Customer-centric digital UX design for train operator c2c

We’re supporting UK train operator c2c to design customer-centric digital experiences as its UX design partner.

  • Supported continuous improvement to the user experience of touchpoints including website, app and ticket vending machines
  • Redesigned the c2c website and information architecture for seamless booking journeys, alongside a new design system to ensure brand consistency
  • Reduced queue times for customers at stations, improved information for leisure travellers and enabled the purchase of etickets
Happy passengers on a c2c train

The Challenge

c2c is an award-winning train operator running services between Fenchurch Street and Shoeburyness, serving 26 stations in East London and South Essex.

It’s also one of the UK’s smaller train-operating companies, competing against ticket aggregators for ticket sales, so needed to find a way to remain digitally competitive by improving the digital ticketing experience.

In 2020, c2c appointed Inviqa as its long-term UX design partner to help make continuous improvements to its digital channels – which includes c2c-owned ticket vending machines, a mobile app, and website. Our goal was to ensure customer have an optimal digital experience that drives direct purchases, minimises queueing at ticket offices, and keeps travellers informed about travel disruptions.

Inviqa has been working with c2c since, leading the UX and UI improvements for the brand’s digital channels and helping the company respond to changing travel behaviours.

How we helped

Reducing queueing and demand on c2c staff

The key pain points c2c was keen to address were queueing at the ticket vending machines (TVM) and staff time being taken up helping travellers purchase or print tickets. The company wanted to improve this experience – across all digital touchpoints – to not only free up c2c staff to focus on providing a better overall customer service, but also create a better digital ticket purchasing experience for customers.

We began by encouraging travellers to purchase and use a Smartcard when purchasing tickets online or through the app. This helped reduce the need for travellers to queue at a ticket vending machine to pick up tickets before hopping on the train.

Then we turned our focus to improving the experience at the c2c ticket vending machines themselves, running user research to gain a view into what was working and what wasn’t. We were able to identify several quick-win improvements that could be made to the ticket purchase UI and UX to speed up this journey flow.

This included making it easier to find and purchase the right ticket as well as aligning the information contained in confirmation emails and ticket printing prompts on ticket vending machines to reduce confusion. More recently, we added a feature to enable customers to purchase more than one journey in a single transaction, reducing the need for people to visit the ticket office.

People using a c2c ticket vending machine
Web view of updated ticket purchasing options

Adapting to post-pandemic travel

Early in our relationship with c2c, the train operator had to adapt to changing commuter behaviour post pandemic. The organisation needed to find ways to support new travel habits and encourage more leisure travel. So, we turned the c2c website into a hub of information for all types of travellers.

Just a few highlights from this work include:

  • Collaboration with c2c’s marketing agency on new station information pages 
  • A redesign of the Offers & Days Out section to inspire leisure travel 
  • Made it easier to purchase tickets via the website
  • Designed a service alterations page focused on immediate upcoming alterations to train services
  • Built a new Ticket Types information page to help people identify the best ticket for their travel needs

This year, a key area of focus has been on how information about disruptions is displayed on the website with the goal to create a more holistic joined-up view of everything impacting a journey, enabling travellers to re-route themselves so they can still get to their destination.

Adapting to changing technology

In 2023, c2c rolled out etickets, another move to help reduce the need for people to queue at ticket vending machines and provide more flexible ticket options to travellers. To support its adoption, we worked with c2c to improve the purchase flow for etickets via the c2c app. Other app improvements have included the ability to more easily request refunds, and access travel and disruption information via the app.

As c2c rolls out these new initiatives the website remains a key channel for c2c to communicate with travellers and ensure they have the most up-to-date information about travel and ticket options.

To best achieve these aims, we recently completed a full redesign of the c2c website alongside a review of the information architecture (IA). This has improved the navigation and booking journey flow and aligned the website design with refreshed c2c branding. We have also built a new design library to make it easier for c2c to manage the website and retain brand consistency across all of its digital channels.
 

A view of the c2c mobile app

The results

The improved digital experience means it’s easier and faster for travellers to purchase tickets online, use a Smartcard or eticket for their journey, and bypass ticket vending machines. Those who still rely on these to purchase or print tickets now spend less time queueing and more time enjoying a seamless journey.

This means that c2c staff now have time to support customer journeys beyond the purchase of tickets. They have the time to help those with accessibility requirements and provide a more safe and secure station environment.

Our customer-centric digital UX design work for train operator c2c is ongoing as we continually improve the digital purchase journey across the website, ticket vending machines, and app.
 

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