Rashi Sawant

RouteR

Mobile

Transportation

UX Research

UX Design

A smarter way around Rutgers. A centralized mobile app unifying bus tracking, parking, and scooter access for ~50,000 students across the 5 campuses of Rutgers - New Brunswick.

Timeline

Jan 2025 - May 2025

Role

UX Researcher & Designer

Platform & Tools

Mobile || Figma, Miro, Canva

Skills

Contextual Inquiry, UX Design

OVERVIEW

Problem Statement

Rutgers students navigated 3 separate systems: bus tracking, parking, and scooters, with no unified solution. Inconsistent arrival times, confusing signs, and low scooter awareness made daily commuting unnecessarily stressful.

Main Solutions

Streamlined access to updated transportation information.

Centralized all transportation modes in one app.

Supported real-time updates & personalization.

RESEARCH

Methods

Research was conducted using two complementary methods to understand how students, faculty, and visitors navigate campus in real-world environments. Instead of relying only on controlled testing, the study focused on observing natural user behaviors, identifying navigation challenges, and uncovering contextual factors that influence navigation decisions.

Resume

Usability Studies

Evaluated existing navigation apps by measuring user satisfaction, identifying common errors across key scenarios.

Ethnography

Observed how users interacted with transit systems in real-world contexts, identifying behaviors, routines, and decision-making.

Observed how users interacted with transit systems in real-world contexts, identifying decision-making patterns.

Participants

On Campus Students

Typically bus or scooter users.

Off Campus Commuters

Parking and bus dependent users.

Faculty & Staff

Need efficient parking and transit info.

Need efficient parking & transit info.

Need efficient parking and transit info.

KEY INSIGHTS

Findings across all three transit modes revealed consistent pain points regardless of transportation type. Users repeatedly expressed the need for reliable real-time updates, clearer visual information, and a centralized platform where routes, schedules, navigation, and service alerts could be accessed in one place. These common themes became the foundation for the final design direction.

Bus - trust & visibility

Users couldn't rely on arrival times and struggled to interpret route maps, especially keeping up with ~13 different bus routes. Visual ETA and color-coded routes were the most requested improvements.

Parking - real-time availability & rules

No live lot data forced users to circle and guess. In addition to this, much of the parking information was located on different websites, with many sections to look through. Visitors or non-pass holders often expressed confusion in the process.

Scooters - awareness & safety

Many users didn't know the scooter app existed, however this could be due to the fact that they were added only 4-5 years prior to testing. Those who did raised safety concerns. Discoverability and reservation clarity were prioritized.

DESIGN

Navigation

Research revealed two distinct mental models among users: those who navigate spatially, and those who prefer structured or sequential information. Rather than forcing a single pattern, we designed two layers of navigation to serve both.

Primary Navigation - Hamburger Menu

A single hamburger menu gives access to all five sections of the app: Bus, Parking, Scooter, Information, and Profile. Kept at the top level so users can always orient themselves regardless of where they are.

Secondary Navigation - Bottom Bar (bus only)

Within the bus section, a bottom navigation bar surfaces three views: Routes, Map, and Saved. This is applied to the bus section specifically because bus is the most complex section with the most distinct user needs.

Home Page

EFFICIENCY

Quick Access

Single-tap entry to bus, parking, and scooter removes the need to navigate through menus for daily or common tasks.

Redesigned the “Start New Experiments” flow using progressive disclosure, reducing task completion time by 37% through user testing.

JAKOB'S LAW

Search Bar

Prominent search allows users to quickly find stops, lots, or scooters without knowing which section to navigate to first; set up similar to other navigation apps.

Streamlined experiment reporting with consolidated views and enhanced tracking through In-Progress Experiments and Key Insights.

ACCESSIBILITY

Campus Selecter

Dropdown to choose campus ensures users across all 5 Rutgers campuses see relevant data immediately.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

CONTEXT

Live Map & Pinned Locations

Location-aware preview with recent searches and pinned spots surfaces the most relevant info without a search.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

RECOGNITION

Color Coding

Instantly recognizable visual indicators reduce cognitive load and speed up wayfinding across transit modes.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

Profile Page

PERSONALIZATION

Identity

Allowing users to set a name, photo, and bio gives them ownership over their presence, important for community features where trust between users matters.

