Mobile application for bus operations controlled by passengers: A user experience design project (UX)

The bus system accounts for a significant part of trips in the city of Sao Paulo. However, in recent years the percentage of users has been falling concerning the growth modes such as individual transport and the new modes of transport on-demand based on applications. The loss of attractiveness is associated with users' negative perceptions of the quality of the service provided. One of the complaints is the recurring occurrences of buses that do not halt at the stop, even when the user signals his intention to embark or disembark. One way to address this problem would be to use technology like on-demand mobility services based on mobile applications. Although the idea itself seems to be simple, there is no report to date about a fixed route bus service that has implemented a bus hailing application that allows the user the possibility of requesting a bus to halt at a given stop. This paper proposes a new operation model of fixed-route buses that ensures the user requests fulfillment. The proposed model consists of functionalities that make the bus user visible to the operation, creating a more reliable connection between drivers and users. We evaluated the specified functionalities by a group of typical bus users in Sao Paulo, using a User Experience (UX) method. The evaluation clearly showed users' needs and desires regarding the features they would appreciate in the application. We collected clear evidence of the usefulness or not of the improvements suggested by users. Based on the study, we concluded that users agreed with the need to have greater control over their bus trips, in particular, to ensure that their intentions are adequately served and have a confirmation of the recognition of their requests. The study may become an interim solution that may be applied to existing bus services by taking them closer to on-demand services and MaaS (Mobility as a Service).