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PRESTO MOBILE TAP OFFS

Empowering 200k riders with real-time reminders and in-app tap offs—so they never miss a tap off again.

Every month, over 200,000 riders forget to tap off their PRESTO card when riding the GO train and are charged the maximum fare

Empowering 200k riders with real-time reminders and tap offs in the app—so they never miss a tap off again.

Empowering 200k riders with real-time reminders and in-app tap offs—so they never miss a tap off again.

Role
Designer, Researcher

Team
2 designers

Timeline
4 weeks

Tools
Figma

PRESTO MOBILE TAP OFFS

OVERVIEW

Every month, over 200,000 riders forget to tap off their PRESTO card and are consequently charged the full fare

Every month, over 200,000 riders forget to tap off their PRESTO card when riding the GO train and are charged the maximum fare

PROBLEM

GO train uses a pay-by-distance fare system — the more riders ride, the more they pay. This requires riders to tap off their PRESTO card at the end of their trip but if they forget, they are charged the full trip (up to $20 more than their actual trip)

SOLUTION

Never miss a tap off with real-time reminders and tap offs in the PRESTO app

As a UX design intern at PRESTO, I designed and pitched a mobile app proof of concept in four weeks. Riders can track their trip in real time, receive reminders to tap off, and tap off their PRESTO through the app. This helps riders not only recognize but recover missed tap offs .

SOLUTION

SKIP TO THE FINAL SOLUTION

DISCOVERY

While we had the numbers behind the missed tap offs, we didn't have the why

200,000+

missed tap offs a month

2/3

of missed tap-offs are never reported to the call centre and unresolved

Only 30%

of riders report there's clear instructions of when to tap on and off

Overcoming user research constraints

As a UX designer, I knew I needed to understand the "why" through our users but due to budget constraints, I couldn't conduct user interviews. That's when I turned to platforms like Reddit, where riders shared their frustrations for missed tap offs.

50+ posts later and what did we discover?

😵‍💫

Riders are overwhelmed

Between planning their trip, catching their train, and everything in between—riders forget to tap off

🔇

Reminders to tap off are easy to miss

Riders miss audio announcements as trains are too loud, and signs are hard to see in crowded stations

⏰

Riders realize too late

By the time riders realize they forgot to tap off, they are already too far from the station to tap off

📞

Riders avoid the call centre

When riders forget to tap off, they rather incur the extra cost than contact customer service

All to say, riders didn't realize they needed to tap off in the moment, and when they tried to resolve their missed tap offs, they experienced many pain points

PROBLEM

💡

How might we integrate simple, seamless reminders to tap off, and ways to recover when riders forget to tap off, so they're not charged the unintended full fare?

How might we integrate simple, seamless reminders to tap off, and ways to recover missed tap offs, so riders are not charged the unintended full fare?

How are others solving the problem?

PRESTO is unique in requiring riders to tap on and off, but I wanted to see how other transit systems were empowering their riders.

10+ analyses later and what did we discover?

⏳

Real-time alerts and reminders

Riders rely on timely notifications to navigate their journey. Leading transit apps deliver real-time tracking and feedback to users.

🔗

Self-serve capabilities

Riders' journeys are often fragmented. Leading transportation apps connect riders' journey into one seamless flow and offer self-serve capabilities to stay in control from start to end.

👁️

Clean and clear visuals

On the go, riders are busy and distracted. Leading transit apps use clean layouts and clear visuals so riders can focus and find the information they need at a glance.

10+ analyses later and what did we discover?

⏳

Real-time alerts and reminders

Riders rely on timely notifications to navigate their journey. Leading transit apps deliver real-time tracking and feedback to users.

🔗

Self-serve capabilities

Riders' journeys are often fragmented. Leading transportation apps connect riders' journey into one seamless flow and offer self-serve capabilities to stay in control from start to end.

👁️

Clean and clear visuals

On the go, riders are busy and distracted. Leading transit apps use clean layouts and clear visuals so riders can focus and find the information they need at a glance.

IDEATE

What does success look like?

After defining the problem space, I worked with my manager to set design goals to guide our solutions.

🔔

Proactive, real-time communication

Riders' top dissatisfaction with PRESTO is the lack of timely communication, highlighting an opportunity to offer real-time alerts and reminders

✊

Self-serve capabilities

Another top dissatisfaction with PRESTO is poor problem resolution. Most missed tap-offs go unreported and unresolved, highlighting an opportunity for self-serve solutions

📱

Mobile first

Riders are on the go and prefer to receive information on mobile, highlighting an opportunity to streamline the transit experience on mobile

😵‍💫

Riders are overwhelmed

Between planning their trip, catching their train, and everything in between—riders forget to tap off

🔇

Reminders to tap off are easy to miss

Riders miss audio announcements as trains are too loud, and signs are too hard to see in crowded stations

⏰

Riders realize too late

By the time riders realize they forgot to tap off, they are already too far from the station to tap off

📞

Riders avoid the call centre

When riders forget to tap off, they rather incur the extra cost than contact customer service

Mapping features to the flow

Then, I ideated features across the user journey and design goals, presenting them to my manager to prioritize. In the end, we had 10 features we wanted to tackle!

Mapping features to the flow

From our ideation, we defined the features and ideated different flows for the best user experience. The key features are highlighted in yellow.

What does success look like?

