BusyBus

Intro

Due to local redevelopment, numerous bus routes were recently added and many of those routes stop at the same bus stop.

Problem -- Riders find it inconvenient when they don’t know the arrival time of the bus. It’s important for a rider to know the bus and the arrival time so they don’t have to rush to the bus stop.

GOAL

Provide residents and commuters with a technological solution that enables a seamless and hassle-free public transportation experience.

Solution -- By combining basic design principles with an intuitive layout, BusyBus’ interface lets users know in real-time when their desired buses will arrive. Users will also be informed of which routes are inactive.

USER RESEARCH

A Day in the Life of a Rider

In order to better understand the User Problem I conducted a survey with 32 users.

INSIGHTS

1. Most people do not use the bus as their primary mode of transportation (81.3%), while 18.8% reported that they do.

2. Focusing primarily on bus riders, 50% use it daily while 50% use it a few times a week, mostly for getting to work.

KEY RESEARCH INSIGHT

Most riders walk no more than 5 minutes from their homes to their stops (83.3%), but time spent waiting for the bus varies; 16.7% spend 0-5 minutes, 66.7% spend 6-15 minutes, and 16.7% spend 16-30 minutes waiting. This is where improvements can and must be made; the graph shows what ways users' experience using public transportation apps can be enhanced.

USER NEEDS

1. Bus riders will benefit from having real-time updates so they know when to expect buses, and would like to track them in real-time (similar to how Lyft and Uber rides).

2. Users also wish to know when to begin heading to their stops, and be notified of any changes in the expected time of their bus. This will reduce wait times, diminishing a major pain point.

3. In the event of a signal failure, users would also like offline access to schedules and routes so they have some idea of when to begin moving. For added convenience, and because not all apps have this feature, an in-app payment option will attract more users in future.

COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS

In my user research, I learned that existing applications need more accurate details of the routes. I performed a competitive analysis of Google maps and Moovit . This gave me an opportunity to experience the extensive process first hand and helped me realize that simplicity of the user interface would be the guiding force for my product.

INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE

By taking competitors and user requirements into account, I measure success for BusyBus. I created a list of 12 user stories that were most important in establishing a minimum viable product,including being able to see real-time updates, notifications or approaching buses, and adding items to a 'Favorites' list. From this list, I created a user flow that integrated as much as possible to test out general functionality.

WIREFRAMES AND TESTING

Using a templated worksheet, I sketched out three screens that adhere to my user and performed usability testing on this paper prototype with three subjects. I experimented with including other forms of transportation for users who may want to explore those options, similar to Google Maps and Moovit. I asked them to select and confirm a bus route. They each had varying levels of technological proficiency, allowing for broader perspectives on what could be improved.

KEY INSIGHTS

1. When opening the app the destination input field was not obvious

2. Current bus locations were not available on map

3. Map and route did not appear for the whole journey