Holo Hele
Where's my bus?
Background
During my winter break, I took on a redesign project to enhance Dabus's usability, addressing challenges like confusing navigation and outdated design. Through user research and iterative prototyping, I improved the flow of each feature, introduced new functionalities like get directions, notifications, and modernized the UI. Now, both locals and new residents can navigate the bus system with ease.
Project Type
Solo Student Project
Timeline
Dec. 2024 - Feb. 2025
Tools
Figma
Discovery...
The current Oahu transit app is unreliable.
After realizing I had been viewing the wrong stop for an entire year, I was curious to see if anyone else was facing the same problems as me, a student commuter.
Solution
Streamlining Navigation & Enhancing Features
A well designed transit app should allow users to be able to have everything they need at the palm of their hand. In my design, I implemented essential features and improved existing flows and UI to make the app easier to navigate and give users more confident in choosing and finding their stops.
Smarter Navigation & Search
A unified search allows users to search in their preferred method without needing to go through multiple screens.
Get Directions
Real-time, step-by-step directions, ensuring you never get lost.
Receive Alerts
Don't want to be met with a surprise route shut-down? Holo Hele sends notification directly informed from Oahu transit center.
Organize By Stops or Buses
You can now save individual buses if you commute with the same bus daily.
Same Flows But Improved
It's just like the original app, but without the clutter and confusion.
Choose Your Language
Have elders or family members who rely on other languages? No problem.
Initial Dive
User Research
In order to understand users' pain points and to make sure I wasn't the only one facing them, I conducted extensive user research including:
8 Interviews
with college students, working professionals and elders who consistently rides the bus at least 3 times a week.
100+ App Reviews
to understand the most common pain points and what users are most frustrated about.
Insights
From my research, I uncovered these key insights:
Lack of Directions
Unless you already know which stop to go to, the app is basically useless.
Complicated & Unhelpful Search
Users have expressed how they do not understand the different search options (Stop No., Route, Headsign, Street Name) and asked why they cannot search by destination?
Inaccurate Arrival Times & Lack of Notice
Users have reported inaccurate GPS arrivals and lack of notice for when stops are delayed, moved, or cancelled.
App Crashes
Users have expressed frustration on frequent app crashes.
Outdated UI & Cluttered Map
Users have expressed the app to have an outdated design and find the map function to be hardly usable due to the number of pins that are on the map.
Lack of Different Languages
Users have asked for this function to be brought back.
Problem Statement
How might we design a more intuitive and reliable transit experience that simplifies navigation, clarifies information, and builds user confidence in using public transportation?
My Process
In order to avoid feature creep, which had been an issue in my first attempt back in 2023, I decided to focus on:
Setting up a Prioritization matrix.
Simplifying existing flows and synthesizing them with the new features.
Developing low-fidelity wireframes and presenting plausible ideas for feedback
Iterating on high-fidelity prototypes based on user testing and feedback
Prioritization Matrix
To avoid creating a budget google maps, I prioritized features that would actually address user issues.
High Impact
Low Impact
Low Effort
High Effort
Rate Rides
Dark Mode
Alerts
Multi Language Support
Fare Payment
Multi-Modal (Skyline, Uber, etc.)
Search by Destination
Trip Planning
Live Direction
Annotations
One of the biggest issues with the original app was the inefficient user flows and outdated UI. The search methods were fragmented and the map was cluttered.
You can barely see this button
Image takes up a lot of the screen and does not provide any information...
Refresh button/info is not prominent enough. This can lead to inaccurate info if user do not manually refresh when the system fails to do so automatically.
Maybe it can let users know how long has it been since its last refresh instead of making the button bigger?
Map is also very static and does not tell you any information about the stops (arrival times, names, etc.)
Again super cluttered + when u press on it there is not much info.
This is super cluttered...
Fragmented search options.
Fav button is distracting and keeps repeating
Simplifying User Flows
After mapping out the original flow, I simplified it and integrated the new features.
05 Reflection
What would I do differently next time?
What I Learned
Don’t jump into designing
As mentioned, in my second attempt I prioritized the ground works before designing which made the final product more polished and actually achieve its goal.
Document Everything
However, even if the second attempt was successful, I failed to document each version of my design which is very important in terms of showcasing my iterations.
What I’d do
Add More Languages
Currently the app only supports English even though users have mentioned using other languages that the app does not support anymore.
Conduct User Testing
One of the biggest mistake I made in my second attempt was not doing any user testing before going into the final design.
© 2026 Aveline Wang
Made with love and black coffee 🖤