After defining the problem space, I worked with my manager to set design goals to guide our solutions

🔔

Proactive, real-time communication

Riders' top dissatisfaction with PRESTO is the lack of timely communication, highlighting an opportunity to offer real-time alerts and reminders

✊

Self-serve capabilities

Another top dissatisfaction with PRESTO is poor problem resolution. Most missed tap-offs go unreported and unresolved, highlighting an opportunity for self-serve solutions

📱

Mobile first

Riders are on the go and prefer to receive information on mobile, highlighting an opportunity to streamline the transit experience on mobile

IDEATE

From our ideation, we defined the features and ideated different flows for the best user experience. The key features are highlighted in yellow.

Then, it was finally time to dive into design! I started with the key features first, then worked my way to the supporting features.

❌

Visible only in the app, requires riders to be signed in at all times

✅

Visual real-estate

Option 1: In-app reminders

❌

Limited visual real-estate

✅

Visible on the lock screen and doesn't require riders to be signed in at all times

Option 2: Notification reminders

✅

Visual real-estate

✅

Visible on the lock screen anddoesn't require riders to be signed in at all times

✅

Clear call to action (CTAs)

Option 3: Widget reminders

How might we reminder riders to tap off?

Riders are often distracted during their trip, and to make matters worse, the current tap off reminders were audio only and therefore easy to miss on noisy trains. But what if we had live, visual trip tracker and reminders.

DESIGN DEEP DIVE #1

How might riders recover from missed tap offs?

2/3s of missed tap offs are unreported and therefore unresolved. To reduce the number of missed tap offs, riders need a way to resolve them on their own. The problem was that by the time riders realized they’d missed their tap off, they were already too far from the station.

📱

Tap off from anywhere on your phone

I designed a self-serve tap-off feature that detects when riders miss a tap off and reminds them to tap off in the app. This helps riders recover from missed tap offs before being charged the full fare.

How might we integrate in-app reminders and tap offs in the riders' journey?

I didn’t want riders to go through a completely new flow and since the only information required was their departure and arrival stations and times, I realized this could be collected through the trip planning flow. However, I discovered major usability issues with the trip planning flow.

DESIGN DEEP DIVE #2

A more intuitive way to plan trips

❌

Riders plan their trip around when and where they depart and arrive. They care about getting from point A to point B, not the in between.

But the current trip planner was based on train line and not everyone knows or remembers their train line!

✅

I redesigned the trip planning flow to be more intuitive, reflecting how riders actually plan their trip, by selecting arrival and departure stations and times or by saved trip as a shortcut. From there, riders can search and start tracking their trip - it's that simple!

DESIGN DEEP DIVE #1

How might we reminder riders to tap off?

In-app reminders

❌

Visible only in the app, requires riders to be signed in at all times

✅

Visual real-estate

Notification reminders

❌

Limited visual real-estate

✅

Visible on the lock screen and doesn't require riders to be signed in at all times

Widget reminders - selected, yay!

✅

Visual real-estate

✅

Visible on the lock screen anddoesn't require riders to be signed in at all times

✅

Clear call to action (CTAs)

How might riders recover from missed tap offs?

📱

Tap off from anywhere on your phone

DESIGN DEEP DIVE #2

How might we integrate in-app reminders and tap offs in the riders' journey?

A more intuitive way to plan trips

❌

Riders plan their trip around when and where they depart and arrive. They care about getting from point A to point B, not the in between.

But the current trip planner was based on train line and not everyone knows or remembers their train line!

✅

DESIGN SEEP DIVE #2

DESIGN DEEP DIVE #3

DESIGN SEEP DIVE #2

How might we help riders feel less overwhelmed?

I wanted to make the most of the trip tracker feature to resolve riders' pain points. One key pain point was that riders were overwhelmed when there were delays and cancellations.

I wanted to make the most of the trip tracker feature to resolve riders' pain points. Another pain point was that riders were overwhelmed when there were delays and cancellations.

While we can't change cancellations or delays, how they're communicated can make all the difference. Through research, I discovered that riders often coordinate trips with friends and family. To reduce the stress from constant check-ins, I designed a feature that lets riders share their trip in real-time.

A more intuitive way to plan trips

❌

Lack of colours and icons → poor visibility

❌

Placement of the reminder doesn't align with riders' reading pattern → poor readability

✅

Reminder at the top with colours and icons draws attention and prompts action

✅

Info on payment devices provides contextual details for new riders

❌

Low visibility; lack of colours and icons

❌

Poor readability; placement of the reminder doesn't align with riders' reading pattern

✅

Reminder at the top with colours and icons draws attention and prompts action

✅

Info on payment devices provides contextual details for new riders

FINAL DESIGN

Bringing all the designs together into the final flow

To start, riders plan their trip based on their departure and arrival station and time.

Next, riders select the trip they want to start and can toggle between map or non-map view, depending on their preference.

Next, riders can start tracking their trip, both in the app and on their lock screen. They can also share their trip with anyone they would like to.

Riders can view their trip progress on their lock screen, viewing details like estimate time of arrival and transfer window.

Lastly, if riders forget to tap off, the app will detect a missed tap off and prompt them to tap off in the app.

REFLECTION

What did I learn?

⚙️

Designing within systems

It's not about how well I design a feature, but how well it fits into the existing system, and importantly, riders' mental models. For this reason, I designed beyond a tap off feature but for the entire end-to-end journey.

🚧

Designing with constraints

Since this was a proof of concept, the project came with many constraints—limited budget, time, and team members. I learned to make the most with what I had, even if that meant conducting user research without users!

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

Made with lots of music and matcha!

RESUME

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

Made with lots of music and matcha!

RESUME

THANK YOU FOR VISITING

Made with lots of music and matcha!

RESUME

What did I learn?

⚙️

Designing within systems

🚧

Designing with constraints

REFLECTION