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Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with, nor is this case study endorsed by Blacksburg Transit or the town of Blacksburg. All ideas presented are strictly my own.
Making navigating the town of Blacksburg more seamless with an overhaul of the current BT app.
My Role
UX/UI Designer
UX Researcher
Duration
3 Months
Software
Figma
Tasks
User Research User Interviews
Competitive Analysis LoFi Wireframes
HiFi Mockups UI Design
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Problem
Current BT App Users struggle with usability
When thousands of college freshman arrive in a new town, they have no idea how to navigate around. The Blacksburg Transit offers a great bus system to travel anywhere in town.
Where it does offer a great in person experience, it lacks in its mobile application. The current interface is outdated and difficult to navigate for students that are used to ultra modern applications.
This causes students to not be able to figure out which bus to use and in turn show up late for classes and events.
Before and After
A Complete Overhaul
Current
New
Research
Competitive Analysis
Although there are no direct competitors in the town of Blacksburg, there are similar transportation apps I looked into to spot areas of weakness for Blacksburg Transit.
Transit App
Uber
"Transit is your real-time city travel companion. It works in 300+ cities, for buses, trains, Ubers, Lyfts, and everything in between."
Pros:
- Great up-to-date delays info
- Shows bus capacity
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Cons:
- Only searches for nearby routes
- Ticket purchasing is slow
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"With Uber, your destination is at your fingertips. Just open the app and enter where you want to go, and a nearby driver will help you get there reliably."
Pros:
- Great ride scheduling
- Has pinpoint accuracy for pickup location
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Cons:
- Map that shows nearby Ubers is inaccurate
- GPS doesn't always use the fastest route
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Takeaways
After looking at some of the great features, as well as some pain points from other apps, I was able to come up with a strategy for my overhaul.
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Users for the Transit App were frustrated with buying tickets because public transportation is usually used in a rush, and the app would take too long to load.
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Users of Uber loved be able to drag and drop your pickup location because it made the pickup very seamless with little to no issues.
Insights
User Interviews
Being a user of the BT app, I could explain my what I enjoyed and disliked about the app, but I wanted to see how other students and town residents felt about it.
I conducted interviews with 4 students and 1 local resident. The amount of interviewees from each demographic reflects my estimate for the ratio of students to residents using the app.
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"The interface is outdated and hard to navigate as a first time user. This made me want to just walk to where I was going."
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"As a freshman, I never knew where I was so planning a trip was impossible because not required you to enter your starting location, which I didn't know.
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I decided to highlight these pain points because I too experienced the same issues. I knew I needed a redesign that was more in line with what the young demographic was used to. I also needed a more beginner friendly way to plan a trip, by implementing a "Current Location" option.
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Creating a new design that was in line with the user's other map and transportation apps seemed to be all they were asking for. Comfortability in a sense.
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Wireframes
First Iterations
New Features
- Modern User Interface
A refreshing new look was given to the BT app. This makes it more seamless for users due to the similar modern style of other popular apps.
- Virtual Pass
For non-students, you can buy your bus pass through the app and it can be scanned on your phone. It also can be added to your Apple Wallet for easy access.
- Account Creation
You will now be able to create an account to save your favorite routes, see your route history, and buy a virtual pass.
- Planning a Trip with Current Location
Right now, you must know the name of the building you are at to plan a trip. With this new feature, you can plan your trip starting with your current location. This helps new students and residents who are not totally familiar with the area
Conclusion
As a first run into the UX Design process, this project definitely threw a lot of problems my way. With every step being new territory for me, it forced me to learn so much in such little time. I went from having an interest in the UX field to now wanting this to be my career path. I love the process.
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Looking back, I would have spent a lot more time on the user research aspect. It is majorly important to understand what the user is currently going through. Without knowing that, how will you ever make a better system? For the future, I will spend more time with users to create a more thought out solution and it will create a better product.
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Overall, I believe I fixed several pain points of an app that thousands of students rely on everyday.
