DEVELOPING A RAIL-TICKETING PLATFORM FOR A STARTUP
Find out how DBB Software helped a UK-based startup develop an MVP for a mobile-first rail-ticketing platform to bring convenience and an enjoyable UX to end users.
Industry
Travel & Hospitality
Service
MVP development
Team
Project Manager, 1 Mobile Developer, 2 Back-End Developers, 1 QA
Project State
March 2025 - Ongoing
Country
United Kingdom
THE CLIENT'S INITIAL REQUEST
The client required a platform to sell railway tickets with future bus ticket expansion, aiming to outshine competitors’ complex UX and hidden fees.
Minimal Engineering Overhead
Optimize the project's cost and stay lean without compromising the quality of the MVP.
01
Fast Time-to-Market
Deliver a mobile-first MVP within 12 weeks, enabling the startup to compete quickly and validate product-market fit before burning runway.
02
Presentation-Ready Demonstration
Assist the founder in securing partnerships to strengthen the long-term development of the solution through a presentable working prototype.
03
User-Friendly UI
Create a user-friendly interface for searching, purchasing, and managing tickets, including support for discounts and railcards.
04
Quality-of-Life Features
Add features for real-time updates, the most affordable ticket options, and streamlined delay-repay processes to differentiate from the competition.
05
SOLUTIONS WE DELIVERED
DBB Software delivered a comprehensive suite of tailored services to bring the client’s rail-ticketing vision to life.
Scope Document
Created a 12-week plan for a mobile-first app during 4 discovery sprints. The document included a comprehensive development roadmap with a long-term collaboration mapped out to ensure scalability for future features, such as bus ticketing.
Leverage DBBS Pre-Built Solutions
Used our Pre-Built Solutions to set up the mobile app foundation in just 6 hours and the backend backbone in 2 hours, all handled by a single developer, thus accelerating development, reducing costs, and allowing the team to focus on product features.
Backend Integrations
Designed a robust backend integrated with third-party rail APIs for journey search and checkout flows. Payments were handled via Stripe on the UI side, while Firebase managed authentication, authorization, and account management.
Core Ticketing Experience
Implemented e-ticketing with Apple Pay and Google Pay, a split-fare search engine to help users find cheaper routes, and PDF ticket downloads to simplify delay-repay claims.
Real Time Travel Features
Built a real-time alerts system for disruptions and a delay-repay assistant that informs passengers of their compensation eligibility and then redirects them to the official ticket seller’s site to complete the claim.
RESULTS ACHIEVED
Early Partnership Secured
Delivered designs, wireframes, and a prototype that helped the founder secure Raileasy as a partner.
1 Day to Full-Stack Foundation
Set up the mobile app foundation in 6 hours and the backend backbone in 2 hours using DBBS Pre-Built Solutions.
12 Weeks to MVP Launch
Released a mobile-first MVP on iOS and Android fast, meeting the founder’s go-to-market goals.
