Project Overview
Clipper (conceptual project)
*I am not affiliated with Clipper!
Clipper is a convenient all-in-one transit card that San Francisco Bay Area residents use to get around. Riders load money onto their Clipper cards to pay their fares for BART, Muni, Caltrain, and many other forms of Bay Area public transportation.
The Team
Myself and another designer
My Role
UX/UI Designer
Platform
Mobile Application
The Problem
Many Clipper users add value to their accounts as needed instead of setting up an Autoload amount and the current process of reloading money is time consuming and frustrating. Additionally, the ability to pay fares with your phone would alleviate those “Oh $#%!” moments when you realize you misplaced or forgot your card at home.
The Opportunity
To develop a mobile app that provides a quick and easy way to manage your Clipper balance and pay for fares. This should help relieve at least some of the stress we all experience during the already strenuous journey known as - pause for dramatic effect - the commute.
FINAL DELIVERABLE
The new mobile app allows Clipper users on the go, to quickly and easily:
Maintain their account balances.
Set up an Autoload amount.
Pay for fares directly with their phone.
RESEARCH METHODS
34 survey participants
We wanted to learn who our primary users were and get a sense of how they used their Clipper cards.
5 follow-up interviews
Next, we interviewed 5 of our survey participants to follow-up on what and where the biggest pain points were.
10 user interviews
Finally, we asked 10 users at the Montgomery BART station to share their Clipper experiences with us.
RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Commuters add money as needed
75% of our survey participants have at some point in time added money to their accounts as needed.
They don’t set up Autoload due to inconsistent public transportation needs.
The current Autoload system has long delays when making changes and is confusing to initially set up.
— those we interviewed believed similarly
“I’d like to set up Autopay eventually… but I’m a student and I only take BART to get to class on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”
— Claire (Clipper user)
“I’m interning for a few more months and I honestly tried to set up Autoload… but just gave up because it was confusing!”
— Sun (Clipper user)
“I work with clients all around the city, so I’m never sure of how much money I will need exactly since my commute always changes.”
— Emily (Clipper user)
Loading money is a bumpy road
Kiosks are clunky to operate and always broken.
Third-party vendors (i.e. Whole Foods, Walgreens, etc.) require extra time and effort.
Loading money online means waiting a few days for those new funds to become available.
Oh $#%! - how am I going to pay?!
The ever-appropriate phrase uttered by at least half of our research participants when they realized their balance was too low while trying to pay, forgot their Clipper cards at home, or lost their cards.
RESEARCH SYNTHESIS
Introducing the Driven Dragon
We took everything we learned from our research participants and imagined a very particular user, the Driven Dragon. This common and prominent Clipper user aspires to eventually set up Autoload after obtaining a more steady job/work schedule. They currently attend college classes and work varying shifts so their transportation needs are inconsistent.
Mapping the bumpy road
Once we established our target user, it was time to ride with them. We envisioned a specific scenario a Clipper user might go through with the present system to pin point exactly where any pain points pop up. A Driven Dragon in this particular instance is rushed and hustling to catch their train one morning.
They are already desperately juggling the struggle of walking briskly and sipping hot coffee when they suddenly remember the balance in their Clipper account is dangerously low. With their phone in one hand a commuter should be able to open the Clipper app, add the money they need, and pay the fare with their phone.
FINAL DESIGN & RATIONALE
LEARNINGS AND REFLECTION
Our initial assumptions…
We believed our research would inform us that Clipper users might want an option to pay fares with their phones and that the majority of them would set up Autoload so they wouldn’t have to worry about constantly adding money to their accounts.
We were wrong!
The majority of our research participants informed us that they were either currently or have at some point in time loaded money onto their Clipper cards as needed due to having an inconsistent need for public transportation. We focused on these users in particular to find a way to make the overall process of maintaining the balance in their accounts easier.
Speaking of the Driven Dragon
It was incredibly uplifting and inspiring to really delve inside the minds of Clipper users, especially those who add money as needed. Our persona, the Driven Dragon, strives to be the best version of themselves and works hard every single day to achieve their goals and dreams. They do not have the time to worry about paying for public transportation.