Navigation & Accessibility
Directions are often unclear and use terminology that is unfamiliar to users who are not from the city.
Problem
NYC tourists struggle with unreliable transit, confusing station terminology, and apps that don't account for delays or offer trustworthy local recommendations.
Team
Solo
Role
UX/UI Designer
Duration
Jun – Aug 2025
Product
Transit Pal is a tourist-focused NYC transit app featuring Safe Arrival mode, curated local recommendations, and an integrated AI chatbot to help visitors navigate the city stress-free.
Goal
Design a tourist-friendly transit app that solves navigation confusion, accounts for delays, simplifies payment, and surfaces local recommendations — all in one place.
Responsibilities
UX Research • User Interviews • Competitive Analysis • Wireframing • Prototyping • High-Fidelity Mockups
01 Research
Interviewing tourists to discover their pain points.
I interviewed four non-native New Yorkers in their 20s who had previously visited NYC, gathering their tourist pain points and organizing them into four key categories.
"My stop was skipped so many times because I accidentally got on the express train, not knowing it was different from the local."
"I'm always confused by terms like 'uptown' vs. 'downtown' or 'Queens-bound' vs. 'Brooklyn-bound.' I'm not familiar with the city's geography."
Competitive analysis of existing transit apps.
Before designing my app, I conducted a SWOT analysis of popular tourist transit apps to discover effective features as well as where they fell short for tourists' needs.
Competitive analysis revealed that existing transit apps are not tailored to the needs of tourists. They often fail to explain city-specific terminology, account for delays, or provide recommendations relevant to users.
02 Define
Identifying four main pain points.
Through interviews and competitive analysis, I was able to identify and group the issues into four key pain points:
Timing & Scheduling
Delays and transfer times are often unaccounted for on transit apps, causing users to arrive late.
Payment
Payment methods and reload options for MetroCards and OMNY are unclear.
Recommendations & Discovery
Tourists lack curated discovery options in current navigation apps.
With these ideas, I kept a primary objective in mind:
How might I design a tourist-friendly transit app that addresses these pain points and meets the unique needs of users unfamiliar with New York City?
03 Ideation
I began brainstorming features that targeted each of these pain points.
Navigation & Accessibility
- Natural language AI chat bot
- Pop-up messages that explain unfamiliar concepts and accessible stations
Timing & Scheduling
- Safe Arrival mode that adds buffer time to commutes
- Include walking times for transfers and exiting
- Simplify delay/alert descriptions
Payment
- Access to transit cards and add money to OMNY card from app
- Pop-up notification to explain payment methods
Recommendations & Discovery
- Recommendations on home page
- Sections for tourists with different interests (local spots, landmarks)
- AI chat bot can give recommendations and create itineraries
04 Design
Sketches and wireframes.
Home Screen:
I started with a map-first home screen for quick transit access — but after reconsidering tourist needs, I redesigned it to combine recommendations with navigation, giving users flexibility based on their goal.
Pain Points Addressed: Navigation & Accessibility · Recommendations & Discovery
Nav Bot Screen:
I integrated an AI chatbot to support commuters encountering unpredictable issues like delays, missed trains, or construction, where quick help isn't always available. NavBot lets users ask real-time, specific questions and get instant, tailored responses.
When designing NavBot's interface, I wanted to make it feel like a messaging app, as if the user were texting a friend, and included suggested prompts to guide user interaction. I experimented with different layouts to optimize usability:
Pain Points Addressed: Navigation & Accessibility · Recommendations & Discovery
Directions Page:
When designing the directions page, I wanted to include a Safe Arrival feature that added buffer time to the commute that accounted for delays, walking, and missed transfers. Including pop-up notifications about city-specific terminology, delays, construction, how to pay, etc. directly into the commute would allow users to better understand their journey as they are traveling to their destination.
I also experimented with different layouts for displaying multiple commutes:
Pain Points Addressed: Navigation & Accessibility · Timing & Scheduling
Recommendations Page:
Tourists visit New York City for many reasons — to sightsee, try new restaurants, or explore fun activities. To accommodate different types of users, I designed a recommendations page organized into six main categories, ranging from local favorites to major attractions. This structure helps users quickly find what they're looking for without endlessly scrolling through options.
Pain Points Addressed: Recommendations & Discovery
Profile Page:
Currently, there is no app that allows users to add money to their OMNY cards. Commuters have to visit the OMNY website or use subway kiosks. To streamline the transit payment process, I designed a feature that lets users link their OMNY card directly to their profile. This allows them to easily add funds and track their commuting expenses all in one place.
Pain Points Addressed: Payment
Choosing a color palette.
My goal was to create a navigation experience that feels trustworthy, confident, and calm. I tied the design back to the MTA by using a blue reminiscent of its logo.
Primary Colors
2E5AAC
B8D1FF
2E4060
Secondary Colors
FFB347
F5F5F5
9E0D0D
0D9E12
000000
FFFFFF
SF Pro
Heading 1 Body Medium
Heading 2 Body Regular
Heading 3 Body Light
05 Solution
Transit Pal - Main Screens
- Homepage: Search bar and discovery feature
- Saved: Upcoming and past journeys, plus saved locations
- Departures: Real-time schedules for nearby transportation
- Profile: Travel cards to manage funds and track transit spending
Directions Made Easy
- Smart notifications with tips and insights tourists might not know
- Safe Arrival Mode that adds buffer time for delays and walking
- Multi-trip planning to combine several trips into one journey
Departures Near You
- Schedule widgets showing transportation times and routes
- Favorite train and bus lines for quick access to your most frequent trips
- Live status updates and crowd meter to help you plan ahead
NavBot
- Ask any question in natural language
- Get immediate responses for emergencies and in-trip assistance
- Receive personalized tips based on your journey
Recommendations
- Various recommendations ranging from local favorites to popular must-sees, tailored to every tourist's needs
- Featured spots for when you're unsure where to go
- Ratings to guide your decisions
06 Impact
Possible metrics to measure impact.
While I developed Transit Pal independently, if I were approaching it from the perspective of a design team, to determine if the app met its intended goals, I would track metrics such as:
Navigation & Accessibility Metrics
- Successful trip completion rate
- Reduced navigation errors
- Arrival time accuracy
Timing & Scheduling Metrics
- Accuracy of displayed arrival times vs. actual
- Percent of users who found pop-ups helpful
- Number of users arriving on time
Payment Metrics
- Number of users linking and managing travel cards
- Percent of users who found payment reloading useful and easy
- Reduced use of physical kiosks
Recommendations & Discovery Metrics
- Recommendations engagement rate
- Percent of users who go to a recommended location
07 Reflection
My takeaways.
Transit Pal was my first project that I designed entirely from scratch. I went through a lot of trial and error to create a cohesive and intuitive design. Sometimes, I would take a prototype all the way to completion, only to realize a page needed a full redesign. I really enjoyed the freedom of building my own app, exploring research and prototyping, and sharing ideas with my peers.
My next steps.
There are still many ideas I would like to expand upon with Transit Pal. I wanted to make the app more personal, including an onboarding screen to record users' trip goals and interests to tailor their recommendations. I also hope to add a system that adjusts schedules automatically, notifying users if they haven't left a location or if later events require time shifts.
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