To learn more about the public transport in Lisbon, I conducted a comprehensive review of available documents related to commuting patterns and official reports from the Metropolitan Transport Company of Lisbon, the National Institute of Statistics and also reviews of the service available on the internet. This research was aimed at understanding the user experience surrounding mobility in the region, identifying usage trends, and pinpointing the main friction points for commuters.
<aside> 🚡 Current state of Lisbon's public transportation system:
****In Lisbon, the public transportation system serves a diverse range of users including children, teenagers, adults, and seniors effectively covering 98.8% of the population in the Lisbon metropolitan Area.
These users might be local residents of Lisbon or from surrounding areas, highlighting the system's reach beyond the city limits. The system is also a popular choice for tourists, who frequently utilize it to navigate the city. Commuting to work, school, or college are among the common uses of public transport, alongside its use for leisure activities. Additionally, the system is an essential means of mobility for individuals with disabilities or mobility issues, underscoring its role in providing accessible transportation for all members of the community.
Approximately 56.2% of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) population regularly spend money on public transportation, suggesting its significant role in daily commutes.
The research highlighted the elasticity of public transport demand in response to policy changes, with the implementation of a unified pass (Navegante) and fare reductions leading to a significant uptick in usage. These policy shifts resulted in a 26% increase in public transport use, revealing a strong user preference for cost-effective and convenient transportation options.
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<aside> 💰 What method do Portuguese people usually prefer for their purchases?
In a comprehensive overview, Marktest's E-Commerce Barometer for the first half of 2022 reveals that around 5.2 million people in Portugal engage in online shopping. This figure represents 60.9% of the population aged 15 and older living in mainland Portugal. The most common payment method remains the Multibanco reference*, used by 73.8% of e-commerce consumers.
However, MBWay** is rapidly gaining popularity as the fastest-growing payment option, witnessing a growth from 55.3% to 59.4% in this period. Other prevalent payment methods include debit or credit cards (58.9%), PayPal (39.3%), bank transfers (35.6%), and online cards like MBnet or Revolut (25.9%). Notably, Google Pay's usage nearly doubled to 4.5%, with new services like Apple Pay (2.7%) and 3x 4x Oney (2.2%) also emerging.
The study also highlights the Portuguese consumers' tendency to research and compare prices online before making purchases, with 94.1% engaging in this practice, a slight increase from 92% in 2021.
This data underscores the evolving landscape of e-commerce in Portugal, marked by a strong inclination towards digital payment solutions and informed purchasing decisions.
FIY:
*Multibanco Reference: A unique payment system in Portugal where you receive a set of numbers for online or bill payments. Payable at ATMs or via online banking, it's widely used for its security and convenience.
**MB Way: A mobile app linking bank accounts to phone numbers for instant transfers and payments. Enables money transfers, in-store QR code payments, and online transactions, offering a contactless, card-free experience.
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<aside> 🚌 How does Lisbon's public transportation system function and engage users with its passes and cards?
Users face a variety of choices and methods when it comes to purchasing and recharging their Navegante passes. While options like self-service machines, 'Ponto Navegante' stations in 18 municipalities, and Multibanco terminals offer flexibility, they also add layers of complexity.
Users must choose from multiple pass types, including monthly passes, single-ride tickets, and the 'zapping' pay-as-you-go option, each with distinct rules, pricing, and validity. This variety, while accommodating different travel needs, can be overwhelming, especially for those requiring passes for multiple transportation modes or with irregular travel patterns. Additionally, as reported, the process can be time-consuming and sometimes cumbersome, with long queues and multiple visits required for certain transactions, adding to the challenges faced by users in managing their travel needs efficiently.
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<aside> 🎟️ How do users experience and perceive the journey from purchaising a pass to actual commuting?
Lisbon's public transport users often face challenges with the Navegante pass, from purchase to usage. Common issues include long waiting times and insufficient staff at service centers, confusion around reloading pass rules and timings, and difficulties in transferring credits between cards, indicating a lack of system integration. These factors contribute to operational inefficiencies, mirrored in a low satisfaction index (11.9/100) on the Portal da Queixa. Improving customer service, clarifying processes, and enhancing coordination between services are crucial steps needed to elevate the overall user experience with Lisbon's public transport system.
Public transportation users in Lisbon are faced with several challenges, such as long queues for recharging passes, overcrowded vehicles, and cleanliness issues. The inconvenience is further compounded by the frequent malfunctioning of recharge machines, and the lack of a digital option for pass renewal adds to the difficulty. Additionally, the unpredictability of schedules can make journeys less pleasant.
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However, it faces adaptation challenges, particularly concerning the definition of travel zones and pass options. Users have to deal with long queues, difficulty in reloading passes, and there is a demand for a more effective digital solution. Lisbon needs to modernize its transportation system to better meet the diverse needs of its users, making it more accessible and efficient.
To study the scenario more deeply, discover, and validate the assumptions we had, we conducted a qualitative research. Due to the limited time for this stage (2 days), we chose to conduct an in-depth research with 12 users from different age groups, along with a workshop to understand their reality and identify existing solutions in the market.
<aside> 🚧 How do users navigate and overcome the challenges they encounter while using the Navegante service for their commutes?
To cope with the systemic issues, users often have to be resourceful, such as recharging passes during less busy times to avoid the queues, or seeking alternative routes to bypass overcrowded conditions. They endure the less favorable aspects of public transportation, such as malfunctioning machines and the absence of a digital renewal option, by planning ahead and allowing extra time for these eventualities. In extreme situations like being late for an appointment, users often resort to alternative transportation options such as Uber, taxis, Bolt, Cabify, and public scooters for quicker and more direct travel solutions.
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<aside> 🤳 What are the apps that people use as alternatives?
For finding alternative routes, passengers often turn to widely-used applications like Google Maps. This is because the official Navegante website does not offer this information clearly or easily, prompting users to seek out more user-friendly tools that can simplify their journey planning and provide them with real-time updates and navigation assistance.
During the workshop, one of the users mentioned that she had lived in the Netherlands and found the app there easy to use. We decided to include this observation in the analysis during the benchmarking phase of our research. Additionally, some participants mentioned using "Pick Hub" as an alternative solution.
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Now, the next step should be finding out how users overcome the challenges they face with Navegante
To deepen our understanding of the current scenario, we adopted a qualitative research approach. We conducted a two-day qualitative study with 14 users from different ages, using interviews and a workshop to gain deeper insights and identify existing market solutions.