Ironhack’s Prework: Ahmad Khalaf_Challenge1.
Citymapper: a new experience.
Citymapper
Citymapper is a public transport application and mapping service that started in 2011 which displays transport options, usually with live timing between any two locations in the supported cities which are 75 urban areas in 2020.
It integrates data for all urban modes of transport, it is free for all users and is supported by a mobile app on iOS and android and a website.
In December 2019 the app added a feature that allows the users to choose between a fast route or main roads which avoid dimly lit areas.
The competitions are google maps and some local companies in their own territory.
The main problem
Users have to open different apps to purchase tickets, it’s a hassle by itself, let alone they have to have multiple tickets for one trip if they are taking more than one transport.
I did a couple of interviews, 6 to be specific, with people who travel abroad or live where public transport is better than where I live because the only app that works here is google maps so there is no competition nor coverage.
Islam, 24, a traveller and used to live in Portugal.
Ahmad, 26, lives in Germany.
Basheer, 27, a traveller.
Ibrahim, 24, lives in Hungary.
Seema, 24, used to live in the United Kingdom.
Deema, 24, a traveller.
And asked them many questions, of which were, what is your experience with transport in the city you live in and the cities you visited? What are the main pain points you experienced? What do you think would be great of a solution if it existed? Where do you get your information about transport before you visit somewhere?
The gathered information had some similarities which they all had in common, they had to download an app for each city they went to, barely any had payment options but also lacked many other things such as maps and routes or they had to use multiple apps, some for routes and some for purchasing tickets, multiple also told me it was a hassle when commuting long distances between cities or in one big city to buy multiple tickets, keeping tickets and mixing between them.
They also said that it would be great of a solution if routes and payments were integrated into one place which has all the information there too and cuts the hassle of ticketing systems.
The solution
After research and the interviews I did, I saw the fittest solution would be to add a payment system for the tickets that are needed for the commute from point A to point on our app plus a new ticketing system which views all the trip’s tickets as one and gives the user one ticket to accommodate them all in one, which we will do, for the user they will be buying one ticket with the total price that works for the whole commute, but for us, it will be a separate ticket that they are bought on the app with the same name and most accommodating for the user to go through their trip.
Prototype design
My prototype was about just adding features and not changing much about the app, which is a great app to start with, it gives a great experience in in-city commuting, and I wanted to make this experience even better by making the user complete everything inside the app itself and not change apps or use multiple.
So, what I did was added the payment feature inside the app itself to pay for the tickets and get them as e-tickets with QR codes or print them if needed, also, the combined ticketing system in a very simple manner that combines all of those together with keeping in mind that the app has all the information of the user already, personal data and payment data.
Find below the prototype design.
What I learnt throughout the process
Well the overall experience was enriching and I learnt a lot about the UX process, the importance of the small details, from research, interviews and listening to the people, because, at the end of the day, we are making the solutions for them and building to give them a better experience so no feedback or comment is ever useless, they all contribute to the solution and everything can be done, I tried to be as logical as possible with the given technology and capabilities.
Also, to get criticism, that was a great part as I started with the solution and told the interviewees and heard their opinions about it and what they see fit as a solution for their pain points.
I hope whoever is reading this likes my solution and give me feedback if they felt like it whether is it negative or positive, every feedback counts when it’s about driving a better experience.
