MakeMyTrip

Woman-First: Making the Bus Booking Experience Safer and Better

Context

MakeMyTrip is India’s largest online travel platform and one of its most trusted brands. As someone who has solo-traveled across India, I noticed something missing in the bus booking experience. The flow was smooth, but for women traveling alone, it lacked reassurance.

I spoke to colleagues, friends, and relatives who frequently travel by bus, and their experiences echoed mine. That led me to dig deeper and speak with real users to understand the gap.

Over 12 months, this initiative improved women’s booking completion rate by 12%, all without a full redesign.

Duration: 4 weeks

Role: UX Designer & Researcher

Tools: Figma, Miro, Google Forms

Problem Statment

The challenge was to create a more personalized and trustworthy journey using existing data without introducing heavy redesigns or tech dependencies.

We decided not to redesign everything, but build trust throughout the booking funnel — through subtle, meaningful cues instead of flashy features.

This project wasn't about gimmicks. The intent was to create real, data-backed changes that make women feel safer while keeping the tech effort minimal.

We talked to our users

To understand what really happens, I conducted ten semi-structured interviews with women aged 19-45 who travel by bus using MakeMyTrip app. Most participants trusted the platform’s convenience but not the actual experience of the journey.

These conversations revealed that safety concerns rarely appear as direct complaints. They surface as small moments of hesitation, double-checking, or backup plans. To capture these patterns, I created three representative personas that reflect our primary users.

I travel to my office in Mumbai twice a week. Sometimes I leave late and end up taking a new bus I’ve never heard of. The overall rating might look good, but it doesn’t tell me if women actually felt safe on it at night. I wish I could see what other women said about that specific route.

Aditi, 32

The Weekly Commuter

Aditi, 32

The Weekly Commuter

I take overnight sleeper buses to the mountains every few months. When I’m booking, I wish the seat map showed a little more, like who’s sleeping nearby or how many women are already on board. The bus details should also tell if the washroom stops at night are safe and clean.

Ritika, 24

The solo traveler

Ritika, 24

The solo traveler

Every year, during festivals I travel alone from Ahmedabad to my mother’s home in Rajkot. My husband usually books my tickets on MakeMyTrip app. I wish there was an option to share live bus updates with him so he could track my journey. It would make both of us feel more at ease.

Rekhaben, 43

The Homemaker

Rekhaben, 43

The Homemaker

Competitor Analysis

Before deciding what to build, I analyzed how other platforms addressed safety for women travelers. I compared major players like Abhibus, RedBus, and Paytm, focusing on visibility, personalization, and reassurance cues within their bus booking experiences.

This analysis helped us identify what competitors lacked and see an opportunity for MakeMyTrip to build trust and safety directly into the booking flow, rather than treating it as an optional add-on. Below is a comparison of key women-first features across competitors:

Finding the trust gaps in current flow

What seemed efficient from a design standpoint felt uncertain in practice. The system handled logistics well but failed to provide emotional reassurance, the kind of trust that makes a late-night journey feel safe.

Here’s what we discovered early on:

Seat map lacks gender visibility

Issue:

The seat map shows availability and price but not who is seated or sleeping nearby.

For women booking overnight buses, this detail is crucial for feeling safe and confident. Without it, many hesitate or drop off mid-flow.

Impact:

Data from the last 12 months showed that accounts booking for a single woman were 12% more likely to drop off at seat selection than other booking types.

This isn’t a usability flaw but a trust gap.

Seat map lacks gender visibility

Issue:

The seat map shows availability and price but not who is seated or sleeping nearby.

For women booking overnight buses, this detail is crucial for feeling safe and confident. Without it, many hesitate or drop off mid-flow.

Impact:

Data from the last 12 months showed that accounts booking for a single woman were 12% more likely to drop off at seat selection than other booking types.

This isn’t a usability flaw but a trust gap.

Boarding points and Drop points lack real-world context

Issue:

Boarding and drop-off points appear as plain text with no cues about lighting, activity, or facilities.

For night travelers, these details are essential to assess safety. Without them, users often check Google Maps or call someone familiar with the area.

Impact:

42% of women travelers we interviewed checked Google Maps before booking to see if a stop felt safe.

This breaks trust in the app’s completeness and adds friction to the booking flow.

Boarding points and Drop points lack real-world context

Issue:

Boarding and drop-off points appear as plain text with no cues about lighting, activity, or facilities.

For night travelers, these details are essential to assess safety. Without them, users often check Google Maps or call someone familiar with the area.

Impact:

42% of women travelers we interviewed checked Google Maps before booking to see if a stop felt safe.

This breaks trust in the app’s completeness and adds friction to the booking flow.

Safety information is scattered

Issue:

Reviews focus on punctuality and cleanliness but rarely mention comfort or safety.

There’s no way to identify buses trusted by women, leading users to external sources for reassurance.

Impact:

Our qualitative research showed that 6 in 10 women rely on Reddit, WhatsApp, or travel forums to validate their choices.

The lack of in-app safety cues weakens MakeMyTrip’s position as a trusted, all-in-one platform.

Safety information is scattered

Issue:

Reviews focus on punctuality and cleanliness but rarely mention comfort or safety.

There’s no way to identify buses trusted by women, leading users to external sources for reassurance.

Impact:

Our qualitative research showed that 6 in 10 women rely on Reddit, WhatsApp, or travel forums to validate their choices.

The lack of in-app safety cues weakens MakeMyTrip’s position as a trusted, all-in-one platform.

Integrating Women-First cues into the existing flow

I went through every screen to identify the right moments to educate and empower women about the new features designed for them.

We wanted to first introduce the feature and get consent to personalize a safer experience. Then, we guided users to filter buses and explore safety cues. Below is the existing flow, displayed with placeholders for the Women-First elements:

Industry

Banking

Client

Booking Corp.

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