Challenge 1 — Citymapper feature

What is Citymapper?

Citymapper is a public transit app and mapping service which displays transport options, usually with live timing, between any two locations in a supported city. It integrates data for all urban modes of transport, including walking, cycling and driving, in addition to public transport. It is free of charge to users, and is supported by a mobile app on devices such as mobile phones, and by an Internet website. Citymapper is available in 39 urban areas across the world. Choosing the route that you plan to travel, the app will show walking, cycling, Uber, Gett and public transport options with the prices, time taken and frequency of any services. After deciding on a public transport it will provide a map of the route, arrival time, information on delays and detailed instructions. But the application does not have the option of buying tickets for the selected route.

Project

I‘m going to create a feature for this app that solves the pain of having to purchase different public transport tickets by different channels.

My audience is made up of people who use web applications, between 11 and 60 years old. In some countries, an application that allows you to plan your route and buy a ticket at the same time already exists, so the competition is quite high.

Interview

I have interviewed five people who frequently to very often use public transport abroad. I asked about the experience of traveling by local transport, with a particular focus on traveling abroad.
I asked about it exactly how my interlocutors plan a trip in an unknown city, what means they use to make this trip easy (app, paper map, etc.), where they get the information, what good experiences from such trips they remember and what bad ones, what can make traveling by public transport easier?

The questions were open and my interlocutors were happy to talk about their experiences. Below are short notes from these conversations:

Person 1: Women 37

She travels a lot abroad and uses all the means of public transport. She told about her experience in one European capital, where she traveled recently. The subway station was full of people, it was hard to read anything on the map, it was hard to find a machine to buy tickets. The marking at the station was unsatisfactory. It was better to use the application to look for a route. On a daily basis she uses an application where she can check all connections in her country and immediately buy a ticket through the application. Such an application for the whole of Europe would be perfect.

Person 2: Women 30

She travels a lot abroad and is satisfied with public transport. Wherever she goes, everything seems to be clear to her, even without the knowledge of the language. When traveling abroad she uses Google Maps and a paper map. Unfortunately, there are not always ticket machines at the stations, but they are sometimes in the middle of transport. Sometimes they check the tickets before entering the vehicle. Buying several tickets on one route was an obstacle, she had to buy tickets in reserve and not all of them could be used, which was a waste of money.

Person 3: Man 34

He travels a lot abroad and loves to travel by public transport. He buys tickets on the bus and does not use any application. Before his travels he buys public transport tickets in Internet. He usually buys tickets in reserve. He dreams about an application that he could use abroad, which would work in his native language. This application should tell you which ticket to buy (e.g. Berlin A+C) and thanks to which you can buy a ticket. It would be very useful when seeing a ticket controller, to be able to buy a ticket already while driving.

Person 4: Man 36

Travel by public transport every day, sometimes abroad. He is annoyed by delays and many different carriers. The stops are illegible marked, the bus stop is completely different than the tram stop and so on. Sometimes he doesn’t know where to buy a ticket, whether in a kiosk or from a driver, there is no clear information. He plans to travel around the city in the application, sometimes he advises on information, sometimes he checks on the webside e.g. the museum how to get there. Buying a new ticket when changing carriers is very annoying and takes time that can be spent on sightseeing.

Person 5: Woman 35

Sometimes she travels by public transport abroad. She is irritated by a very unreadable way of buying the tickets. In the city where she was last time there were two companies selling tickets, two different machines were standing next to each other and there was no information from which you should buy a ticket. Maps in the subway of this city were illegible, the best would be an application with a clear map and the possibility to buy a ticket on which you can drive any means of transport. It would also be nice to pay your credit card on the bus, subway, etc. instead of buying a subscription and having a new card.

The problems my interlocutors had when travelling by public transport abroad:

• problems with the map (2)
• poor access to the vending machine
• loss of money by buying tickets in reserve (2)
• no info what ticket to buy (2)
• buying a ticket when changing vehicles
• poor marking (2)
• crowded station
• delays

Most of the problems of my interlocutors were focused on tickets, maps and poor marking. Each one of them was annoyed by the process of buying tickets. My conclusion is that the biggest problem for any of my interlocutors is the problem of buying a ticket, as not everyone has the time, not everyone knows where, which one, and how many tickets they will need during one trip.

Idea and solution

The best solution for them would be an application that combines a clear map that shows exactly where the station/stop is located with legible marking of stops with the carrier’s logo and the possibility of buying a ticket. The application should be available in different languages and be synchronised with all timetables in Europe.

As the Citymapper has a good map and shows exactly the stops with the carrier’s logo, it can be improved by adding a ticket purchasing function.

• The function should be easy and accessible also for those who do not have a credit card.
• It should be possible to pay for a ticket for the whole route even if you need to change trains.
• It should also be possible to pay only for one part of a route.
• The purchase should be made by the minimum number of clicks, in case someone has to use this function already while driving, seeing the controller.

Below are pictures of prototype of this function:

Conclusions

The whole design process was an incredibly fascinating experience for me. I was very happy with the stage of interviews, because I have always been curious by different views on one topic. In the process of brainstorming, I definitely missed working in a team because from experience I know that from one small word a great idea can be born. The prototyping process gave me a lot of fun, but I feel that I may have overlooked some details that could have facilitated the process of buying tickets. I definitely need to learn and practice in this area. I can’t wait to learn from those who have knowledge and experience in this subject.