Redesigned the “Start New Experiments” flow using progressive disclosure, reducing task completion time by 37% through user testing.

REDUCED FRICTION

Settings

Consolidating preferences and version info into one place reduces the cognitive load of locating controls, which was a common pain point surfaced during the UX audit.

Streamlined experiment reporting with consolidated views and enhanced tracking through In-Progress Experiments and Key Insights.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

Community Settings

Research showed users valued peer-sourced transit info. The profile connects personal identity to community participation, adding credibility to user-generated content.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

SCALABILITY

Future Features

Establishing a profile structure early creates the architecture needed for personalization features like notification settings, and accessibility options later on.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

RECOGNITION

Progressive Completion

Profile pages work best when they don't demand everything upfront. Letting users fill in details over time reduces drop-off and lets them build comfort with a new product.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

Bus Section

MAP TAB - VISUAL LEARNERS

Live Route Map

To/from search, clickable routes, multi-route selection, and bus arrows that reveal upcoming stops and timing on tap.

Redesigned the “Start New Experiments” flow using progressive disclosure, reducing task completion time by 37% through user testing.

ROUTES TAB - SEQUENTIAL LEARNERS

List & Live ETA

All routes listed with stops in order. Tapping a stop shows the next 7 arrivals; tapping a bus shows ETA per stop.

Streamlined experiment reporting with consolidated views and enhanced tracking through In-Progress Experiments and Key Insights.

SAVED TAB

Favorite Routes

Saved routes shown on map with one-tap access to schedule which removes daily friction for students on fixed commutes.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

Scooter Section

DISCOVERABILITY

Nearby Scooters

Research found most users didn't know the scooter feature existed. A map-first view surfaces availability immediately on entry.

Redesigned the “Start New Experiments” flow using progressive disclosure, reducing task completion time by 37% through user testing.

NAVIGATION

Directions

In-app directions to the nearest available scooter reduce the gap between finding and using one. This is helpful for faster user adoption.

Streamlined experiment reporting with consolidated views and enhanced tracking through In-Progress Experiments and Key Insights.

FUTURE FEATURE

Veo App

Future plans of integrating the Veo app streamlines scooter access and payments, helping students view scooters as a reliable transportation option.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

Parking Section

REAL-TIME DATA

Interactive Lot Map

Live availability at a glance, this directly addresses the finding that users were circling lots without any information.

Redesigned the “Start New Experiments” flow using progressive disclosure, reducing task completion time by 37% through user testing.

VISUAL CLARITY

Available Icons

Color-coded open/closed indicators per lot reduce cognitive load of interpreting map density or text labels.

Streamlined experiment reporting with consolidated views and enhanced tracking through In-Progress Experiments and Key Insights.

PERSONALIZATION

Campus Selector

Filter the map by campus so commuters and faculty see only the lots relevant to their destination.

Modernized data visualization and workflows, introduced status/result tags, and added an action row to streamline user interactions.

TESTING

Usability Testing & Changes Needed

Usability testing covered all three transit features across multiple participants. Results drove the next iteration priorities.

Bus Insights

Color coding: routes well received

Favorites: useful but repetitive

Community: content reliability questioned

Color coding: routes well received

Favorites: useful but repetitive

Community: content reliability questioned

Scooter Insights

Map clarity: users found it helpful

Booking flow: smooth and intuitive

Color: minor confusion noted, consistent color will be implemented

Map clarity: users found it helpful

Booking flow: smooth and intuitive

Color: minor confusion noted, consistent color will be implemented

Parking Insights

Zoom & filters: users wanted more data and clearer numbers

Color consistency: users wanted to know the numerical spot differences

Zoom & filters: users wanted more data and clearer numbers

Color consistency: users wanted to know the numerical spot differences

FINAL STEPS & TAKEAWAYS

Designing a multi-modal transit system reinforced how much research method selection shapes what you find. Contextual inquiry surfaced frustrations that survey responses would have missed entirely, especially around scooter awareness and parking confusion. Working across a broad problem scope with a team meant defining scope rigorously before designing anything.

The biggest lesson: alignment on what we were solving was the research deliverable that unlocked everything else.