash, while my transport card works for the trains in the city.”
“Each city has their own transport card.”
“I always have to queue up at the machine to recharge my card because online doesn’t work.”
“I had to go back to my house because I forgot my Metrocard. I wish I could just use my phone because I always have it with me.”
3. Updates
How can the user better access real-time public transportation information?
Interview quotes:
“Google Maps shows me which buses to take but it doesn’t have the train routes.”
“The apps show me the buses but I can’t trust the departure times.”
In a nutshell, the main problem is:
An inefficient urban mobility user experience due to inaccurate mobile app information (updates) that lacks real world guidance (way-finding) and the ability to purchase transport tickets in one place (centralisation).
After defining the problem, I put pen to post-it and started ideating possible solutions. This proved to be a great exercise in looking at the problem from different angles and the different ways that it can be approached.
Solution
I evaluated the ideas and chose the ones that solved the problem the best. I started imagining how it would work in practice and sketching it out. What you’ll see next is the solution that I was able to come up with.
An all-in-one mobile app that integrates real-time information (updates) on public transportation routes with step-by-step guidance (way-finding), where users can purchase transport tickets or pay-as-they-go (centralisation) with a tap-in, tap-out feature.
My learnings:
- Through this process, I learned the value of capturing different user perspectives as they truly bring to light valuable insights that I would not have thought of otherwise. (Special thanks to Justin, Alex, Bella, Adrianna and Andrea for sharing their experiences.)
- In the process of designing the prototype, I had to take into account the user experience outside the mobile application screens because first and foremost, public transportation is a physical experience that can be enhanced with digital solutions.
- There are always different ways to solve a problem. However, it is a matter of prioritising and spotting the quick wins that will make a significant impact in the user experience.
Related news
Greenpeace Spain has rolled out a petition campaign for a unified transport card (abono único de transporte) with the aim of encouraging more people to use public transportation as it is better for the environment and for everyone. While this solution is still in a concept phase and requires government intervention, it is a promising proposition (that can eventually be enhanced with design thinking to ensure usability 😉).
I signed the petition, you should too! Sign the petition here.
