Improving Bus
Booking Experience

APSRTC is a bus ticket booking app service provided by
the State government of Andhra Pradesh.

The objective is to facilitate people to reserve seats by
booking tickets in advance through the app so that they
can have a hustle-free journey experience while traveling
through public transportation.

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Goal

To provide a hustle-free journey experience for people who travel by public transportation.

My role

UX/UI Designer

Deliverables

User Research, Personae, Empathy maps, Journey map, Wireframes, High-fidelity designs

The problem

India's public transport systems are among the most heavily used in the world in comparison to other modes. India has a network of National Highways connecting all the major cities and state capitals, 80% passenger traffic is carried by the roads.

Buses are an important means of public transport in India. Most state governments provide bus services through a state road transport corporation.
Each state has their own websites/ applications to provide service through online which include online booking ticket & other related services.
But the user experience of these websites/ applications are not at par, not mobile friendly the rise startup's providing similar service clearly illustrates this fact. This project is an attempt to identify issues of existing applications and to come up with an effective solution.

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Observations

  1. It is observed that most of people don’t use bus booking app by state government & people who use are occasional users.
  2. It is observed that people prefer to travel in bus only for medium to short distances or less longer journey hours.
  3. It is observed that people prefer only when no other mode of transportation is available for that destination and also for safety reasons.
  4. It is observed that the majority of participants don't have a clue about the existence of these services.

High Fidelity Designs

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Home

Based on competitive analysis and research following are implemented in designs to improve experience and bus bookings from the app, these are not available in existing app.

1. Recent search history
2. Popular recommendations
3. Notifications

Providing these in home page just below the search there is high chance  people to pay attention.


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My Bookings

Go to place to find all the bookings, also to view ticket, cancel or reschedule journey. updates are provided based relevance, planned journeys will come first followed by past journeys.

Filter feature enables to find quickly for what they are looking for.

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Mobirise Website Builder

Live tracking

By using GPS system installed in buses and Google maps live updates are provided, this will help people to track their journey and identify any delays and also for security reasons.

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My profile

Personal profile will provide all the flexible options, people can change their details, add money to their wallets, saved cards, passwords, rewards.

Existing app lacks this flexibility.

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Design decisions

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Primary navigation

Major design decision is change in primary navigation. Existing app uses "Hub & spoke model" which is not effective to navigate main pages.

In new designs it is change to navigation bar provided at bottom of the app so that people can navigate with minimum steps, all with their finger tips.

Placement of navigation item using serial position effect.

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Listing details

Lack of details like reviews, ratings, availability of amenities will provide no cues to people to choose from list, By providing these in card details, now it is easy to pick or choose  a bus according their needs. 

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Mobirise Website Builder

Sort & Filter

Segmented or tabbed view method is used instead of drop down menu.
This will reduce no of clicks and people can see changes visually.

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Seat layout

Seat layout is changed to according to mental model of people.
Existing app uses horizontal layout, this will create confusion, delay in picking a seat.

Vertical layout will help people to understand seating arrangement easily which in turn helps them to pick a seat confidently.

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Mobirise Website Builder

Reviews & Ratings

Review and rating system will help people to a choose a bus when they are uncertain to book a ticket to travel in a particular bus.

By showing people faces and comments  it will improve trust in the service and boost transparency

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Offers & Discounts

Existing app have very few discounts and it is hard to find because of information architecture, this is addressed by providing offers just below fare break up, people can apply offers which is applicable to them.

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Mobirise Website Builder

Pickup & Drop points

In the new design, people can see all the pickup and drop points at a glance and decide, eliminating drop-down menus from the existing app.

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Cancellation & Rescheduling

To cancel a ticket one need to remember details, since our working memory is limited it can be stressful. This is addressed in my bookings where one can cancel ticket with out any requirement of details.

People can also reschedule their journey in an emergency situations.

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Mobirise Website Builder

Reflection

  • Learnings
    This workshop provided me with an opportunity to understand design thinking approach in problem solving and also hands on experience of designing application.

    These basics led me to dig deeper about design, research methods and other related things.

  • Mistakes I made 
    By theory understanding the design process was easy but while doing it, I made a lot of mistakes for e.g. In research my questioning were guiding users to give answers in a single word, instead of asking/seeking their opinion.

    This was the 3rd iteration and before designs were not designed properly in the context of design systems and visual design language.
  • What could have been done better ?
    Understanding the root problem and, mindful about framing questions while conducting surveys and interviews.

    Developing a ideas that could create more impact. For e.g. designing for booking bus passes from the application, because many people buy passes manually from stations/ Mee-seva services.

    Instead of focusing on many issues, I could have picked one particular problem and solved accordingly. 
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Thank you

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