DigiMetro -
An NCRTC app
Delhi metro is world’s one of the busiest metro service provider and was established in 2002. The problem is that it has not been upgraded since then. I have identified the gaps in the current process and have been able to solve it by establishing a service design for it to be the one stop solution with the integration of AI, AR and UX strategy.
Project background
Delhi Metro and the Delhi Government announced the installation of AFC machines in all the metro stations making it easy for passengers to travel in a hassle free way with the help of technology. NCRTC with its new upgrades has been working on making the journey of millions of daily passengers seamless, however there are still many features that can give its passengers as well as the NC RTC as one stop solution and promise a data driven approach along with a diverse user base. Currently,, there is no one stop solution and passengers as well as the officials have multiple third party integrations, which makes users follow multiple approaches to complete tasks.
Empathise
Researched and took Interviews
Surveys, did desk Research,
Competitive Analysis and
Ethnographic research
Define
Analysed the data using various tools and turning them into personas, CJM and flows.
Ideate
Used multiple methods to brainstorm the ideas. The activity included existing and to be users.
Design
Applied design principles to create an application using Figma, Illustrator, and AR.
Test
Took feedback on design from various users to enhance the experience
Redesign
Delivered a final application with designs that tackle a users daily commute problems
Discover
<span data-metadata=""><span data-buffer="">After Kolkata Metro, Delhi metro was established in 2002 and has not been upgraded since then. I will be identifying the gaps in the current process and establishing a service design for it to be the one stop solution with the integration of AI, AR and UX strategy.
Delhi Metro is India’s largest and the busiest Rapid Train network in the entire country connecting the National Capital region to other satellite cities in India and continues to expand at a lighting speed
DMRC recorded 60.2 lakh passenger trips daily on an average pre covid, and on 28th Feb, 2022 despite no standing passenger in the trains, DMRC recorded 32.9 lakh passengers post-Covid.
-TOI; March 2022
Business model
<span data-metadata=""><span data-buffer="">Understanding the Revenue model
India’s large metro service provider DMRC has been impacting almost 1.9 billion people each year and number is on a rise. The funds were raised by Indian government and metro started making profit to repay the loan. However, due to pandemic the interest rates are going very high and NRCTC is committed on building advanced infrastructure. The services currently has no data collection system, and one service for all.
DMRC was launched with the main aim to provide a public service and be a non- profit entity supported by the government. Currently, government is following a 60/40 model where 60% of the total investment has been taken up as a loan and the rest of the money is given equally by the central as well as the state government. Apart from this DMRC has four main sources of revenue generation. However, the situation is getting worse as the interest itself accounts to a sum of Rs.4000 CR in March 2022.
<span data-metadata=""><span data-buffer="">Gap Analysis
DMRC attracts many daily commuters coming from diverse age groups, communities, economic backgrounds and motivations to travel. For the daily commuters, it becomes intuitive to take a journey, however, there are many who still struggle to find platforms, get confused with directions, spend a lot of time in the queue and experience various other hurdles while on their way.
20 years of providing fast and modern rapid rail service, there is still no one-stop solution for all the diverse user segments. With policies like Digital India and Make in India, our government still struggles in establishing a robust digital solution. In a world driven by data DMRC is currently missing a huge opportunity by not building an AI-driven, digital solution that would help passengers overcome their daily struggles and allow DMRC to find more opportunities for generating revenue by automating and centralizing.
Problems Faced By the commuters
1
Language and signage
There are 27% new passengers traveling via Delhi Metro every day. Many of them do not speak Hindi or English and hence feel exhausted while traveling via metro. Services connecting railway stations and Airports yet we lack a proper multi- lingual solution for our passengers. The signages are often missed due to the language and unawareness about the names of the places.
2
Navigation
Navigation is one of the most widely faced problem for passengers. Right from finding the directions to the station to identifying the correct platform, washrooms, trains going to the desired destination and father one's way out. Almost 50% of the passengers find it difficult to find their way within as well as towards the metro stations.
3
Long Waiting Period
From standing in long Que for security check, ticket counter, AVM for recharge to at the customer care counters for clearing doubts and purchasing new smart cards, results in overcrowding spaces as we as loss of precious time. The process gets very distressful for not only the passengers but also the officials and metro employees.
