University Ridesharing

Challenge

Several universities have ridesharing Facebook groups that students may use to provide/secure rides to locations usually an hour or more away. Such groups benefit both riders and drivers. Students who do not have cars can easily get low-cost rides from other students. Students who are driving are compensated for gas expenses and perhaps partially compensated for other car-related expenses as well. As a student at UC Davis, I have utilized the university’s ridesharing group as a rider to secure rides. For this project, I wanted to challenge myself to come up with a solution that would improve the intra-university ridesharing experience.

User Research

To pinpoint issues within the process of securing riders/drivers, I distributed a survey amongst university students who had used a Facebook ridesharing group before, either as a rider, driver, or both.

Based on the survey results, I identified three main issues in the existing user experience.

There are many factors when riders are trying to secure a ride. Riders must find a driver for the appropriate date, time, and price. They must also find the most convenient pick-up/drop-off locations and if applicable, find a driver willing to do special pick-ups/drop-offs. Therefore, riders find it difficult to compare listings.
It can be challenging to keep track of conversations. For riders, it is hard to keep track of which drivers they have messaged and which have responded/not responded. For drivers, it is difficult to keep track of who has messaged them asking for a ride and whom they have responded to/whom they have not.
The driver is essentially a stranger and the only thing that riders know is that the individual is affiliated with their university, although Facebook Groups do not provide a way to verify this.

Screenshot from the UC Davis Ridesharing Facebook Group

Competitive Analysis

Before creating my solution, I also analyzed some direct and indirect competitors: TipWhip, Wyth, and RideApp.

I analyzed the pros and cons of each application and organized my analysis in a simple table to understand how my solution can improve upon these competitors’ solutions.

From this analysis, I gathered that verifying the students’ identities by asking them to sign in with their university credentials is indeed an important feature (as I had expected). It makes both riders and drivers feel safer.

Each of these applications has a different payment system, while university ridesharing Facebook groups have a different system. Considering each of the competitors’ systems carefully, I realized that these alternative systems mean that drivers do not make as much money. Perhaps this is why these applications are not as popular. For a ridesharing application to be successful, there needs to be an abundance of drivers, otherwise, riders will struggle to find rides. Drivers who utilize Facebook ridesharing groups will only be willing to switch to an alternative ridesharing application if they will receive comparable compensation.

Goal

The goal is to create a solution that makes university ridesharing safer and streamlines the process for both drivers and riders. The solution should be one that can be used by students/employees/affiliates of all universities to secure riders/drivers within their university’s pool of individuals.

Developing a Solution

The issues with utilizing Facebook groups arise from the fact that Facebook groups are a general solution to form online communities, and their features are not catered toward any specific purpose. In order to create a solution that eliminates the pain points within the university ridesharing process, a more specific application must be created.

The Brand

I wanted the name to be short and memorable. After a little bit of brainstorming, I decided upon the name UniRide. I like how the name flows nicely as one word. Furthermore, to reflect the simplicity of the ridesharing process via UniRide, I decided to keep the logo simple and easily recognizable.

Style Tile

Before beginning the prototyping process, I created a style tile. I chose to go with a blue theme because blue implies safety and security, and of course, I want users to feel safe using the app. At the same time, blue communicates “calm”; this illustrates the application as one where the process of finding drivers/riders is simple and easy, rather than chaotic. The teal that I picked for the primary color is quite bright, which gives the user interface a friendly nature, and thus makes users feel comfortable and safe. Additionally, I also used navy blue instead of black for the primary text color, which makes the contrast softer; this helps in creating a friendly interface.

For the typeface, I chose to go with Poppins. It has a variety of weights and can be used for headings as well as smaller text. Its high x-height makes it seem like a very “open” font as well. Therefore, this font alludes to a sense of transparency and presents the application as trustworthy. Overall, it is a very clean typeface, which would further communicate how the application is both safe and simple to use.

For the buttons and input boxes, I used rounded corners to add even more friendliness to the user interface and thus, communicate a sense of safety.

