BusHop App
INTRODUCING BUSHOP: A SEAMLESS AND USER FRIENDLY COMMUTE PLANNER FOR AN EXPANDING MIDWEST CITY
BusHop is a public transportation app I created to save users time and energy when planning their bus commutes. The app allows users to track their bus routes in real time so that they do not confuse their bus with the other 6 bus lines that converge at the Washington and State stop.
UX Designer & UX Researcher
MY ROLE
TIMELINE
4 Weeks
TOOLS USED
Figma IOS Kits
DISCOVER
PROBLEM STATEMENT
Transportation agency officials have discovered that, due to expansion, multiple new bus routes have been added and riders are getting confused about which bus is arriving at the Washington and State stop. They can no longer run to their bus stop to catch their bus because it could be one of the six bus lines that have been added. Riders need a user-friendly solution to this issue to make for a seamless and reliable public transit experience.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS
I conducted a competitive analysis to understand my competitors strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. These findings informed my design choices, emphasizing the need to include a bus tracking feature, call to action buttons and adequate contrast methods.
AUDIENCE
There are many walks of life that utilize the public transportation system. Riders include work commuters, students, medical patients, tourists and hospitality enthusiasts. Target users range from 18-40 years old.
USER SURVEY
I created a user survey to find out more about my user’s pain points, goals, frustrations and expectations while using a public transportation app. While 33.3% of users travel to events, 25% use public transportation for work. Furthermore, I found that 54.5% of participants find bus/train schedules using a mobile transit app. I also found that 53.8% of users find All of the mobile features to be important. Additionally, 76.9% of users reported that they find getting real time information during their trip to be valuable. While 63.6% of users wait for the next bus/train, 36.4% will call an Uber to reach their destination.
USER INTERVIEW
UNDERSTANDING OUR USERS
I had the opportunity to have a user interview with Andrea Maiato, a former fashion designer turned UX Designer in New York City. Andrea depends on public transportation for not only herself, but her daughter as well. Her hobbies include reading, yoga, spending time with her daughter and taking care of her dog. Andrea finds it important to plan her route in advance and to know how long her trip is going to take. As a mother, Andrea relies on the bus tracking feature on the MTA Bus Time website to get her daughter to school on time and to track the location of her daughter’s bus for peace of mind. Having real-time information in advance is of the utmost importance to Andrea. My user interview helped inform my persona.
USER STORIES & USER FLOWS
User stories and flows are crucial for the BusHop App because they help us grasp and foresee our users' needs, enabling us to design a more seamless and enjoyable commute planning experience.
USER STORIES
As a bus rider, I want to know when my bus is arriving at the Washington & State stop, so I can calculate how much time I have to reach the bus stop.
As a bus rider, I want to know the next bus arriving at the Washington & State stop, so that I don’t rush to a bus that is not mine.
As a bus rider, I want the ability to view future arrival times for any of the seven bus lines that service the Washington & State stop so that I know when my bus arrives.
DEFINE
USER PERSONA
USER FLOW
DEVELOP
SKETCHES
WIREFRAMES
BRANDING
Branding was paramount in bringing the BusHop App to life.
LOGO
MOOD BOARD
STYLE GUIDE
LOFI PROTOTYPE
HIFI PROTOTYPE
USABILITY TESTING
Task 1: Using the Lines feature, look up the schedule for bus A1 and calculate the amount of time you have to reach Washington and State.
Task 2: Using the Stops feature, look up the next bus arriving at the Washington and State Stop.
Task 3: Using the Lines feature, look up bus schedules for any of the seven bus lines servicing Washington and State.
ITERATIONS
For Task 3, users said that they could only look up the schedule for bus A1 and that none of the other lines had links to their schedules. For my iterations, I made links to the 7 bus lines to their respective schedules. Users also stated that they thought the “Welcome” & “Chicago, IL” texts on the Homepage were too close to the map. I moved each of them up during my iterations. Lastly, a user expressed that the “Get Notifications” & “Track Another Bus” buttons were too small, so I made them slightly larger.
FINAL THOUGHTS
My user tests provided valuable insight into what changes I needed to make in my public transportation app. After making the changes, I considered my app to be complete, designed with the user’s needs, goals and expectations in mind. All design choices also satisfied my user stories and business requirements.