Timeline
September 2025
Discipline
Team
Manvi Lakhotia
Raasta: Plan, Book, and Travel Effortlessly
Simplifying daily commutes in Indian cities
Daily commuting is often confusing and stressful. To complete a single journey, users have to rely on multiple apps for route planning, ticket booking, and last mile travel.
Most platforms fall short when it comes to reliable real time updates, especially for buses. Ticket booking flows are often unclear or break during payment, adding to the frustration.
As a result, commuters waste time, face uncertainty, and struggle to plan their journeys with confidence. There is no single seamless solution that brings all parts of the commute together in one place.
Hightlights
Why this project?
Raasta is a unified public transport platform designed to simplify daily commuting in Indian cities. Today, commuters rely on multiple apps for route planning, ticket booking, and last-mile travel, leading to confusion, delays, and frequent payment issues.
This project explores how a single, integrated experience can reduce stress and make commuting more predictable and efficient.
I led the design vision for this project, working across research, product strategy, and interface design to create a seamless end-to-end journey.
Key Insights from Competitive Analysis
No single app solves the full commute
Moovit and Google Maps help with route planning
redBus and Chalo focus on ticketing
Users still switch between 2–3 apps for one journey
Ticketing and navigation are disconnected
Route planning apps don’t support payments
Ticketing apps don’t help with end-to-end journey planning
Last-mile is largely ignored
None of the apps meaningfully solve autos, bikes, or cabs after getting down at a station
Real-time data is inconsistent
Live tracking works only where agencies share data
Bus tracking is unreliable or missing in many cities
Urban, city-specific pain points are underserved
Safety, crowding, and local commute behavior are not deeply addressed
Apps are built for scale, not for daily Indian city commuters
UX is functional but not supportive
Apps show information but don’t guide users
No conversational or assistive experience for confused or first-time commuters
Pain Points identified in Research
Commuters use multiple apps for buses, metro, trains, and last-mile transport.
Real-time tracking is unreliable, especially for buses.
Ticketing is confusing, with payment failures and multiple steps.
Last-mile options (autos, rickshaws) are hard to find or book.
Current apps have confusing UI, poor navigation, and limited multi-language/voice support.
Overcrowding in public transport is not communicated to users.
Onboarding Experience
A quick and simple onboarding flow that helps users set up their account, choose their language, and select how they usually travel. This allows Raasta to personalize routes and recommendations from the start, making the app feel easier and more relevant right away.
Home Screen – Quick Route Search
Users can quickly enter their start and destination points, get smart route suggestions, compare travel options based on time, cost, and crowd levels, and instantly view details or book tickets. Frequent routes are also suggested to make daily travel faster and easier.
My Tickets
A dedicated space where users can manage active tickets, access QR codes for easy boarding, track journeys in real time, quickly purchase passes, and review past trips, all in one experience.
Last-Mile Options
After reaching their station, users can easily find the best way to complete their journey by comparing autos, bikes, or cabs based on price, ETA, ratings, and availability, with options to book instantly or pre-book for added convenience.
Community
A shared space where users can carpool, discuss routes, report delays, and stay updated through route-specific conversations, trending topics, and official transport announcements, making daily commuting more connected and informed.
Saathi – AI Assistant
An always-accessible AI travel companion that helps users plan routes, check crowd levels, manage tickets, and find last-mile options through simple text or voice conversations. With quick actions, smart suggestions, and in-chat booking, Saathi makes commuting faster, easier, and more supportive.
Reflection
Key Takeaways
Fewer screens make the app easier to use
Keeping related actions on one screen reduces confusion
Clear navigation helps users know where they are
Simple buttons work better than long text
Good layout is more important than too many features
Showing only what users need saves time