Subway is supposed to be a sustainable, economical, and reliable method of commuting. However, shifting schedules, scarce locations, and the crazy flow of rush hours undermine such advantages. This project looks at a complete user journey of typical subway commutes and takes all the difficulties as design opportunities. The final solution energizes the user and adds some bounciness to the long boring subway commutes.

User Research

To understand what is happening in a subway commute, I went on a user journey trip and did a few interviews with the target audience. Access to subways station and navigation appeared to be the most problemsativ amongst all the factors influencing a commute.

If people within 30 min walk from the subway station could get to the station faster and more independantly, much more people will be covered.

Prototyping

I took inspiration from athletic prosthetics to create a personal piece that can help people walk faster and easier. A bouncy movement not only makes dull commutes more fun, but it also expands the active time during a subway commute, which has been proven to help reduce the negative psychological impact of commute.

Design Output

The final product contains an app and a wearable device. The device helps the user walk faster as well as providing intuitive directions through vibrations. The built-in app analysis real-time data from the subway system and figure out the best routines for the user to avoid crowds and arrive faster. Over time, the app can synthesis all the commutes data and find the most enjoyable routine for each user.