TTC Connect

Product Experience

Problem Space 

Problem Statement  

The lack of Wi-Fi connectivity on subway trains during travel presents a significant problem for commuters, affecting their productivity, communication, and access to essential online resources.

Problem Background  

The target customers for TTS-Connect are subway commuters who face challenges due to the lack of reliable Wi-Fi connectivity on trains. If you are taking a ride from the first station to Downtown, that's around 45-60 minutes to get from Vaughan station to Union. That can be around 2 hours of commute every day for some people with no access to the internet. The problem is that current Wi-Fi availability is very limited and only available at subway stations, hindering productivity, communication, and access to online information. Through user feedback and market research, we have identified the need for a robust and seamless Wi-Fi solution on subway trains.

Research Insights

User Pain Points

We have conducted around 5 interviews and collected surveys from more than 10 people. The main pain points for subway commuters were the inability to access important online information, disrupted communication, decreased productivity, and overall frustration due to the lack of Wi-Fi connectivity on trains.

Supporting Data

• More than 90% of the people we spoke to mentioned that they are not happy about the lack of Wi-Fi connectivity. 
• More than 82% voted and shared during interviews that the absence of Wi-Fi affects their productivity to a certain degree. 

Feedback

Our preliminary user research to validate this problem with TTC commuters found that Wi-Fi connectivity on subway trains could significantly improve their ability to stay more productive, stay connected with their loved ones and have access to entertainment that requires internet connectivity such as Netflix, Sportify. 

Landing on the Solution

Based on our target users' pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features: seamless Wi-Fi connectivity with speeds up to 75 Mbit/s, robust infrastructure, easy authentication, and comprehensive coverage across the subway network.

Explanation of Solution

This will require building new infrastructure across the whole Subway map. We can easily start just with one main University line. It will require building Intener towers or stations on each subway station and then installing access points on each train. 

Future Steps

This is what we learned from speaking to customers: Wi-Fi connectivity is a critical factor in improving the overall commuting experience. As a next step, we plan to explore opportunities to partner with subway operators, TTC and big telecom companies to discuss the idea and conduct pilot testing on select subway trains to evaluate the performance and gather further user feedback. We then should extend the TTC Connect service to other modes of public transportation.”

Possible additional problems to address: Based on user feedback, we may consider exploring ways to integrate personalized content and entertainment options during the commute to further enhance the user experience.