4
Non — Intuitive
It is commonly observed that many people find it difficult to effortlessly make it to the train and have to take multiple stops or even ask for help to reach their destination. This is mainly due to multiple trains running through the same station, different architecture and different names of the destinations. The signage are often lost amongst the advertisements and multi color outlets.
Problems Faced By the officials
1
Manual tasks
Officials at the metro station often use pen and paper for making entries, rectification of tasks as well as pass that on to the senior officials. This not only increases the time taken to complete the task, but also results in significant loss of data and efforts. Digitalising the activities that unite the passengers and the officials will help in an easy translation and make room for endless possibilities.
2
Loss Of Revenue
Delhi metro has been serving millions of users, but due to the Pandemic the revenues are not enough for our country to repay the loan as well as ever growing prime rate without borrowing funds from other sources. We are missing out on many opportunities without a presence of digital solution that could open new channels for generating revenues and automating processes.
3
Outdated technology
India’s biggest metro service provider and world’s top 10 busiest metro service is still using technology that was established either 20 years ago, or upgraded a few years ago. In a world driven by data and technology we are way behind and must find ways to adapt technologies such as Artificial intelligence, Blockchain, Augmented reality as well as machine learning for better experience and strategy management.
4
Environmental impact
DMC is actively working towards reduction of carbon emissions has generated a revenue of over ₹20 crore and creating positive environmental impacts with its Green Initiative encompassing of EIA, SIA, Clean Development Mechanism, Water Management, Use of Renewable Energy, Waste Management, Tree Preservation & Plantation, Green Building. Total dependency on smart cards often result in misuse and over production which can be replaced with smart solutions.
User research
<span data-buffer="">Based on the data received from various sources the problem can easily be defined as a wicked problem without being able to solve it with one point solution. Clearly problems are as diverse as the cultures of India and with multiple motivations and scenarios we will be targeting a segment of users for our digital solution <span data-metadata="">
Delhi Metro is India’s largest and the busiest Rapid Train network in the entire country connecting the National Capital region to other satellite cities in India and continues to expand at a lighting speed.
Observations
I made several trips to the
metro station to observe the
daily tasks while taking the
journey and users behaviour.
Survey
I planned and circulated
a survey which was filled
up by 100+ people who
use metro
Interviews
Personal interviews were conducted to identify the gaps in the system and get some deep insights on the journeys.
As a part of quantitative research I designed a survey to gather insights from people from various cities and countries. This helped me understand the problems they face, the visions they have, the journey they take and their ideas to imporve the system for riders. There were questions targetting people who use and do not use metro to identify not only how and why they use but also to understnd why do people not use metro and how can we encourage them to use public transports.
Ideate
Problem Statement
More than 80% of Delhi Metro travellers waste an average of 28
minutes daily in getting in and out of a metro station due to the
rush hours, overcrowded platforms and long lines at the recharge counters, entry/exit gates and at the platforms. Without having a proper internet infrastructure many people waste a lot of time waiting for their destination station and underutilise their precious time. To design an digital solution that would help the officials to invest less in metro cards and tokens, have a powerful cloud based technology that can store all the information at one place and help people with digital features that would make their journey less time taking and comfortable. To be able to identify more sources of revenue for DMRC
HMW + POV
Based on the insights from all our users and observations I tried mapping the statements to how might we be able to solve the current problems with the help of technology.
Goals mapping
Mapping goals for various users, their experience while keeping in mind the success of the business for a long term solution
Feature prioritisation
Deciding on features and placeing them based on the maximum user insights as to how to map them to give the best user experience
DigiMetro
Design
Design
More than 80% of Delhi Metro travellers waste an average of 28
minutes daily in getting in and out of a metro station due to the
rush hours, overcrowded platforms and long lines at the recharge counters, entry/exit gates and at the platforms. Without having a proper internet infrastructure many people waste a lot of time waiting for their destination station and underutilise their precious time. To design an digital solution that would help the officials to invest less in metro cards and tokens, have a powerful cloud based technology that can store all the information at one place and help people with digital features that would make their journey less time taking and comfortable. To be able to identify more sources of revenue for DMRC
Prototype
Test and conclusion
Test and Deliver
I tested the app with 12 users while travelling in metro to see what the feel about it. There were suggestions made with respect to entertainment section and how can we make the app interactive, how ever the users approved the flow and imagined their journey to be simpler if they use the app.
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Hope you liked it!