eFlow is the electronic tolling system on Dublin’s M50 motorway, introduced in 2008 to replace toll booths and reduce traffic congestion. Operated by Turas Mobility Services, it uses overhead cameras to automatically charge vehicles, helping fund national road maintenance.
Vehicles pass through the toll point without stopping.
eFlow’s current approach presents several challenges. Their strict policy requiring toll payments by 8 p.m. the following day has led to many unregistered users incurring fines and disputing charges.
As a result, eFlow faces a high volume of customer support requests and extended wait times for dispute resolution, putting strain on both users and the organization.
If tolls aren’t paid on time, users face increasing penalties and potential legal action. While the system is efficient in collecting tolls, many users find the penalties excessive, especially for minor delays or misunderstandings.
Combined with the lack of a mobile app and a confusing payment process for unauthenticated users, these factors have led to widespread dissatisfaction and damaged the public perception of eFlow.
The original scope of the project given in the brief was quite broad. The requirement of this project was to focus on how unregistered users complete three specific tasks: paying a toll, paying a penalty and opening an account.
After considering each task, it became clear that optimizing the account creation process was the most critical of the three tasks outlined in the brief. Encouraging more users to open an account would reduce the number of users who need to pay tolls or penalties through the eFlow website.
As a result, the project’s primary focus shifted to increasing account sign-ups by enhancing eFlow’s account creation experience.
I chose to use the double double as my design framework for this project. Following it’s simple structured approach provided me with clear milestones on my journey to defining and solving the problem.
The user-centered focus of the first diamond ensured broad and deep understanding of the problems facing the user could be attained. There is also a strong emphasis on continuous testing and refinement all the way throughout the process, which ensures solutions are validated effectively.