Anjali Kumar

Anjali Kumar.

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Redesiging Chalo’s home screen for 10M+ public transport users

Increased feature engagement by 35% while building a modular framework

OVERVIEW

Chalo runs in 60+ Indian cities. It helps millions get to work, school, and home. The app supports daily bus commuters with live tracking, digital tickets, and trip planning.

It's users span tech-savvy professionals to first-time smartphone users, each with different levels of digital confidence.

But the home screen treated every user the same, offering too much at once, with little context to guide the way. This redesign set out to fix that.

Chalo runs in 60+ Indian cities. It helps millions get to work, school, and home. The app supports daily bus commuters with live tracking, digital tickets, and trip planning.

It's users span tech-savvy professionals to first-time smartphone users, each with different levels of digital confidence.

But the home screen treated every user the same, offering too much at once, with little context to guide the way. This redesign set out to fix that.

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Redesign the home screen to be more intuitive for both first-time and repeat users, improving discoverability and use of key features so commuters can navigate independently, and with confidence.

THE BUSINESS ASK

Boost feature adoption

Increase engagement of core services - bus tracking, ticketing and recharge for regular and premium bus options.

Prepare for multi modal expansion

Build a modular framework to add services like metro and auto without full redesign.

MY ROLE

Led the redesign from research to rollout

Led the redesign

TEAM

Design manager, 1 PM, 4 developers

TIMELINE

6 months

IMPACT

35%

overall increase in discovery of core services

40%

more first-time users engaged with core services, 11% ↑ in multi service exploration

lift in repeat usage of existing users despite disrupting familiar patterns

week to integrate metro/auto designs using new framework

PROCESS STEP 1

Heuristic evaluation: Initial assessment of old homescreen

Surface-level clutter revealed deeper usability challenges. We uncovered gaps in navigation clarity, cognitive load, and visual communication, especially for new or less confident users.

DATA ANALYSIS

Data revealed a narrow ussage pattern

Most users either left or tried only one thing, often search (bus tracking). Key features like premium buses, digital tickets and passes, and card saw minimal exploration, for both first time & repeat users.

40% abandoned the app within 15s of opening app

50% of those who interacted only used search (tracking)

7% new users engaged with non tracking services

3% repeat users engaged with non tracking services

USABILITY TESTING

What happened when 10 new users tried the app?

Even basic tasks like ticket purchase caused hesitation in riders. Labels lacked clarity and unfamiliar terms like “Chalo Bus” led to second-guessing.

REDESIGN

Guiding principles for the design revamp

Clean & clear

Declutter to guide attention and reduce overwhelm.

Predictable

Help users know where to go, without second-guessing.

Inclusive

Ensure visibility, context and ease of use for all users

Build for scale

Create a modular system that adapts to city-specific services

EXPLORATIONS

Key design iterations

Iterations focused on visual and contextual cues while building mental models for quick access. A deciding factor was also scalability across cities have different features available basis Government contracts,

ARCHITECTURE

IA: Focus on contextual cues & quick access

The design approach was refined by building an IA that focused on discoverability and predictable navigation.

INTERFACE

UI Approach: Retain brand essence & add delight

The focus was to add real world images for quick associations, use global iconography and straightforward language.

A RIPPLE EFFECT

What started as a home screen revamp became the foundation for Chalo’s new design system, Voyage. It brought consistency, scalability and speed to future redesigns across 10+ products within 6 months.

REFLECTIONS

Simplicity takes strategy

Early on, I thought simplification meant visual refinement. But decluttering the home screen wasn’t the goal, clarity was. And clarity demanded decisions. What do users need first? What can wait? What deserves prominence? To answer this, I studied principles like progressive disclosure and tested them with real users. The validation was clear: showing just enough helped users feel more in control and less overwhelmed.

Process doesn't mean bureaucracy

The app has been around for 10 years, it’s legacy. Stakeholders were rightfully cautious about change; users had memorised patterns, and disrupting those could backfire. But data and structured testing revealed gaps too clear to ignore. I learned that even in a fast-paced startup, process isn’t a blocker - it’s what builds conviction.

Design lives in the field

No dashboard could’ve told me that users call the Chalo Card the “Red Pass.” I only learned that standing at a bus stop, mid-conversation, in the middle of Mumbai heat. That moment, sweaty, chaotic, and real, reminded me that design isn’t just about solving problems. It’s about listening. Stories from the field moved me in a way numbers never could. They didn’t just inform the redesign, they made me care more.

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s.anjalikumar100@gmail.com

सृजन् आनंदम्

“Creation is joy.” Everything I design is an act of joy, curiosity, and care for the people who will use it.

WORK

PLAY

ABOUT

RESUME

LET'S TALK ALL THINGS HUMAN

s.anjalikumar100@gmail.com

सृजन् आनंदम्

“Creation is joy.” Everything I design is an act of joy, curiosity, and care for the people who will use it.

LET'S TALK ALL THINGS HUMAN

s.anjalikumar100@gmail.com

सृजन् आनंदम्

“Creation is joy.” Everything I design is an act of joy, curiosity, and care for the people who will use it.