Caltrain Case Study
CalCompanions
Streamlining laundry tracking to save Stanford students time and energy
Responsibilities
Context
Tools
Outcomes
UX/UI Design
Product Design & Management
User Research
Market Analyst
Market Strategy
Team: 4 Designers
Duration: 6 weeks
Figma
Figjam
Procreate
Photoshop
Designed MVP
Received 8/10 rating from 25 user tests
Proposed Market Strategy
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Final Product
What is CalCompanions?
CalCompanions is a social app that uses the Caltrain to facilitate meaning connection and conversation with other commuters. It gives commuters the freedom to turn these connections to platonic hangouts or romantic dates. Ultimately, it provides a way for users to look forward to using the Caltrain everyday.
Connect with Communters
Find people to connect with not only similar interests, but also going the same Caltrain route!
Explore Exclusive Deals
Plan a Bay Area trip together with matches and ride the Caltrain to explore.
Gain access to exclusive deals and events from select partnerships with Bay Area businesses and organizations.
Feel and Stay Safe
Feel secure by matching with people who are verified with a recognized institution.
The Problem
Caltrain's Decrease in Ticket Sales & User Interest
Since the Pandemic in 2020, Caltrain's ticket sales revenue dropped from $103M to $43M, a loss of around $60M per year. Additionally, customer commuting 5 days/week dropped from 81% to 22%. The loss of fare revenue, agency contributions, as well as high electricity costs (the Caltrain just upgraded from oil to electricity) and low customer engagement has left Caltrain from $0 deficit in 2024 to a projected $77M/year deficit by the end of 2023.
Source: Caltrain Needs A New Funding Model, Figure 2
What do People Think of the Caltrain Post-Pandemic?
To begin, we focused on understanding how people currently feel about riding Caltrain. Why did some commuters stop using it post-pandemic? What were their experiences like? To explore these questions, we conducted our first set of human-centered interviews at Stanford campus and Palo Alto Station.
Our findings revealed that many perceive Caltrain as time-consuming with an overall unengaging atmosphere. However, we also discovered that some commuters are interested in returning, describing the Caltrain commute as an adventure.
Using the Naked Eye: Isolation on the Caltrain
Latching to "unengaging atmosphere", my team and I went out to the Palo Station one night to simply observe. We couldn't help but notice a particular trend: people, despite the influx, seemed more distant than ever. Detached. Isolated. Faces buried in screens, heads down, lost in their own little worlds, spread apart. On the train itself, the atmosphere was quite the same.
From this initial observation, we wondered if there's a social and isolation issue that keeps people from using the Caltrain.
User Research
Understanding Commuters
After noticing this trend on Caltrain Platforms, we went to the stations and started interviewing commuters to gather their experiences and insight. To prepare for our empathetic interviews, we curated a clean and clear script of interview questions asking about their daily commute experience and what they wish they had more of. From 20 interviews, we gained insight that many people naturally want to converse with those around them but don't have a good way to start, are fearful of awkwardness, and safety.
Potential
Social
Environment
Mismatched
Times
Social
Barriers
Opportunity Areas to Solve Isolation
The key opportunity for improving Caltrain lies in enhancing ways for commuters to connect and socialize during their journeys. With this in mind, I wanted to explore a new application or product that facilitates meaningful connections or eases conversations, ultimately encouraging more frequent use of Caltrain.
Meet Our User Persona
Upon conducting needfinding, I analyzed all of the insights to develop a user persona that best embodied my target audience's needs, pain points and goals.
Ideation
So Many Ideations!
From understanding our overarching user, my team and I brainstorm a number of ideas and concepts and organized it all on Miro sticky notes.
Converging to a Single Idea
After Ideating four main ideas, our team evaluated the feasibility, impact, user insight, and design potential for all options. Comparing all the options, we converged on the traditional dating/social app concept.
Interviewing 20 dating/social apps user to uncover what’s frustrating in these applications.
For this phase of research, we focused on understanding the dating and social app market, along with user experiences. Our goal was to uncover genuine user sentiments about these platforms.
Our key insights revealed that while these apps provide a great way for people to meet and take initiative, many users feel unsafe and overwhelmed. Additionally, a significant number expressed frustration, noting that people often come across as insincere or primarily seeking casual hookups.
Making a Value Proposition through Market Research
Dating/Social Apps are wide-reaching, accessible and conversation focused, but they lack clear safety solutions, potential authenticity, and meaningful and engaging explorations (outside their current models) that may help people connect deeper.
Turning Key Insights into Targeted Opportunity Areas
Guided by UX research, we identified three key user and market pain points—an unengaging, conversation-focused model, an overwhelming match pool, and lingering concerns about safety. We then transformed these challenges into opportunity areas for our designs, aiming to create a more meaningful, manageable, and secure user experience.
Here, we integrated Caltrain usage to these areas
Team Coordination and Feature Ownership
We divided tasks for focused feature development. I took ownership and led the design of the Exploration, Verification, and Caltrain-based Match Radius features, prioritizing simplicity and clarity to help users navigate through the app and understand that it is connected to the Caltrain.
Initial Feature Concepts and Sketches
Giving the complexity of the task, I broke all these features down in initial sketches and paper-fidelity wire frames. Using this helped to visualize each design when I started building on Figma.
Design Decisions
First — Simple Exclusive Partnerships and Exploration
CalCompanion's exploration page will only be accessible to users after they acquire a match and meet them at the stations. On the page, they will have access to a number of venues and events that are exclusive to CalCompanions users. Alongside filters and a search bar, users and their match have access to a shared planning pad were they can plan their trip together. Below are three iterations of this feature:
Ultimately, I chose a combination between Option 2 and Option 3 for its clear structure, visible filter and widget layout.
Next — Applying Saftey
We realized that even with facial, vocal, or video verification, many users still do not feel entirely safe. Some also feel that it breaches their own boundaries and privacy. Instead my team and I focused on institutional verification, through schools, workplaces, or other recognized places, to help users feel more secure. Below are three iterations of this feature:
Ultimately, I chose Option 2 for its understanding of hierarchy (where the user's eye is drawn to first), Vibrant and engaging background, and it's clear use of space.
Other Features
Match Pool by
Caltrain Station
Filter Feature for
Easier Explorations
Locked Events and Deals Until Matched
Design Kit
Reflection
Take-aways
Task Decomposition
This was an extremely complex topic for my team and I to solve, especially when the root of the problem we recognized was a social problem for the Caltrain (there's no quick fix). Given a complex topic, we did extensive research (desk, user, and market) to create a solution that might make an impact and increase ridership on the Caltrain. We needed to break down each research phase and design phase to be able to justify our solution comprehensively.
Understanding business goals in product development
This ensures that product decisions support key business goals, such as revenue growth, market expansion, or brand positioning. It also helps balance user needs with business sustainability.
Figma Mastery and Design Ownership
Taking ownership of the project pushed me to strengthen my skills in Figma, from wire-framing to prototyping, and gain confidence in making design decisions.,
Next Steps
Refine Designs
I would continue to refine the designs in Figma by following more structured guidelines, ensuring consistency and clarity. This includes improving the fidelity of icons and animations for smoother user interactions. Additionally, I would enhance the navigation bar for better usability and a more intuitive experience.
Expand User Testing
Although I conducted extensive user testing, we’ve only completed a demo so far. The next step is to simulate two matched users exploring the Bay Area using the product. This will allow us to observe real interactions, identify pain points, and refine both the design and business strategy through iterative improvements.
Or email syan204@stanford.edu