What does a transit authority become when there’s nowhere left to go?
SL – Stockholm’s public transport authority faced a growing business challenge: while its app offered a more cost-effective ticketing option, most purchases still happened through physical agents costing millions annually and revealing deeper issues of digital distrust, behavioral resistance, and uneven access.
Business Context
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, SL faced mounting economic pressure due to:
A 15–20% drop in weekly commuters
A ticketing ecosystem skewed toward agent-based sales (318M SEK in October vs. 71M SEK via app)
An extra 20 SEK cost for every 30-day ticket sold through an agent
Compounding this challenge was a highly diverse and complex user base, segmented into five commuter types—from “Heavy car users” to “Public transport ambassadors”—each with distinct motivations, digital habits, and access levels.
Fundamental barriers to digital adoption included:
Control & trust gaps (users needed visible confirmation of purchases)
Digital exclusion (especially in areas like Rinkeby with undocumented or disconnected populations)
Legacy trauma from failed digital systems and inconsistent information
This wasn’t just about shifting sales, it was about reshaping mobility behavior in a fragmented, post-pandemic city.
Primary User Research
Executed targeted usability interviews with 5 Swedish participants representing core demographic (tech-savvy professionals aged late 20s to mid-30s). Semi-structured interviews with think-aloud protocol revealed critical insight: 60% prefer guest checkout, directly contradicting Dustin's mandatory account creation approach.
Empathy Mapping & Insight Synthesis
Created individual empathy maps for each participant using D.School methodology, then synthesized findings to identify common pain points: fear of not getting value for money, lack of emotional connection with brand, checkout complexity, and insufficient product reviews.
Competitive Benchmarking Analysis
Systematically analyzed Dustin against four major Swedish competitors (Komplett, Webhallen, Elgiganten, Inet) across six critical usability criteria. Data revealed clear competitive disadvantage with three competitors fully implementing checkout best practices while Dustin significantly lagged.
Three-Pillar Solution Framework
Developed comprehensive improvement strategy addressing:
Emotional design enhancement
Delayed account creation implementation
Strategic review system integration - Created detailed implementation roadmap with Trustpilot integration for immediate impact.