The GRT Mobile Application is a user-friendly transit app for people in the Waterloo region, Canada. The goal of this project is to solve the existing difficulties of local people with a mobile application.
The Waterloo region's transit system has always been a challenge, and residents are constantly looking for solutions to their problems.
The GRT website frequently crashes, resulting in multiple transaction failures, and even when a transaction is successful, the funds do not appear on the card for 24 to 48 hours.
Another major concern is that, being a country prone to climate change, particularly during harsh winters, even the self-service kiosks in this region frequently malfunction.
People with a monthly pass or funds loaded on their pass have been forced to pay in cash simply because they forgot to bring their transit card with them, and it is difficult for people to always have cash, especially in the form of coins, which is one of the major concerns for visitors and tourists who wish to travel by local transit.
User research in UX design involves gathering insights directly from users to understand their behaviours, needs, and preferences, guiding the creation of intuitive and user-centric digital experiences. Through methods like interviews and Surveys, it empowers designers to make informed decisions that enhance usability and satisfaction.
I have interviewed few of my friends and family members who live in the region of Waterloo to understand how they purchase tickets/transit passes and also tried to understand the challenges faced by them on their daily basis. Here are few questions that i included in the interaction.
Interview Questions
1. How often do you load your transit pass in a month?
2. What problems do you face while loading funds and how do you solve them?
3. Do you find difficulty in carrying coins?
4. What are the problems you face while recharging funds from the website?
5. How often have you faced problems in self service kiosk?
6. What are your thoughts on adapting a mobile application for GRT?
I have interviewed few of my friends and family members who live in the region of Waterloo to understand how they purchase tickets/transit passes and also tried to understand the challenges faced by them on their daily basis. Here are few questions that i included in the interaction.
The survey questions and responses are listed
User research in UX design involves gathering insights directly from users to understand their behaviours, needs, and preferences, guiding the creation of intuitive and user-centric digital experiences. Through methods like interviews and Surveys, it empowers designers to make informed decisions that enhance usability and satisfaction.
I have constructed User personas for various groups of people based on the information gathered from the user research. The following characters reflect the target user groups for the mobile application.
After conducting user research, I used empathy mapping to gain a better understanding of two separate groups of personas.
Here are a few workable ideas to help the people living in the Waterloo region with their current difficulties.
Instead of hustling to load funds, a digital solution (Mobile App) would be a wise and user-friendly option.
On occasions, people might forget to bring their transit card, which should be tapped to board the bus; in these instances, scanning tickets from a smartphone app might be a viable option.
People new to the Waterloo region or traveling for the first time can also use the GRT app to purchase an e-ticket instead of struggling to find coins and avoid getting a new transit card.
The GRT app reflects loaded funds within few minutes or hours and also keeps track of users available finances as well as current and previous transit tickets.
The user flow map guides the user from the point of entry to exploring the application's features and responding appropriately.
A good UI typeface should have enough breathing room in-between letters, and even spacing to establish a steady rhythm.
Font
Title
Body
Proper color use is important for creating a positive image for your customers, that's why color plays a leading role in the interface design.
This splash screen appears when the app is first loaded.This screen includes a logo for the application and a start button.
Onboarding screens include an overview of the app's features, such as scanning tickets through the app, funds reflecting in seconds, and monitoring transit ticket expiry.
Those who already have an account may login with their email address and password, while those who want to make a new account must register.
A home-screen displays the transit card information and transaction history. Users can scan their QR code with their card while boarding the bus.Users can also keep track on the expiry time of their tickets
There are three sections to the fund's screen: funds, passes, and tickets. Guest users and registered users without a card can only access the Tickets area, however, registered users with a card can access all sections.
The fund's section will allow the user to load funds onto the card, as well as an autoload mechanism, which will automatically load funds from the bank account whenever the balance falls below a certain threshold.
Users can purchase monthly passes from the passes section, which comprises many types of monthly passes.
The Help screen offers a form where users can send messages and ask questions, and the GRT app has a virtual assistant where users may get answers to their questions. The report/stone card area of the help screen also allows users to seek a replacement of the card..
