A transport boarding experience improvement
May 2025.
My Role
I led the end-to-end design of the luggage declaration feature. I started by researching and documenting the pain points travelers faced at GIGM terminals, particularly the delays and surprise charges from last-minute luggage issues. I mapped the booking journey to identify the most seamless point for luggage declaration, designed intuitive interfaces with predefined luggage options, and built interactive prototypes to validate the flow.
Timeline
7 days
Overview
GIG Mobility (GIGM) is one of Nigeria’s leading technology-driven transportation and logistics companies, recognized for redefining how people travel across West Africa. The company operates a robust inter-state transportation network, supported by a mobile app that enables users to easily book tickets online from anywhere, eliminating the stress of visiting physical terminals.
Beyond passenger travel, GIGM also offers pickup services that allow travelers to board from multiple designated locations, further reducing travel time and congestion at terminals. Through its subsidiary, GIG Logistics, the brand provides a wide range of domestic and international courier services, e-commerce logistics, freight handling, and customized delivery solutions.
Since 2019, GIGM has expanded operations beyond Nigeria into Ghana, with terminals in Accra and Kumasi, cementing its reputation as a forward-looking African mobility platform. By consistently integrating technology into its services, GIGM continues to improve travel efficiency, customer convenience, and operational excellence for thousands of daily commuters.
Backstory
I first encountered the problem when I escorted a friend to the GIGM boarding station for an inter-state trip. The ticket had been booked online, and we expected the process to be seamless. But when it came time to board luggage, everything stalled.
My friend had excess luggage, and so did many other passengers waiting to travel that day. Staff had to stop boarding, weigh bags, calculate additional charges, and figure out how to manage the overflow. What should have been a straightforward process turned into hours of wasted time. To make matters worse, we eventually had to pay a large sum to have some items waybilled separately, on top of the ticket cost.
This experience made me realize that while online booking had solved the issue of queuing for tickets, the luggage process was still stuck in the past. The lack of a system to declare luggage upfront created stress for passengers, inefficiency for staff, and unexpected costs for both sides.
That insight became the spark for my solution: a Luggage Declaration Feature within the booking flow. By allowing passengers to declare their luggage in advance—and make any extra payments at the same time as ticket booking—GIGM could reduce boarding delays, improve operational planning, and create a more transparent, seamless experience for travelers.
Problem indentified
While GIGM had already simplified ticket booking through its mobile app, one critical gap still slowed down the overall travel experience: luggage declaration only happened at the terminal. On travel days, passengers would arrive ready to board, only to be delayed by long queues as staff scrambled to register luggage, calculate excess charges, and arrange for extra buses when space ran out.
Breakdown
Passengers only declared luggage at the terminal, leading to:
1. Long delays during boarding.
2. Unexpected extra charges for excess luggage.
3. Poor luggage organization and costly overflow handling for GIGM.
For travelers, this meant frustration, unexpected costs, and delayed departures—sometimes waiting hours before finally setting out. For the company, it translated into operational inefficiency: buses often left late, luggage was poorly organized, and excess baggage sometimes had to be transported in separate vehicles. This broken process stood in stark contrast to the convenience of online booking, leaving a major gap in the overall customer journey.
Solutions
A Luggage Declaration Feature integrated into the booking flow. This allows passengers to:
* Declare luggage upfront while buying tickets.
* See and pay for any extra charges in advance.
* Arrive at the terminal with boarding ready to go.
For GIGM, this means faster processing, improved planning, and more revenue opportunities, while passengers enjoy a more transparent and seamless travel experience.
Homepage
To improve clarity and engagement, I restructured the homepage around visual hierarchy principles. The most important CTAs; “Book Ticket” and “Book Flight” were given prominence to guide users toward primary actions without distraction. I also redesigned the trip suggestion cards, pairing destination names with descriptive images to make browsing more intuitive and inspiring. Finally, I introduced a news section where users can quickly access trending updates and relevant brand information, keeping them engaged beyond booking.
Impacts
These changes made the homepage more intuitive, visually engaging, and action-driven, ensuring users can find what they need faster while also staying connected to the brand.
