Challenge : Urbango

UrbanGo is a public transit and mapping startup based in Silicon Valley. Their goal is to solve the problems of urban mobility by offering the quickest and cheapest public and private transport routes to their users.

In this mobile app, users select a starting point and a destination, and the app provides different multimodal routes with the estimated time and their cost.

Empathize

What is the main problem ?

When you travel, it’s necessary to buy different public transport tickets, and this process can be very annoying, whether in a city in your country or during a trip you’re probably experiencing these problems : queues, vending machines that don’t work, language you don’t understand…

So, purchasing the correct ticket can become a real issue and can cost you some precious time.

In this case, we target occasionally users and travelers.

To better understand the issue, I interviewed five persons (20–30 years old) in my entourage. This interview will gave me a better overview of problems encountered and helped to the more appropriate solution.

During a conversation about trips, I introduced some questions :

1. When you are traveling, do you use public transport ?
2. For your trip do you use some application helping you to find your way ?
3. What do you expect of those app ?
4. What are the most frustrating points when using public transport ?
5. Did you have a bad experience when your were buying your tickets ?
6. If you had to add a functionality to relieve which one should it be ?

Define

Thanks to this interview, we can focus on the user’s viewpoint and define pain-points to be improved :

• All users interviewed use Citymapper or Google maps to choose their itinerary
• Lack of information in itinerary results : which tickets I buy to from point A to B and how long will it be available ?
• Lack of clarity and information to know which tickets are available (student or senior pass, weekend pass, day or night pass …) and which prices
• On pay terminal, lack of translation for « how I can buy my transport ticket » and « where ? » This point causes bad experience and loss of time during the trip.
• Some bus companies don’t give change and you can’t pay by credit card

Ideate

We need a solution which meets the expectations of those keywords :

• Clarity
• Rapidity
• Reliability
• Security
• Helpful
• Easy to use
• Time saver

After making a mind mapping I can sum up my idea :

1. An application that integrates the purchase of tickets.
2. Dematerialize physical tickets fin favor of numerical tickets (QR code) : scan ticket on pay terminal (subway, bus, tram…).
   This solution can enable easy and automated verification of the customers. The QR code application will enable passengers to buy transit tickets on the go through the mobile application, and also seamless pass through the access gates by tapping the phone across the validation gates.
   
   This solution involves that Urbango make parternship with public transport companies that the codes are compatible and adapted in each city.
3. Use artificial intelligence : voice assistant to buy ticket.
4. Wallet of tickets sorted by last destination where we can buy back ticket.
5. Tickets changeable and usable even offline.

Prototype

Wireframes — User experience

Or you can use vocal assistant for buy your ticket :

User experience with vocal assistant

What did I learn ?

I had a lot of fun doing this project, creating wireframes is quite playful and allows us to change what we do right away.

This Design Thinking method really allowed me to put myself in the users’s shoes and try to understand their needs and stay focused on them. I interviews helped me a lot for this, because from the beginning I had my own idea in mind, I had to bring it out in order to better understand what users need.