Wireframes

To begin the prototyping process, I started by creating some mid-fidelity wireframes using Figma. Below, I have shown one of my wireflows. I have illustrated how a driver can create a new ride, accept requests from potential riders, and view trip information. I have also shown one way that drivers can chat with (potential) riders and how drivers can start and complete rides.

Final Prototype

Afterward, I developed my application further by creating a high-fidelity prototype. Below, I have highlighted some of the application’s key features.

Signing In

Pain Point: Identity Verification

When setting up their UniRide account, users are prompted to select their university and then sign in with their university credentials. By requiring users to sign in this way, UniRide can verify that users within each university community are, in fact, affiliated with the university, thus making the application more secure for all users. This feature is also something that direct competitors Tip Whip and Wyth included. However, this kind of verification is not possible with ridesharing Facebook groups.

Users then select whether they would like to build a rider or driver profile, which can be adjusted later on in settings. The name and photo from the user’s university email are both pre-filled into the profile. Users can add/modify their photos, but not their name, for security reasons. Drivers are also asked for the make and model of their car as well as their license plate number to help riders identify their cars.

Filtering Rides

Pain Point: Comparing Ride Options

Users noted that when using ridesharing Facebook groups, comparing listings can be difficult because there are many factors to consider. To make this process easier, UniRide asks drivers for specific details regarding the ride. When riders go to book a ride, they are also asked for specific details. That way, the application can search through and display the most relevant ride options that best fit the riders’ needs.

DRIVER

RIDER

Easy Communication

Pain Point: Keeping Track of Conversations

With ridesharing Facebook groups, keeping track of several conversations with (potential) riders can be difficult.

With UniRide, riders can easily send ride requests to drivers that also include any special pick-ups/drop-offs (if they have been enabled by the driver). Any special pick-ups/drop-off locations are shown in teal instead of navy to help the user easily identify them. The driver has three hours to approve the request.

RIDER

DRIVER

After the request has been sent, both the rider and driver can chat with another if there are any additional questions.

Riders can access the chat in two ways:

After clicking the “Chat” icon in the navigation bar, riders can select the appropriate ride. This will open their conversation with the driver for that ride.
By clicking the “Chat” button for any future or active rides in the rides tab, the correct conversation will open in the chat tab.

Drivers can also easily access the chat in two ways:

After clicking the “Chat” icon in the navigation bar, drivers can select the appropriate ride. Drivers can then select an individual rider or send a message to all of the riders at once.
Conversations can also be accessed by clicking the “Manage” button for any future or active rides in the rides tab. Upon clicking “chat,” the appropriate conversation will open in the chat tab.

NAVIGATION BAR (RIDER)

“MANAGE” BUTTON (DRIVER)

Driver Review System

Pain Point: Riders do not have enough information about their driver

With Facebook ridesharing groups, users commented that they didn’t know much about the driver, which made them feel a little bit unsafe. To address this issue, I have added a review system. After a ride is complete, riders are prompted to anonymously review their driver. When booking a ride, riders can view the star ratings and read any comments that past riders have written. That way, riders will be aware if someone is a bad driver or has done something else in the past which made the ride a bad experience.

Compensation

As discussed in the competitive analysis, UniRide should provide drivers with compensation comparable to what they receive via ridesharing Facebook groups. Therefore, I have kept the system the same in that drivers can set their own prices. This feature is key for a strong driver user experience.

What I Learned

With this project, I had the opportunity to delve more into subjects such as user research and then extract helpful insights that I took into account when designing UniRide’s user experience. I considered how different colors and styles can come together within a user interface to communicate a specific feeling, and based on that, I created a style tile that communicates friendliness, safety, and reflects the simplicity of the UniRide ridesharing process. I then created a user-friendly prototype for an application that addresses the pain points that I discovered in my research. This was quite challenging because there are many factors that have to be taken into account when prototyping an application. However, by taking time to step back at periodic intervals to examine how the user would interact with my prototype, I was able to locate issues early on and address them before moving on to the next steps.