Improving Citymapper
2018 citymapper.com
Citymapper empowers us all to use our cities infrastructure more efficiently, reducing time, costs and connecting you to your city…but can it be better? In this personal project, I tried to revisit an app that I use everyday and see how I can improve its digital experience.
With the launch of Smart Ride in London and the reinvention of the bus this was the perfect opportunity. I gave myself a day to gather as much information on the app experience as possible and come up with a solution using design thinking.
Looking at the current app
I started my research by conducting two user interviews, one with a customer who has taken the Smart Bus several times and one with a driver. By listening to their hopes, needs, and frustrations, I uncovered what’s most desirable; improving the pick up experience.
I identified a range of solutions that could appeal to the users and started to narrow down the choices based on what is technically feasible (including TFL restrictions) and how to make them financially viable.
By looking at the current app above, we notice that:
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The map is hard to read
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The bus stops are not visible
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You cannot see the live bus flow
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It’s hard to book and it often fails for no apparent reason
My proposal
Viewing the network
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Having the map a bit lighter makes it more legible
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Rather than highlighting the areas that haven’t been covered, I tried highlighting the areas that are part of the network
Booking a ride
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Bus stops are marked in circles so users know where to go
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Marking the start and end of the journey is more consistent with the rest of the app
Clearer error notifications
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Rather than just saying “cannot plan a trip right now”, mention why so the user can find an alternative. Is there not enough demand? Is the route too long or unavailable?
