OUR MISSION
Taking the train through Europe can have many obstacles, but the ecological benefit is undeniable. As the EU is moving towards increasing train travel (Euronews, 2023), we want to make train travel more attractive. Trek is a platform that connects train-travellers to each other to enhance the safety and connection during the journey. By enhancing their experience and creating positive and safe encounters we encourage people to travel by train rather than by plane.
SUSTAINABILITY
As more people take the train, together we can reduce our carbon footprint (Luman, 2022) and love our planet, while enjoying the beauty it has to offer.
SAFETY
Trek allows travellers to connect with each other and share their journey, which increases the safety for everyone. The travellers can watch each other's back. The high security measures of Trek ensure the safety of meeting strangers.
INTERCONNECTEDNESS
We want to provide a platform that connects people on their journey. A space that allows both the quiet traveller and the chatty ones to find companions during train trips or waiting times on platforms.
THE APP
01
Create & verify
Enter your personal details, and let us verify them with your driver’s licence, ID or passport in a few simple steps. Safety first!
02
Tell us a bit about yourself!
Complete your profile by telling us a few fun facts about yourself. What are your hobbies, where are you from, and what is your travel personality? This information will be visible to others when they want to connect with you. Equally, this information from others will be visible to you. Changed your mind? Change your personal details anytime you like. This is how you’ll find your ideal travel buddy!
Let's get started!
03
Not feeling quite at ease during your trip, having a long transfer, or just looking for a good conversation? TREK will help you get started! After entering your travel destination, you see a list of other travellers who are taking a similar journey to yours.
The people at the top of the list are taking the most similar route to yours. With these people you can travel the longest. The lower someone is on the list, the sooner your paths will separate again. Pick someone with whom you would like to spend your travel time and send a connection request. This person will receive your personal information and, after accepting the request you'll be able to connect through a chat box.
04
Pick & connect!
Chat & meet!
The chat box allows you to get in touch with each other and meet up somewhere. Want to travel with more than just one person? No problem! Invite people from the suggested list to join your chat and create travel groups. Of course, the choice to join the group is up to the individual.
05
Once at your destination, you will part ways and the chats will be closed and deleted. Want to stay in touch with your new friends or hear they've arrived safely at their destination? Exchange details outside the app.
06
Discover beyond
OUR STORY
As a team we are highly driven to contribute to sustainability. Governments are fighting to combat the impact of climate change and transportation plays an important role as it is crucial to our life in a global world. We started by looking at the aviation sector and evaluating it based on our own experiences and on interviews with user journey maps. We found that the transition from plane to train fit within our mobility framework to drive sustainability forward. Estimations show that the number of passengers taking the plane is set to double by 2050 (Thevenet, 2023). To offset this from happening, there is already an ongoing fight to change from plane to train travel, specifically for shorter distances in Europe (Kalinke, 2022), which is a challenge we want to contribute to. The benefit of train travel is that it is 12 times more energy efficient than the plane (Luman, 2022). Several countries are already implementing a short-haul ban, which means that flights that can be replaced by a 2,5-hour train ride are banned (Euronews, 2023). However, there are still barriers to fully changing the culture, such as the relatively higher prices of trains and the generally longer travel time. In other respects, the train competes with aviation in terms of comfort (Nilson, 2023). For example, there is more space to walk around on a train and the check-in procedure is more relaxed.
So, why are people still more likely to take the plan than the train? Well, there are perceived detriments to train travel aside from length and price. Our research shows that passengers do not always find seating, there are inconvenient transfers, there is a higher level of uncertainty and trains feels significantly less safe. Van Hagen and Bron (2014) indicate that the base of a pleasant journey is feeling safe and secure. As long as people feel certainty and safety in trains is lower than in airplanes, the choice of transportation will be skewed towards the plane.
Safety in train travel can be divided into actual safety and perceived safety, often perceived safety is lower than the reality (Cozens et al., 2003). Local governments have come up with many safety precautions at train stations, for example the introduction of check-in gates, which drops the crime rate (Lindenbergh et al., 2020). However, the safety strategies often target specific issues and lack a holistic approach (Broekhuizen et al., 2016) and these safety measures do not account for the perceived safety. The experience of vulnerability on trains and around train stations is generally higher for women than for men (Loukaitou‐Sideris, 2014), but our interviews shows that is affects both genders. As security is the base of a pleasurable trip (van Hagen & Bron, 2014), TREKis aimed at intervening in the perceived safety to encourage people to travel with the train more.
RESEARCH OUTCOMES
Our interview participants provided fascinating insights into the complex landscape of travellers' needs and preferences. First, we discovered there were several important factors regarding the choice of mobility between airplane and train (see left graph), with dominant factors including comfort and price. As we dove deeper into understanding the traveller’s needs, we found a wide range of needs during train travel (see right graph). However, the data revealed an emphasis of safety during the journey, particularly the female participants. This prompted the team to dive deeper into safety concerns by exploring perceived vulnerabilities and current safety measures both onboard trains and at stations.
