MTA Commuter Pain Points
Have you ever swiped your MetroCard at a train station just to find that it has insufficient balance? Then you find out the Kiosk is only accepting coins? Using the MTA Kiosk is the only form of payment for our Metrocards.
Overview
Role: Lead UX Designer
Goals: The goal is to decrease wait time in entering the train station.
Deliverables: User Research, Affinity Mapping, User Flows, Hypothesis, User Scenario, Usability Testing, Lo-Fi Wireframe MockUps
The MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority) has many problems in all areas from the train itself to their app. With a couple of questions based on commuters’ experience with the MTA, the MY MTA app, and a description of their daily commute, I was given much insight into what an issue at the MTA is. I created an affinity map to help me organize the information gathered from the interviews performed. Commuters expressed their thoughts on train delays and their experience with the MTA kiosk.
This led me to research a few companies that are very similar to the field of transportation such as Uber, Citi Bike, and ZipCar. I looked for specific features such as a method of transportation and a method of payment. These companies provide a traveling service by either bike or vehicle and use either a digital wallet or a more efficient kiosk. After much research, I discovered that the MTA does not have a form of online payment to refill their MetroCards as their competitors do.
Customer Problem:
Commuters are late catching their trains because of the inefficiencies of the MTA kiosk. They need to be able to refill their MetroCard and get to their destination without problems or delays. Users want to be able to refill their MetroCards online using their credit cards.
We believe adding a digital wallet will result in a more efficient way to refill MetroCards because kiosks are inefficient, frequently under maintenance and the lines are long.
User Scenario:
A commuter rushed to the train station and swiped his MetroCard at the turnstile. The turnstile states the commuter has an insufficient balance. The commuter had to refill their MetroCard at the kiosk. There was a line at the kiosk and it was only accepting coins at the time. The commuter couldn’t afford to be late to work, so they spent $30 on a Lyft instead of spending $2.75 for a 15-minute train ride.
User Flow:
I started the ideating process by creating a user flow to audit and visualize the number of steps upon logging in to the behavior of refilling MetroCards. After the user flow audit, I mocked up potential flows that address the hypothesis by minimizing the number of steps required to accomplish the user goal.
Usability Testing:
I tested a couple of wireframes to see if users would be able to refill their MetroCard efficiently. To determine efficiency, I timed every user how long they took to reach the end goal.
Users 1- 4 were asked to rush to refill their MetroCards as if they were running late to work. This set of users showed frustration towards the mocked-up wireframes, averaging around 10 to 25 seconds to refill their MetroCards.
User 2: “Why are there so many buttons?!”
Users 5–8 were asked to take their time refilling their MetroCards. These set of users were able to easily refill their MetroCards and averaged around 10 to 20 seconds
If a commuter were to be in a rush to arrive at work on time, the amount of time taken to refill a MetroCard and enter the station would result in a delay. I needed to shorten that time frame so that users can enter the train station quicker. I noticed that every user expected certain buttons to be in certain locations of the app which I did not intend for.
Wireframes:
I went back to the wireframe and made a few changes from the testing. With a limited amount of buttons, users were less frustrated and averaged about 5 to 10 seconds to refill their MetroCard.
After much usability testing, I made a low-fidelity and mid-fidelity prototype of the MY MTA app. Below are a few concepts of what the final prototype would be.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the double diamond method brought this prototype to fruition. It was a road map for me to discover and define the problem, as well as develop and deliver potential solutions. I produced a strong hypothesis, user flows, wireframes and observed how users interacted with the wireframes. I learned that not every user behaves the same within various circumstances. Based on their responses, I was able to go back and refine my designs.
Next Steps:
As a designer, my work isn’t done. The next steps would be to continue to gain user feedback on the product and reflect their thoughts in new iterations.
Final Prototype:
Check out the final prototype!
https://xd.adobe.com/view/ea098d37-e0dd-4b80-9b7b-b71ce096bfb7-bf5a/?fullscreen
Contact Me:
If you like my thought process and would like to collaborate, contact me at caduque0906@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/caduque0906/