Booking Ticket Flow
The ticket booking flow was streamlined to create a smoother and more visually consistent experience. Starting from the search page, users can now easily select their departure and destination locations, travel dates, and trip type in a clean, organized layout. The bus type selection screen was redesigned to feel more modern and aligned with the overall visual direction, making comparisons between options clearer. Finally, the seat selection page was enhanced with improved seat illustrations and intuitive visual cues, enabling users to quickly identify available seats and make confident choices.
Impacts
These improvements reduced cognitive load, increased clarity, and made the overall booking process feel more seamless and enjoyable.
Declare Luggage Feature
The luggage declaration step was carefully integrated into the booking journey to feel natural and non-disruptive. After selecting their trip details and seats, users are prompted to add their first luggage item from a structured dropdown list containing common travel luggage types, such as boxes, sacks, “Ghana-must-go” bags, or frames—each with predefined measurements attached. This removes the burden of manually entering dimensions while ensuring accuracy for the company, users can then add additional luggage items as needed. They can then proceed to review summary info displaying all declared luggage, associated dimensions, and any extra costs upfront. Finally, they review and confirm their luggage details before seamlessly proceeding with the rest of the booking flow.
Booking ticket completion
In the last step of the flow, users are prompted to enter traveler information along with next-of-kin details for safety and accountability. Once completed, they are presented with a comprehensive review screen that consolidates all selections made throughout the journey trip details, seat choices, declared luggage, and costs. This gives users the opportunity to verify that every detail is accurate before proceeding.
Finally, users select their preferred payment method and complete the transaction, ensuring a seamless end-to-end booking experience.
Impacts of New Flow
With the Luggage Declaration Feature, travelers can now declare their bags upfront while booking tickets. They simply add the number of bags, type, and weight during checkout, and any excess charges are calculated instantly and paid alongside the ticket fee.
On travel day, passengers arrive with luggage already accounted for, allowing staff to focus on swift verification and organized loading. This leads to:
Faster, smoother boarding with reduced queues.
Better travel planning, as buses are assigned knowing the luggage volume in advance.
More revenue for GIGM from accurately captured excess luggage fees.
Happier travelers, who no longer face last-minute surprises or long waits.
The feature bridges the gap between online booking and physical boarding, transforming GIGM’s service into a truly end-to-end seamless experience.
Challanges faced
Working on the luggage declaration feature came with a few challenges that shaped the final design:
1. Unreliable User Inputs
Many passengers may not know the exact weight or dimensions of their luggage when booking. Designing a system that balanced accuracy with ease of use was a major challenge.
How we got over this issue
2. Seamless Integration into Existing Flow
The new feature had to fit naturally into the current booking journey without overwhelming users with too many extra steps. Finding the right placement and hierarchy in the flow was crucial.
How we got over this issue
We carefully positioned the luggage declaration step immediately after seat selection and before payment, ensuring it felt like a natural part of the booking process. To prevent friction, we used simple dropdowns with prefilled dimensions for common luggage types, reducing manual input and keeping the flow quick and intuitive.
2. Business Alignment
The solution needed to strike a balance between improving customer experience and meeting business goals like increasing revenue from excess luggage charges and reducing operational delays.
How we tackled this issue
We balanced customer needs with business goals by creating a system that not only streamlined boarding but also captured additional revenue from excess luggage payments upfront. On the backend, staff received a clear luggage manifest, improving operational planning. This alignment ensured the feature delivered value for both users and the company.
Next Steps
While the luggage declaration feature significantly improves the booking and boarding experience, there are key steps to take before a full rollout:
1. User Testing & Feedback
Conduct moderated usability testing with travelers who frequently book tickets through the GIGM mobile app.
Focus on how easily they can declare luggage, understand extra charges, and complete their booking without confusion.
Gather feedback on whether the process feels like an improvement or an added burden.
2. Pilot Rollout
Test the feature on a small set of high-traffic routes to measure its real-world impact on boarding time and customer satisfaction.
Use operational data to verify if advance luggage declarations reduce delays and improve luggage management.
3. Iteration Based on Insights
Refine the UI and flow based on usability testing results.
Adjust communication (tooltips, FAQs, prompts) to clarify weight limits, fees, and benefits.
4. Integration with Staff Operations
Ensure the backend dashboard for staff provides a clear luggage manifest.
Test how well the declaration data supports real-time luggage organization during boarding.
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