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Redesigning LPP Mobile App to Improve Ljubljana Public Transit Accessibility
CLIENT
Povio UX Design Academy
Project based on - LPP d.o.o. - Local public
transportation provider
SCOPE
2 weeks sprint
Mobile app
TARGET
TOOLS
Students
MY ROLE
Entire product design from research
to conception,visualization and testing
GOAL
Designing LPP app for better
accessibility and easier
payment process.
SUMMARY
The use of apps is an everyday thing these days. Communication,
socialization, work, tourism. Among the most used are also apps for urban transport. Today, it is almost hard to imagine the times of using paper maps and clumsy interval showing timetables set up at bus
stations. For years, large metropolitan cities have been using apps that offer a wide range of transit services in one place, but smaller cities such as Ljubljana are slowly following suit. Despite the development of the app for paying tickets for city transport, many people still use the old way of paying with physical cards, which can often get lost or forgotten. Because phones are something most of us have with us all the time, with the proper app, the problem of not having an option to pay and students
skipping payments is reduced.
DESIGN PROCESS
THE PROBLEM
LPP is the company whose main goal is to offer city and intercity transportation to all the Ljubljana residents and outside visitors. Until 2009 everybody could pay for the bus ride with cash or tokens, but since that did them more harm than good, they decided to change the payment process by removing a cash option and introducing a city card called Urbana. It gave them a better overview of the passengers and statistics, but then again it narrowed down the number of people who used the bus and increased the number who didn’t pay for city transportation. The solution was to design an app, which would be an easier payment option for everybody not using the bus daily such as casual visitors and tourists, and also for everybody using it daily, such as students. Although it resolved a bit of a problem, the new problem had arisen with people not understanding the app completely, having trouble using it or not even knowing it existed.
SETTING GOALS & THE PROCESS
So, our main goal from the start was to redesign the existing app into a product which would be available to everybody visiting Ljubljana and even those living there. The sole purpose of the app would be to have everything we need for a fast and comfortable city transit at one place, but mainly that there would be no hassle with the payment process.
Existing app, Android and IOS version.
First our group was trying to understand the target groups LPP company is aiming at and mostly focusing on one of them, which after team discussions and voting, we decided on student users.
First main objectives were what their main issue is, where the problem arises and what would they and the company gain by solving this problem.
By conducting interviews, we got a first-hand insight into good and bad experiences they have had with LPP public transportation, which gave us a bigger picture and also confirmed some of our initial assumptions;
People more or less at some point forget or even lose their Urbana card
When they forget the card, instead of using an existing LPP app they just prefer to not pay and risk getting caught
A lot of them already use different apps, such as Google Maps for orientation and information about bus stations
Users prefer to have a map showing them a path of their bus and their live location
They only trust the official LPP web page for an accurate bus timetable schedule
By making a journey map, we defined all the actors who are a part of a flow a user makes to get to its final destination. We have to keep in mind that it is not only the user who uses the app, but there is a part where also LPP has to be involved in to offer them the best experience.
By chipping away at the problem further on, our team came to our 2-year goal and our 3 main sprint questions;
»In 2 years time…every service will be accessible on one single app.«
»HMW..develop a product intuitive enough for everybody?«
»HMW…develop a product available for everybody?«
»HMW…expect from users to trust the accuracy of bus timetable schedules?«
By keeping in mind all of the forementioned questions, we developed 5 different heat maps through lightning demos. With the help of our facilitator, we quickly came to a simple user flow solution, which defined the base of the product to help us design our prototypes.
By also keeping in mind our goal is for users to actually use this product, we tested our initial prototypes by students already using LPP
services. Since their main objective is getting to their final destination as smoothly as possible, we had to think about the easiest possible way to manoeuvre throught the app and payment process to get to their goal.
The company wants the user to choose the nearest transit point based on their location. By also searching for their final destination, the app shows them the quickest way by showing them all the possible routes the user can take. This allows them to quickly navigate to the nearest entry point at which they still easily use the app to pay for the transportation with as little clicks as possible. With following the map, the user easily knows at which stop they have to exit to get to their goal destination.
Here is a simple user flow of how the user can get to their destination without using all the other app functions that are unnecessary for this specific goal.
FINAL DESIGN
Colors
Font
LOGIN PAGE
Since the payment process is a big problem to solve, the main integration that seemed useful was to combine all the possible payments as one function.
Before using this option, users have to login and link all the cards or add the funds to the app, which can be simpy saved if the user uses a login by email or Google. This enables quick login process and the app can be used on different devices.
MULTIPLE PAYMENT OPTIONS
After that, users have all available payment options in one place and with a single click they decide on which payment is prefferable for them. This opens the option for simple validation by pressing the phone on the terminal (which uses NFC system) or just by clicking the »Validate« button(which uses DOV system). And by that the payment is processed and the bus ride validated.
SIMPLE ROUTE PLANNER
The app also shows all the stations near the user at their specific location, the buses which stop at these stations, and by adding a search bar it easily recomends the fastest route to final destination.
By shortening the time it takes for the user to pay for the ride, it gives them plenty more time to make sure they are waiting for the correct bus. It also reduces the stress and it makes sure they are never left without an option to pay for the bus, especially at times where the cards needed to validate are lost or forgotten.
It also makes sure the company has a better overview of different paying statistics, it reduces the problem of people not paying for the bus and it increases city transit accessiblity.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED
Don't Assume
Just because something might seem very useful, without testing it first, you really can't be sure how many people will actually like and use it.
Dig Deeper, Be Curious
When interviewing, don't settle for basic answers, try to ask more to get as much information as you can, which can really help you with your design.
Don't Be Afraid To Make A Mistake
While still in the research and prototype phase, make mistakes and learn from them, you can still change and test again.
LET'S WORK TOGETHER!
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