Amtrak Fare Comparison Feature Case Study
Introduction
34M annual riders face repetitive searches and difficult pricing discoverability in Amtrak's mobile app. I designed a fare comparison calendar integrating lowest daily fares directly into date selection—eliminating inefficient back-and-forth.
Problem: No round-trip pricing visibility, repetitive searches for best fares, low booking confidence.
Users: Price-sensitive frequent riders maximizing fare value.
Why: Users want broad option visibility at a glance, not sequential probing.
Solution impact: 2-minute booking vs 4-minute benchmark, 4.9/5 future use intent.
Duration: 2 months. Role: Solo designer (end-to-end).
Deliverables: Figma prototype, 3 core wireframes, hi-fi screens, user flows.
Approach: Iterative—research → prototype → test → refine.
The current Amtrak App
Research
In-depth interviews with five frequent Amtrak users shed light on practical obstacles in the booking experience. Representative quotes revealed that current flows forced riders into repetitive, inefficient searches when seeking the best fares or group booking options. Commonly cited pain points included the inability to view round-trip prices simultaneously and the lack of up-front pricing transparency.
Methods:
5 in-depth interviews with frequent Amtrak users.
Survey of 14 mixed frequency Amtrak users.
Competitive analysis.
Key pain points:
Lack of up-front pricing transparency → decision hesitation
Current flows force users into repetitive, inefficient search cycles (4/5 users)
No simultaneous round-trip pricing
Users expect travel booking experiences to match platforms like Google Flights and Kayak, not just other rail providers.
Synthesis: Persona → flexible, price-driven rider frustrated by limited exploration tools.
Need for prioritized calendar solving broad visibility of options at a glance.
These findings reinforced the need for a fare comparison calendar that improves transparency and flexibility within Amtrak’s existing booking flow.
Competitive Analysis Insights
Analysis of Amtrak, Via Rail, WanderU, Google Flights, and Kayak showed:
• Most travel platforms allow users to compare prices across dates before committing, while Amtrak requires repeated searches.
• Modern travel tools prioritize exploration and flexibility over rigid booking flows.
• Platforms that allow booking edits and accessibility accommodations reduce friction and increase trust.
Define
Primary goal: Seamless fare discovery within existing date picker—no extra steps.
Supporting goals: Reduce booking time, increase fare confidence, simplify multi-date comparison.
A clear task flow was designed to seamlessly introduce the fare calendar into the booking process, automatically surfacing price data during date selection rather than requiring extra steps.
By integrating the fare comparison step directly into the existing flow, the new interface reduced user effort and added value for both infrequent and power users. The flow moved away from a single-path, sequential search, towards a visually informative calendar that highlights daily lowest fares.
Two flows were explored, but early design work and research showed users preferred transparent fare comparison over recommendations, so design focused solely on the fare calendar experience.
With the user flow finalized and focus narrowed to fare transparency, I began exploring initial design solutions through lo-fi wireframes. These sketches helped visualize key screens and interactions to support seamless fare comparison integration in the booking flow.
Design
Early sketches mapped out a full-month calendar embedded within the date picker, displaying lowest fares below date. Iterative wireframes evolved, app screens reflecting Amtrak’s brand. Initial concepts tested “recommended” labels, but revisiting initial research, and user needs confirmed a desire for straightforward fare visibility instead.
Three core wireframes were produced for the add-a-feature flow: Initial calendar view, select-date with fares, and post-selection summary. Visual design iterations highlighted minimum fares, disabled unavailable dates, and adhered to brand colors and type styles. Design rationale focused on removing friction—optimizing task completion, and eliminating redundant user input steps.
Back
Done
Compare Fares by Date
November 2025
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
1
$95
2
$102
3
$86
4
$74
5
$63
7
$101
8
$104
9
$85
10
$65
11
$59
13
$73
14
$116
15
$100
16
$87
17
$86
18
$47
19
$55
20
$65
21
$104
22
$104
23
$105
24
$81
26
$70
27
$75
28
$98
29
$106
30
$92
6
$78
12
$62
25
$88
December 2025
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
1
$77
2
$61
3
$56
4
$79
5
$111
6
$100
7
$89
8
$81
9
$74
10
$58
11
$84
12
$84
13
$116
14
$99
15
$65
16
$69
17
$66
18
$66
19
$103
20
$95
21
$97
22
$80
23
$65
24
$60
25
$64
26
$116
27
$125
28
$88
29
$84
30
$63
31
$55
LoFi Wireframes
Home Screen
Search Results + Recommended Fare
Search Results
Recommended Fare Selection
Sketching helped me plan design implementation into existing App flows, easily scaling up to High-fidelity as the design system already existed, I just had to follow as closely as possible, This was a strong challenge of the project, working with unavailable assets, and without the Amtrak team or stakeholders' input, but I was able to use Figma plugins and get user validation which aided in the attempt to be pixel perfect.
UI Design
The UI aligned with Amtrak’s branding while enhancing clarity and consistency. Because I didn’t have access to Amtrak’s real design components, I used Figma plugins to identify patterns and recreated the components to build a cohesive style guide. This process helped me refine colors, spacing, and typography for a clean, accessible interface.
Calendar Screen Close-up
Test
Eight Amtrak bookers participated in an unmoderated prototype test, performing a round-trip booking task targeting flexible, low-fare dates. Results indicated high ease-of-use (4.25/5), strong decision confidence (4.5/5), and enthusiasm for future use (4.9/5). All users completed the task in under two minutes on average, well below the four-minute benchmark.
Revisions
Feedback emphasized the calendar’s native feel and confidence-building visual fare display. Iterations polished filter/sort options, fine-tuned consistency, and aligned screens with close-to-exact Amtrak’s design system. The clickable prototype, built in Figma, showcased final iteration—offering extensive price visibility with seamless fit into the booking workflow.
Conclusion
This project confirmed that Amtrak users need a more intuitive and flexible booking experience—moving beyond a basic, rigid point-to-point app toward a design aligned with broader travel industry standards. Key challenges included limited real knowledge of Amtrak’s product, lack of stakeholder access, and scarce official design assets, which required adapting brand elements creatively.
I learned the importance of basing design decisions on user research and being adaptable under constraints. For future work, earlier usability testing and stakeholder involvement would improve outcomes.
This experience demonstrated that even a small scope of focused feature enhancements can meaningfully improve usability. I’m proud to have independently led the project end-to-end, delivering a solution that enhances user confidence and control. Next steps include comparative usability testing against the current app to validate these improvements further.
