I’m getting the bus home a fair amount at the moment (not every day every week) and it makes more financial sense for me to buy a 10 journey ticket. You buy the ticket on the bus and need cash to do so.
What I’ve found is that you need to become an expert in bus tickets to work out how many journeys you have left (knowing how to read the digital print additions or punch holes).
I’m not an expert so as soon as I’ve used a few journeys I start to wonder how many more journeys I can take before I need to make sure I have cash in my pocket to either pay the fair or buy a new 10 journey ticket.
It’s only when your ticket is complete that it tells you that all journeys are taken (something you don’t know the first time you buy a ticket) and the design of the ticket makes sense (see below).
Wouldn’t it be better for the ticket to work more like a coffee shop loyalty card which always shows you how many cups you have to go before your free one?
Just a little bit of user testing or contextual studies would have solved this problem very easily and quickly making the user experience so much better. Carrying out wireframing and prototyping can help avoid unnecessary and potentially expensive mistakes that leave customers confused.
About the author
Richard Caddick
Richard is a managing director at cxpartners. He has developed exciting user interfaces for lots of different devices, and loves creative problem solving. Richard does a lot of baking, and loves to make bread. email Richard
One response
I think you might like Sydney for it’s bus tickets, Rich. Your journeys are laid out clearly so you know exactly just how many rides you have left.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2105/2200986901_8684bce259_o.png
The rest of the city is a nightmare as far as usability goes, but it’s very pretty and the sun shines alot
I trust you and the family are doing well. Hope to see you in the not too distant future.
Gb. Andy