As mentioned, the safety factor was especially important to the women in our study, specifically when travelling alone at night on the train. The idea for TREK came from an attempt reduce the solitude during longer journeys, which prefents people from choosing the train. Interestingly, when validating our idea through more interviews, we found that there was as much potential for male users as well. Although, they generally feel safer, the male participants liked the idea of having a travel buddy as a social aspect of travelling. With this discovery, we shifted our scope to be more inclusive, which fits in with our understanding of meaningful mobility. Now TREK can be used by everyone looking for a travel partner!
TRAVELLER PROFILES
The Solitary Voyager
Introverted and introspective, the solitary voyagers seek tranquility during train journeys. They prefer solo travel or small, intimate groups. During the ride they enjoy observing scenery from the window and reading along the way.
TARGET GROUP
MEANINGFUL MOBILITY
Meaningful mobility is personal to everyone and it is important to us. We have seen that mobility is a means to an end, whether it be practical or pleasurable, and mostly fulfils other needs and desires. Travelling through Europe can fulfil a wide range of needs, such as bringing you to a holiday destination to relax or transporting you to an important business meeting. During the travel, more mundane and basic needs need to be filled, such as comfort and security (van Hagen & Bron, 2014). Hinderances to the experience of security can include waiting times at unknown stations or disturbances on the train. We want to focus on these basic needs to help people fulfil their other core desires. So, meet our travellers, Amy and Carl, who are both young adults travelling through Europe for various reasons. By considering their needs, Trek improves their journey.
Amy - 28
Business traveller
Impact
Comfort
Security
Amy is a young businesswoman who is required to take the train from her company that is implementing sustainability practises. She is eager to comply, to be sustainable and for the ability to work on the train. There is better food and good internet, which help her focus on her tasks. However, she sometimes feels unsafe, especially when she travels at night in winter periods.
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Carl - 23
Solo vacation traveller
Beauty
Community
Security
Carl is eager to explore more of Europe and he prefers the train for its spontaneity. However, waiting period can be long and lonely, or even feel unsettling. He prefers spending these moments with people, as they increase the feeling of certainty and allow for the time to go faster with interesting conversations.
THE CREATION
Phase 1
MEANINGFUL
MOBILITY
Meaningful mobility is:
Inclusive
Sustainable
Interconnected
Mobility can be pleasure or goal oriented, or both. In itself, mobility is often a means to fulfil other needs. The travel touches on needs that are secondary to other, higher-goal needs.
UNDER-STAND-
ING
CONTEXT
Main findings
•Trains provide more comfort than airplanes, yet trains are currently not equal in price or duration to the aviation branch.
• There is a shift towards trains, short flights are being banned and some companies are requiring their workers to take the train for business trips.
• The biggest carbon emissions occur during take-off and landing, which makes short flights especially polluting.
INTER-
VIEWS &
PERONA'S
NEXT STEPS
Integrated Booking System
In the future, integrated booking systems for train travel will become more common. The current systems lack the sophistication that the aviation has and the train industry will need to close this gap to be a competitive option. Furthermore, the diversity of systems between European countries or between railroad services is large and can overwhelm customers, which contributes to the choice to avoid trains (Linnartz & Fricke, 2022). High-tech, interactive and personalised solutions are going to be key in engaged and meaningful mobility (Goulding & Morrell, 2014). Trek wants to be a part of these innovations to further their mission of safe and connected journeys.
Essential to the experience of security is wayfinding and access to reliable, up-to-date information (Brimble, Oram, McDermott, 2020). To further the security functionality of Trek, the company can add a feature to include advice about trip adjustments or facilities at stations. Such clarity can greatly contribute the sense of control that a passenger has. Such information will require secure partnerships across big rail lines in Europe. As AI continues to develop rapidly, the interface can become more interactive while providing only the requested information As such, the user does not need to scroll through endless amounts of information to find their desired answers.
As Trek updates its offering and as integrated booking systems emerge, they can be natural partners. The booking system can offer clarity and freedom to the user about their travel options, while Trek offers companionship. The booking system will offer the option to integrate the service of Trek in their ticket, which increases the likelihood that the hesitant traveller will use the booking service.
These partnerships do not have to wait though, already an additional function can be added to train apps. A sliding button next to the planner can be turned on to allow the information to be seamlessly added to the Trek app. In this way, any disruptions in the trip will be automatically updated, allowing only relevant travel companions to appear.
Further Security
Partnerships
ABOUT US
ALESSIO CANDIDO
I’m Alessio Candido, a passionate logo and branding designer committed to crafting impactful visual identities. With a focus on efficiency and creativity, I bring brands to life through compelling design solutions that leave a lasting impression.
ESTHER VAN DIEREN
Hello, my name is Esther and I’m passionate about people feeling more freedom to experience the joys of life. Through Trek, I hope we can encourage people who would normally forgo the enjoyable experience of the train to change their minds! My role has been to do extensive research into what blocks people now and how our service can help now and in the future.
GERRIT VAN REEUWIJK
Hi, I am Gerrit! I am a motivated designer interested in the mobility branche. Because of the unpleasant experiences my two sisters unfortunately have had in public transport, I am really motivated to work on TREK, in order to improve the experience of train travel!
LORENZA RUBIN
Hi! I am Lorenza , an industrial design student with a passion for solving problems in creative ways. I love exploring diverse methods to make communication more engaging and accessible to a broader audience, ensuring better understanding and making ideas clearer and more appealing.
