Storstockholms Lokaltrafik — UX Intervention — 2024

Changing the Way Commuters Buy Tickets

About

Trafikförvaltningen, Region Stockholm is responsible for public transport in Stockholm County. It manages the Storstockholms Lokaltrafik, commonly known as SL, the county’s public commuter system used by over 300,000 residents every day.

Role

User Research
App UI/UX Design
Graphic Asset(s) Illustration

Length

3 Weeks

Team

Project done as a part of my MA at Hyper Island

Fedora Maranzana
Jeonghu (Jamie) Park
Ragnar Gunnarsson
Vala Rún Magnúsdóttir

Academic Collaboration

challenge & Execution

Commuters usually purchase tickets through one of two methods: via the SL mobile app, or via 3rd-party agents at the stations. Our task was to convert the latter group of commuters into building a habit of using the SL app to purchase tickets instead, reducing the commission that the SL had to pay 3rd-party agents.

Over a 3-week sprint, following the Stanford Design Thinking method, we conducted user research and deviced a series of physical and digital solutions that built on existing infrastructure so that the SL could implement them with ease.

A photo by Lesley Williamson of commuters entering a train in the Tunnelbana

Research

We kicked off our research with a service safari of all the services offered by the SL in Stockholm, identifying paint points in the commuter experience.

Insights from the service safari: Confusing app interface; Differing information from agents; Unclear signs at stations & stops; Hard to figure out which ticket to buy; Too many steps in the app flow; Complicated discount options

We also studied the structure of the companion apps of other public transportation services in Scandinavia and Europe to gather insights on the user experience and navigation flow.

A collection of screens from different public transport companion apps from across Europe and Scandinavia

We conducted our preliminary round of in-person user interviews at KTH University and at metro stations to get a mix of locals and newcomers. We intended to find out if and how they used SL’s services, and their reasonings for doing so.

Sample size: 33 commuters (23 locals + 10 newcomers)
Insight 1: 88% of newcomers use the SL app
Insight 2: 57% of locals use the physical card
Insight 3: 38% of locals top up their physical card via agents

After narrowing down our target demographic to just locals, we conducted a second round of interviews with locals who were aware of the SL app, but chose to not use it.

Sample size: 4 local commuters
Insight 1: Locals are aware of the SL app, but don’t use it to top up the physical card due to habit
Insight 2: Commuters appreciate human interaction when seeking guidance from agents
Insight 3: Not everyone has access to a stable internet connection and  a smartphone
Insight 4: Users struggle with basic app functions, such as selecting the right ticket and purchasing it

The Problem

Using the insights from our research, we finalised on a problem statement.

Reasons locals don’t use the app: time, habit, trust, clarity, convenience, reassurance, accessibility

The Solution

Based on the problem at hand, we formulated a series of physical and digital solutions that utilised existing infrastructure so that the SL could implement them without expending a significant amount of resources.

Solution 1: Free Wi-Fi at stations so that people in low-income neighbourhoods can use the app
Solution 2: Adding a message on the front of the cards reminding users they can top it up via the app, encouraging them to choose it instead of going to agents.
Solution 3: Placing promotional posters at the agents’ booth, encouraging users to try the app while they queue up.

When ideating digital interventions for the SL app, we started by identifying pain-points in the user journey to use as points of focus.

A detailed user journey map for the SL app

Our first suggestion was the inclusion of a structured onboarding process. The current app offers no guidance, and this onboarding should help users understand the app’s features and benefits.

A series of screens from the proposed onboarding flow: a welcome screen information about physical and digital payment options; the option to add your physical card to the app; information about digital tickets; information about activating tickets; and information about planning trips using the app’s map feature

There are two ways of using a ticket purchased on the SL app: via an in-app QR code, or via the physical card. A ticket purchased for one method cannot be used with the other; and the existing user flow does not communicate this clearly. This can be solved for by changing the app’s tab structure.

The current app makes you choose between the ticket types before entering the buying process. We propose creating a ‘buy’ section inside which you can choose between the ticket types. The QR ticket type is rebranded to ‘SL Wallet’ to help users better understand where tickets are stored. Purchased tickets are stored in a separate ‘tickets’ tab which has the two types as sub-sections.

The existing ticket categories are unclear and misleading; and although descriptions are available, most users don’t read them. We proposed a more intuitive re-categorisation.

The current ticket categorisation places ‘university’ and ‘elderly’ under a ‘discounted’ category, while ‘school youth’ is different category altogether. We propose separating ‘elderly’ as a distinct category, while clubbing ‘university’ and ‘school youth’ under a ‘student’ category.

The current payment methods are limited to Swish and credit cards, which is both limiting and slow. Integrating wallets like Apple Pay and Klarna will make payments more convenient.

A series of 4 payment options: Apple pay, Swish, Klarna, and card. There is also a note below the options that reads: Your data is safely encrypted. This note to builds trust, especially within older users, when entering payment information.

Users were unsure if purchased tickets were activated immediately. We proposed adding a confirmation screen after ticket purchase, giving users the option to activate the ticket either immediately or later.

Screen 1: Confirmation of purchasing ticket, with two buttons: activate now; and activate later.
Screen 2: Upon clicking activate now, there is a confirmation screen of the ticket being activated.
Screen 3: When choosing to activate later, the inactive ticket is added to the digital wallet and has a button on top of it to activate it.

The app could use notifications more effectively to provide users with useful information about active tickets and remind them to top up when the time comes.

Screen 1: A notification with active ticket details, such as the time left before the ticket expires, the ticket type, and the card the ticket is stored on.
Screen 2: A notification reminding the user that their ticket is going to expire soon, and that they should top up soon.

Testing

Following internal testing and refinement of our prototypes, we conducted some real-world user tests (5 commuters) to verify the effectiveness of our solutions.

Test result 1: 100% of users could complete the ticket purchase process
Test result 2: 80% of users preferred the proposed flow over the existing one.
Test result 3: 100% of users were satisfied with the overall experience.

Result & Impact

The client expressed appreciation for the extremely practical nature of our solutions. They affirmed that our research insights closely matched the ones produced from their internal tests, thus serving as useful points of validation for them.

Beam me up, Scotty