An app developed to help drive behavioural change towards public transport

To influence the behaviour of the 50,000 daily commuters and residents in Sydhavnen, it's essential to create a preference and subtly encourage them to try the new commuting product, M4 line.

Therefore, the Metroselskabet opted to offer free tickets for the new M4 line. These tickets were distributed and managed through a single app, targeting three specific groups: local residents, businesses, and Copenhageners. Each group had unique motivations for downloading the app, granting permissions, using the app, and experiencing the convenience of Copenhagen’s most efficient transport around Copenhagen.

Given the diversity of the target audience, the solution required the best-in-class technology, a cloud Azure super responsive database and app architecture that was both flexible and built for the future.
The native app is built to be both user-friendly, featuring an intuitive design, and handle fully automated content flows to manage various permissions and ticket redeems seamlessly.

All efforts was made to ensure that the new M4 line was taken into use as much as possible from the moment the ribbon for the M4 was cut by our Danish King Frederik 10.

As an organization, Metroselskabet is new to permission marketing, tactical offers, and commercially driven products to the market. This project and the associated app brought a new level of value to both the organization and its many loyal customers.

Metro has an exceptionally strong brand, necessitating that the entire customer experience (CX) needed to be seamless and high-end as commuting with their driverless metro trains.

A significant portion of the collaboration involved strategic business clarification and consulting with both Metroselskabet and Metro Service, focusing on product distribution, value-adding services, and daily operations throughout the whole organization. One of the key phases was to secure effective digital governance of the product, including campaign supportive activities, core app functionality, email, and customer service in general.

Furthermore, the project aimed to educate and advise the organization on permission strategies and push marketing, with the goals of increasing customer loyalty, enhancing customer satisfaction, and attracting a maximum number of new users to the brand new Metro line M4—while simultaneously maturing the organization and enhancing its digital and technological capabilities.
And not least we needed to build a whole new IT infrastructure to fromAzure Cloud database and services, Agillic marketing automation, native App to IOS and Android operation system, microservices to support customer services and more.

From earlier expansions and the opening of new lines in Copenhagen, Metro has learned the critical importance of encouraging neighbors, commuters, and other target groups to try out the new line. This experience is essential to establish a preference and foster habits for commuting regularly with public transport. In summary, the sooner people experience the Metro, the more likely they are to become regular users in the future.

Our insights revealed that transitioning from marketing exposure to downloading the app and redeeming a Metro voucher required us to design the most seamless and intuitive user journey possible, and access to using the actual tickets instantly. The design process involved a delicate balance: minimizing friction to ensure ease of use and user compliance, while also activating the ticket and adhering to security and GDPR standards. The product and technology needed to be super responsive and able to handle many simultaneous requests to the database and from various users within seconds.

Technology: The solution architecture is build on react native app, Azure Cloud infrastructure and database, Agillic Marketing Automation to omnichannel service and marketing support, content and activation. Ticket vouchers is custom build and integrated into Agillic. In all a very flexible technical architecture to secure less friction and maximum performance.

Visual Design: The app’s design is deeply rooted in Metroselskabet’s new brand identity, featuring bold red colors. We merged their visual style with standard UI principles, ensuring the app feels like a natural extension of their brand and is easy to navigate. Creating a digital representation of their brand required building a design system from scratch, carefully balancing strong brand colors with effective UX principles.

UX Design: Our focus was on speed and simplicity, crucial for users in transit. The app opens directly to the ticket page, significantly reducing the time needed to activate a ticket and board the metro. To minimize distractions, non-essential information has been relocated to the menu. The app is also designed for one-handed use, an essential feature for users who may be carrying bags.

Onboarding and Personalization: The onboarding process introduces users to the services offered by the Metro and Copenhagen, streamlining profile creation and ticket activation for user convenience. Additionally, users can tailor their notification preferences and communication channels via the profile page.

Interactive Animations: The app includes animations that improve usability and verify ticket authenticity. When the phone is moved, the activated ticket changes appearance, providing visual confirmation for conductors. Tickets also "fly" onto the screen, mimicking the experience of receiving physical tickets.

Both Metroselskabet and users have provided positive feedback, affirming that the app effectively captures the brand essence and fulfils user needs. This success demonstrates how robust design and intuitive UX can lead to a successful digital product. The app has earned a 4.8-star review on the app store.

The M4 Metro ticket survey was distributed via a questionnaire to 5,400 respondents:

• 75% agree or strongly agree that the Metro tickets have increased their desire to travel with the Metro in the future.
• 80% agree or strongly agree that the Metro tickets have generally made them more inclined to use the Metro than they otherwise would have.
• 66% agree or strongly agree that the Metro tickets have led them to start using the M4 Copenhagen South line earlier than they otherwise would have.
• The app has maintained a 99.9% uptime during the period.
• Solution Architecture: Features an integrated approach to data and technology that effectively targets crucial demographics and influences their behavior over time, while continuously integrating new segments and value propositions.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: Improved due to targeted communication that can be personalized to each individual's customer journey.