EcoLoco
Gamifying Sustainable Mobility
Product design
EcoLoco stands for Eco Friendly Locomotion, which is what this product aims to do by gamifying sustainable mobility. It encourages people to use more sustainable modes of transport by giving them points based on the amount of carbon they save from going into the atmosphere. The user can compete against their friends to see who can score the most points in a given period, all in the name of being more eco-friendly.
Introduction & Problem Statement
Why EcoLoco?
Rising environmental concerns around carbon emissions and the limitations of mass adoption of electric vehicles/synthetic fuels compelled a search for immediate, accessible strategies for sustainable urban mobility.
The Challenge
Most current mobility solutions require complex infrastructure and significant investment. There is a gap in helping everyday users make immediate, incremental sustainable choices with practical guidance and motivation.
The Goal
Create a digital product that helps individuals choose eco-friendly routes, incentivizes sustainable travel, and educates users on reducing their transport-related carbon footprint.
Research & Benchmarking
Market & Context
Global Urban Growth and Pressure on Cities: Cities are under increasing pressure as urban populations grow, intensifying the need for efficient urban mobility networks. Urban transport solutions must address congestion, pollution, and equitable access for all residents, especially in rapidly expanding regions such as India, which recently became the world’s most populous country.
Transport’s Role in Emissions: Road transport alone accounts for around 69% of global transportation emissions, making it a primary focus area for sustainability initiatives. The transportation sector contributes roughly 30% of final global energy demand and is a leading driver of climate change, which has led to greater urgency for decarbonisation efforts.
Shift in User Preferences and New Mobility Models: Generational shifts, especially among Gen Z and Millennials are driving a move away from private car ownership toward shared, flexible transport options like bike-sharing, carpooling, and on-demand ride-hailing. These services reduce emissions by lowering total vehicle miles traveled and supporting a modal shift to public and active transport modes.
Future Trends: Continued convergence of technology (autonomous vehicles, AI-driven route optimisation), policy (low-emission zones, incentive schemes), and user behaviour (urban living, digital adoption) is expected to keep sustainability at the heart of mobility innovation, these solutions are promising but currently expensive and infrastructure-dependent.
Competitive Analysis
Benchmarked against apps like Oroeco, Ailuna, JoeleBug, and Mobee, noting:
Oroeco: Tracks carbon emissions via spending; strong on data visualization, weak on behavior change motivation.
Ailuna/JoeleBug: Use community challenges, points, and social sharing; limited personalization and focus on US-based behaviors.
Mobee: Focuses on mobility options nearby, less on sustainability or rewarding sustainable behaviour.
Actionable Insights
Existing solutions often lack personalisation, immediate feedback, and incentives that encourage habit-building.
No competitor combined real-time route guidance, gamification, and actionable, localised maintenance tips.
User & Audience
Target Users: Urban residents, aged 16–60, interested in environmentally conscious living.
Core Values: Global welfare, environmental stewardship, open to change.
User Needs: Simple guidance, immediate feedback, relevant rewards, knowledge on making private vehicles more eco-friendly.
The Design Process
Ideation & Conceptualisation
Brainstormed digital interventions for everyday sustainable commuting.
Introduced gamification—challenges, points, achievements, social sharing—applied to commuting and green habits.
Outlined digital features: eco-route finding, emissions calculator, timely vehicle efficiency tips, social challenges.
Wireframing & Prototyping
Built initial low-fidelity wireframes mapping onboarding, profile creation, home, transit, ride-sharing, and leaderboard functions.
Iterated based on usability considerations (e.g., clear calls-to-action, progressive user onboarding).
Developed high-fidelity UI with a green-centric colour palette, minimal design, and iconography for wayfinding and feedback.
Gamification Engine
Designed a simple points system tied to real-world reductions in carbon emissions per kilometre.
Awarded bonus points for eco-friendly vehicle maintenance (e.g., emission checks, tire pressure).
Weekly leaderboards, personal goals, and social features to drive engagement.
Testing & Iteration
Approach to Testing
Heuristic Evaluation: Initial usability audit was performed using Nielsen’s usability heuristics, which identified potential pain points early in the workflow.
Usability Testing: Informal usability testing was conducted by sharing the high-fidelity prototype with classmates and design mentors, who identified issues such as information overload on screens, unclear onboarding steps, and imbalances in gamification features, guiding targeted design improvements.
Key Iterations
Onboarding Flow
Simplified language and re-ordered introductory steps to focus on value propositions before personal data collection.
Added progress indicators to help users understand where they are in the onboarding journey.
Vehicle Data Entry
Streamlined form fields for adding vehicle information—grouped related fields and pre-filled common options for faster completion.
Integrated contextual help icons explaining why certain data (e.g., last emission check) is needed.
Activity & Reward Feedback
Enhanced real-time feedback after sustainable trips by making praise messages more prominent and adding visual cues (badges, CO₂ metrics).
Refined progress dashboards to show daily, weekly, and cumulative achievements in a more digestible format.
Error Handling
Improved user prompts when GPS tracking or verification fails, including step-by-step troubleshooting guidance.
Introduced safeguards for suspected dishonest activity (e.g., route anomalies or fake ride-sharing scans).
Accessibility & Inclusivity
Adjusted colour contrasts and button sizes based on WCAG recommendations.
Ensured all interactive elements are reachable via screen readers and keyboard navigation.
Final Solution
User Onboarding
The onboarding process guides new users through the app’s core value propositions
Homepage
The homepage serves the purpose of sharing the user's progress through a dashboard summarising points, weekly performance, goals and leaderboards, while also providing automated prompts for emission checks, tire pressure, and service - earning the user more points.
It also serves as an entry point to Eco-Friendly Routing.
Eco-friendly Routing
Smart suggestions for public transport, walking, cycling, and carpooling, with real-time CO2 savings estimates.
Leaderboard & Social
The profile page shows the user their all-time stats, weekly goal settings and friends.
The Activity section shows the user a more elaborate leaderboard. There is also a friends section for the user to compare their scores with their friends and add new friends.
Learnings
Ownership: Leading all stages from research to ideation to testing taught me the value of understanding each stage of digital product development.
Broadening Scope: Unlike previous projects where I focused on specific tasks, this experience allowed me to engage with the full spectrum of the design and development process.
Attention to Detail: Addressing the initial gaps in the project's execution highlighted the importance of thoroughness and iterative improvement.
Continuous Learning: Each revisit revealed new areas for enhancement, reinforcing the idea that learning and refining are ongoing processes.
