Case Study – New Public Mobility (2025)

Analysis, Interaction Design, Research, Scribbles

Project: Customer Portal
Year: 2025
Description: The goal of this case study was to proof my design skills as a part of an application. I created a concept of a customer portal for young city dwellers.
Responsibilities: Research, Analysis, Interaction Design, Description of the design process, Presentation of the case study

Situation

In 2025 I applied for a job at a design agency in Berlin. To prove my design skills I needed to fulfill this design task with 1-3 days, which I did.

Task

New mobility services such as car sharing, car hailing, bike sharing, and e-scooters are reducing the attractiveness of public transport for young city dwellers in major cities like Berlin. The task was to develop a service that would make public transport more attractive again.

Action

Defining the target audience
Young urban dwellers

  • Ages 18–30
  • Digital natives, smartphone-savvy
  • High demands on UX, personalization, and convenience
  • Climate-conscious
  • High affinity for social media
  • Flexible lifestyle (switching between work, leisure, events)
  • Use of different modes of transport depending on the weather, time, location, occasion, budget, or mood
Defining the problems
Public Transport Big Cities City Dwellers
  • Alternatives are more convenient and/or flexible (car sharing, bike sharing, car hailing) or more fun (e-scooters).
  • Lack of reliability (trains/buses are often canceled or run infrequently).
  • The travel experience is often poor (overcrowded, broken air conditioning in summer, smell, monotony, etc.).
  • Poorer connections to outlying urban areas.
  • Sidewalks, streets, and bike paths are overcrowded – especially due to poorly parked e-scooters or shared bikes.
  • Despite new options, car traffic remains dominant in many areas – congestion, noise, and air pollution persist.
  • Many shared vehicles have a very short lifespan and incur high environmental costs in production and disposal.
  • Users often have to use multiple apps to access different modes of transport.
  • Transferring between modes of transport (e.g., S-Bahn to e-scooter) is often poorly coordinated.
  • Different providers, fares, and booking systems make mobility unnecessarily complicated.

Analysis

Comparison of mobility concepts
Costs Time Environment Fun
Public Transport € ⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱ 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 ★
Car Sharing/Car-Hailing €€€€ ⏱⏱⏱⏱⏱ 🌱🌱🌱 ★★★
E-Bike Sharing €€€ ⏱⏱⏱ 🌱🌱🌱🌱🌱 ★★★★★
E-Scooter Sharing €€€ ⏱⏱ 🌱🌱 ★★★★
  Public transport scores particularly well in terms of price, which can be an important factor, especially for young city dwellers. In terms of time, public transport and car-sharing/hailing are roughly on par, but this can vary depending on traffic conditions or other influencing factors. Both public transport and shared bikes are the most environmentally friendly services. When it comes to the fun factor, share bikes and e-scooters are clearly ahead.
What are possible fields of action?

Integration
Integration of various mobility services into the public transport service world (already exists → Jelbi)

UX Optimization
UX optimization of services with regard to target group-specific aspects (sustainability, savings potential, gamification, community elements, events)

Cost Clarity
Tariff transparency & simple payment models

Customer centricity
Personalized offers and services

Campaigns
Kampagnen für jungen Stadtbewohnende, um die für die Zielgruppe wichtigen Vorteile des ÖPNV zu kommunizieren (besonders auf Social Media)

Where are the potentials and added values?
Personalization One-App-Solution Climate awareness Motivation
  • Various route options (fast, scenic, sustainable)
  • Best ticket options
  • Discounts/deals
  • No more app hopping
  • Smooth switching between modes of transport
  • More transparency and comparability
 Transparent CO₂ savings
Tips and facts		 Bonus program
Challenges
Gamification
The app adapts to your own values, interests and routines – this strengthens identification and user loyalty. Less effort, more control over mobility – a modern user experience that fits an urban-digital lifestyle. Users experience themselves as active designers of a sustainable city. Everyday movement becomes an interactive, motivating and meaningful experience.
Which apps are already on the market?
  • There are many different providers of car sharing, car hailing, and micromobility.
  • Some providers already integrate micromobility and/or car sharing (e.g., Jelbi, Free Now, City Mapper).
  • Some apps are only available regionally (e.g., Jelbi), others in specific countries (Wegfinder), EU-wide in specific cities (Free Now), or globally (City Mapper).
  • Jelbi has one account for all providers (Tier, Voi, Miles, etc.); no redirection to partner apps is necessary.
  • City Mapper offers a public transport flat rate exclusively for London.
  • However, none of the apps offer a proper integration of different modes of transport for routes. There is hardly any gamification or sustainability aspects.

Result

What is the vision?

The app is the central mobility platform for young adults in big cities like Berlin.
It combines intuitive design with a seamless user experience and promotes sustainable mobility
through smart integration of other services and playful motivation.

 

What are the core ideas?

Integration
Public transport, car sharing, and e-scooters – all combined in one app, seamlessly. Planning, booking, and billing are integrated and intuitive.

Mobility as an experience
Challenges, badges, and a points program make mobility fun, creating motivation to switch to sustainable alternatives more often.

Climate-conscious driving
Users receive transparent CO₂ statistics for their journeys. Their savings become visible and motivate them to behave more environmentally friendly.

