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60 second experience Mobile product Transit

Know what to do before
you step off the train

A 60 second experience, from the train door to the next ride. Last Mile prepares travellers before they arrive, then guides them in a glance once they do. It is built for people who arrive in a city or state they do not know.

Role
  • Product Designer
  • Solo designer
Context
  • KSR Bengaluru railway station
  • Self initiated concept
  • For travellers new to a city
Status
  • Designed screens
  • Interactive prototype
  • Mobile
At a glance
60s
The window this designs for
4
Transport modes compared
4
Core screens
10s
Decision time target
01The Moment

The best time to help is before they arrive.

After a long train journey, people may be tired, carrying luggage and rushing to their next ride. Instead of asking them to figure it out at the station, help them prepare before they get there.

Four panel black and white comic. Panel 1, a traveller arrives at KSR Bengaluru and asks what to do now. Panel 2, she faces a board of bus, metro, auto and cab with questions under each. Panel 3, map, transit and cab apps each solve one piece and leave the rest unclear. Panel 4, she asks what people actually need in this moment, and a note lists which exit to take, all transport options in one place, clear directions, and working with low or no internet.

So the product works in two moments

Before arrival
  1. 1
    Choose a destination
  2. 2
    Understand the options
  3. 3
    Prepare the route
  4. 4
    Save the information
On arrival
  1. 1
    Confirm in a glance: you are here
  2. 2
    See the exit
  3. 3
    See the transport

Who it is for

  • Travellers arriving in a new city or state, with no idea about the area.
  • It does not take passengers away from local transport such as rickshaws. It points travellers towards them and eases the unawareness of a new city.
02The Gap

Maps gets you there. The station still has questions.

Maps can say KSR Bengaluru to Indiranagar. The traveller still has to find the exit, the bus and the way to walk.

Maps

Destination → Route

Last Mile

Destination → Exit → Transport → Physical way

Maps solves the route. Last Mile solves the transition.

Today, travellers join the pieces themselves

TodayWith Last Mile
Looks around→Checks the prepared guide
Asks someone, gets a direction→Sees the exit
Asks again→Sees the transport
Finds transport→Walks the way

The aim is to make basic station to transport directions self serve. People can still be asked.

03The Insight

The information exists. The uncertainty is in the transition.

One evening at KSR Bengaluru, October 2025, I watched three small moments.

  1. 1
    21:14, Platform 7. A couple asked three people for the Majestic bus gate. Each pointed a different way.
  2. 2
    21:38, Exit 1. A ₹350 cab to Indiranagar, while a ₹20 bus ran about 90 seconds away.
  3. 3
    22:02, Gate 2. A traveller at 8% battery opened Maps, Uber, then Maps again.

Travellers are not short of information. They are short of the next decision.

So: prepare before arrival, and confirm in a glance after. Three observations frame a problem. They do not size it. That people have more attention before arriving than after is my assumption, not a measured finding.

04Principles

Three principles guided every screen

01

Design for the physical world

Say which exit and where to walk.

Exit Platform 6
Follow Metro signs, 200 m walk
02

Reduce decisions

Pick, do not type.

IndiranagarMG RoadKoramangala
03

Compare, do not prescribe

Show every mode. Let them choose.

Metro
Bus
Auto
Cab
05The Experience

Prepare before arrival. Confirm on arrival.

Here is the product, in the order a traveller meets it. These four screens were designed around arrival. The direction is to move the first two earlier, onto the train.

The Last Mile screens: destination first, a comparison of metro, bus, auto and cab, and step by step directions

The three core screens: choose a destination, compare the ways to get there, follow the directions.

Before arrival
Last Mile destination screen. Just arrived at KSR Bengaluru station, Platform 6, on time. A search field, then popular destinations Indiranagar, MG Road, Koramangala, Electronic City and Kempegowda Airport, then a news card and a ticket card.1
1 Destination firstPopular places before typing.
Last Mile transport options from KSR station to Indiranagar. Metro marked recommended at 40 rupees, 28 minutes, 200 metre walk. City bus 12 rupees, 50 minutes, 300 metres. Auto rickshaw 90 rupees, 40 minutes, 50 metres. Cab 200 rupees, 35 minutes, 100 metres. Metro selected with a Next step button.2
2 Compare modesFare, time and walk on every card.
On arrival
Last Mile step by step directions for the metro. Step 1 exit Platform 6, follow Metro signs, 200 metre walk. Step 2 buy a metro ticket. Step 3 board Platform 1 towards Whitefield. Step 4 alight at Indiranagar, Exit Gate 3, 50 metres to destination.3
3 Physical directionsNumbered steps from the platform.
Last Mile arrival confirmation. You have arrived, Indiranagar station, Platform 3, with time, distance and a map, and a Rate your trip link.4
4 ConfirmationYou have arrived.

The prototype in motion

Choose a destination, compare the ways, follow the directions, arrive.
06The Iteration

I stopped designing a transit app and started designing an arrival experience.

My first version looked like every transit app. A traveller does not want to explore one. They want to know what to do next.

V1 Search first
Search
→
Mode tabs
→
Route
→
Guide, buried
1
2
Search, tabs
Route
3
Guide
1Search at the top is hard to reach one handed.
2Tabs force a mode choice before comparing.
3The most useful part sat two taps deep.
V2 Destination first
Destination
→
Compare
→
Exit
→
Transport
V2 destination screen
V2 compare screen
V2 directions screen
1Popular destinations first, so less typing.
2All modes visible, so comparison comes first.
3Directions promoted into the core flow.

Still unresolved: search sits at the top, and Metro carries a Recommended badge. I would test thumb reach, and whether the badge helps or quietly steers.

07The Real World

How do we keep offline information trustworthy when the physical world changes?

Offline first does not mean offline only. Some information holds still, and some does not.

Stable, can be saved

  • Station layout
  • Common exits
  • Basic directions

Changes, needs refreshing

  • Bus routes
  • Fares
  • Service availability
  • Temporary changes

What the traveller sees as connectivity changes

Connected

The latest information, with its update time.

Weak

The last saved guide, with its date.

Offline

Essential guidance only: exits and directions.

A design direction, not built. Keeping saved information fresh is a future consideration and a validation requirement.

Local transport stays in the picture

  • Rickshaws, autos, cabs and buses remain part of every journey. The app does not take passengers away from them.
  • It helps travellers who know nothing about the city find them, and know what to expect.

Informed choice, not mode elimination

ModeFareTimeWalk
Metro₹4028 min200 m
Bus₹1250 min300 m
Auto₹9040 min50 m
Cab₹20035 min100 m

Prototype values for Indiranagar. The product makes the trade offs visible and does not decide.

What Last Mile deliberately does not do

A complete trip plannerHotel or restaurant discoveryLive bus trackingTicket bookingA replacement for Maps
08What I Learned

I started by designing a transit app. I ended up designing the transition between a train and a city.

The best experience is not always the one that gives users more information. Sometimes it removes the uncertainty around their next decision.

Design the moment, not the entire journey.

What the design shows

  • A destination first flow
  • Four modes compared side by side
  • Physical directions from the platform
  • A path from preparing to arriving

What still needs validation

  • Decision time, against the 10 second target
  • Whether preparing early changes behaviour
  • Accuracy of exits, fares and pickup points
  • How information stays fresh

My role

Frame
Turned field observations into a before and after arrival problem.
Scope
One station and one transition, and what to leave out.
Design
Destination, comparison, directions and confirmation screens.
Iterate
Moved directions into the core flow between V1 and V2, and worked through offline use and freshness.