Community & Teilhabe
Results, progress, and CO₂ savings can be shared with the community – for inspiration, recognition, and a growing network of climate-conscious urbanites.

Attractive incentives
Sustainable mobility is rewarded through exclusive discounts for micromobility and a reward system.

Scope of the design

Due to the time constraints in this case study, I focused on creating wireframes for various concepts and features (personalized communication; access to the user profile; search field for entering destinations; display of CO₂ savings, challenges, and bonus points; Integration of social media elements).

Concepts
Concept 1

Personal Greeting: „Guten Morgen Sebastian“ greets the user by name, providing a friendly and personalized experience.

Profile Icon: Located in the upper right corner, it likely provides access to account settings or user information.

Search Field: The prominent search bar asks “Wo soll es hingehen?” (“Where do you want to go?”), allowing users to quickly input a destination.

Recent Search History: Displays a list of previously searched destinations (e.g., S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof, U Seestraße), along with distance information (e.g., 8.7 km), a small visual route preview, and a heart icon to favorite routes.

CO₂ Savings: Shows environmental impact by displaying CO₂ emissions saved in the past 7 days (e.g., 18 kg).

Bonus Score: Displays a points total (e.g., 90 points) earned since a specific date (15.02.2025), likely as part of a gamification or loyalty system.

7-Day Streak Challenge: Visual representation of a user challenge showing the days of the week. Completed days are checked, motivating consistent usage.

Navigation Bar: Contains three main tabs (Start, Tickets, Einstellungen/Settings)
Concept 2

Story Row: Horizontally scrollable story-style icons, similar to social media platforms.

Personal Greeting: „Guten Morgen Sebastian“ greets the user by name, providing a friendly and personalized experience.

Profile Icon: Located in the upper right corner, it likely provides access to account settings or user information. Contains an indicator that shows the user’s progress towards the next level (gamification).

Three Primary Metrics (in circular cards):

    • 7-Days Challenge: Shows progress (e.g., 5/7 days completed), visually emphasized with a circular progress bar.

    • CO₂ Einsparnis (CO₂ Savings): Indicates environmental benefit (e.g., 18 kg saved).

    • Bonus Punkte (Bonus Points): Displays the user’s score (e.g., 90 points), possibly linked to rewards or rankings.

Search Field: The prominent search bar asks “Wo soll es hingehen?” (“Where do you want to go?”), allowing users to quickly input a destination.

Recent Search History: Displays a list of previously searched destinations (e.g., S+U Berlin Hauptbahnhof, U Seestraße), along with distance information (e.g., 8.7 km), a small visual route preview, and a heart icon to favorite routes.

Navigation Bar: Contains three main tabs (Start, Tickets, Einstellungen/Settings)
Concept 3

Personal Greeting: „Guten Morgen Sebastian“ greets the user by name, providing a friendly and personalized experience.

Profile Icon: Located in the upper right corner, it likely provides access to account settings or user information.

Search Field: The prominent search bar asks “Wo soll es hingehen?” (“Where do you want to go?”), allowing users to quickly input a destination.

A segmented control with three tabs:

    • CO₂ Ersparnis (CO₂ Savings): Currently active, displays environmental metrics.

    • Challenges: Likely shows progress on weekly/monthly challenges.

    • Punkte (Points): Displays the user’s earned points or rewards.

Headline Statement: Celebratory feedback — “Super! Du hast bislang 135 kg CO₂ eingespart!” (Great! You’ve saved 135 kg of CO₂ so far!)

Badge Icon: Gamified element showing a badge or level (“2”), suggesting user progress or status in an achievement system.

Fortbewegungsmittel (Types of Transport): Visual breakdown of kilometers traveled with different transportation modes over the last 7 days.

Share Button (Teilen): Encourages users to share their CO₂ savings or transport behavior, adding a social layer and possible gamification benefits.

Navigation Bar: Contains three main tabs (Start, Tickets, Einstellungen/Settings)

7-Days-Streak Challenge:

  • Title & Dates: Indicates the current challenge period (15.05.2025–22.05.2025).

  • Motivational Message: Encourages completion — “Drehe heute noch eine Runde mit den Öffis und die Challenge ist geschafft!” („Take one more ride with public transport today to complete the challenge!“)

  • Progress Tracker: Horizontal day tracker (Mon–Sun) with checkmarks and a progress indicator. The current day (Sunday) is highlighted, and 6/7 days are already completed.

  • Badge Icon: Shows a “7 Days” badge, signaling what the user earns if they complete today’s ride.

Abgeschlossene Challenges (Completed Challenges):

  • Shows achievement badges for completed challenges.

  • Each badge is styled with a checkmark to indicate completion.

Weitere Challenges (More Challenges):

  • Shows additional challenges the user can work toward: T (Tram), 14 Days, 1 Month, CO₂ Hero

Points Overview

  • Headline: “Gesammelte Punkte” (Collected Points)

  • Large Score Display: Shows 90 Punkte, giving clear emphasis on total points.

  • Info Icon: Possibly provides more details about how points work.

  • CTA Button: “Punkte einlösen” (Redeem Points) with a shop icon, inviting users to spend points on rewards.

Points History (Historie): A chronological breakdown of point-earning events, supporting transparency and motivation.