Bolt: Ridesharing
What is ridesharing?
Ridesharing is the sharing of car journeys so that more than one person travels in a car, and prevents the need for others to have to drive to a location themselves. By having more people using one vehicle, ridesharing reduces each person’s travel costs such as: fuel costs, tolls, and the stress of driving. Ridesharing is also a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way to travel as sharing journeys reduces air pollution, carbon emissions, traffic congestion on the roads, and the need for parking spaces. Authorities often encourage ridesharing, especially during periods of high pollution or high fuel prices. Ridesharing is a good way to use up the full seating capacity of a car, which would otherwise remain unused if it was just the driver using the car.
My assignment
Design an experience that will help integrate Airport Shuttle service into Bolt ride-hailing app.
Solution
Step 1. Information gathering and problem formulation
In my view the Airport Shuttle can be implemented as a ridesharing feature in Bolt app, because a large number of people leaving an airport to take the same route at a certain moment. My first idea was to scrutinize the solutions of companies which have a great experience in this area. Nowadays Uber and Lyft are the strongest players at this market. Uber ex-CEO Travis Kalanick mentioned in a TED Talk that their ridesharing tariff UberPool “turns every car into a shared car,” which he said would cut down on traffic, CO2 emissions, and reshape cities altogether before the coming self-driving car revolution. Lyft claimed these services would “create a new category of transportation.” In Russia Yandex.Taxi is going to launch their own ridesharing tariff named “Combo”. There is a bit information about this but as I know they have finished some testing and want to implement this feature in the nearest future. Also I have to mention the Blablacar service as the most dangerous and unpredictable since non-certified drivers are engaged in transportation there. I wound not consider their model of running business because of the number of risks.
Studying design in New York City I used Lyft Line and UberPool regulary. It was a great opportunity to communicate with the locals, immerse myself in the culture of the city and improve my English. But the primary thing for me was saving money. Along with this I had no troubles with these services.
Everything seems fine. But there are some drawbacks? Yes, of course. I read several articles and reviews about UberPool and Lyft Line and made some conclusions about these services:
- The amount of luggage cannot be measured;
- Users have to reach to the pickup point by covering long distances;
- Impossible to know the time of arrival;
- Social factors are weak: privacy, security and communication.
In a nutshell, for most users, ridesharing in these services is the lottery because there are a lot of unknown parameters and factors.
My next step was asking my friends and colleagues how they usually leave airports, what transport they prefer and why, pros and cons of their option. I learned their attitude to the ridesharing. In addition, I asked them to describe their last experience getting home from an airport in details. It helped me to build up a user story map. As the result, I interviewed 5 respondents and it was enough to identify recurring things. Obviously, after any flight, all people wanted to get home quickly and comfortably. Long waiting for a taxi appeared to be a torture for everybody. All respondents complained that sometimes it was quite difficult to find their vehicle. Depending on some factors (flight duration, time of day or income level), several respondents did not mind sharing the trip with other people and save money.
After all I could formulate several hypotheses which help me to find the best solution:
- People are willing to use the ridesharing services if it is predictable, safe and cheap;
- Usually people know in advance how much luggage they would have and who is going with them;
- No one likes to wait for a taxi.
Therefore, my task will have several targets:
- Provide a new ridesharing feature in the app;
- Allow users to specify the terminal or gate in an airport and the number of luggage and companions;
- Provide users with the information about whom they would share the trip.
Step 2. Prototyping and solution description
Summing up the results of my research, I decided to follow the beaten track and create a special tariff for people who want to leave an airport and ready to share the cost of the trip with other passengers.
Right after selecting the tariff, I ask users about the number of luggage and companions and in which terminal or gate they had arrived.
After creating the order, app looks for similar orders with suitable parameters and then makes a match.
The timeout is the same for both users. If some user is late, he would get fine. The other one goes alone. In addition, app can display some users information, for example, names and endpoints. Passengers can edit this information. It is supposed help to reduce the level of stress on the trip.
Step 3. Testing
For testing I presented the prototype for my friends. The main scenario was to order a taxi to an airport and share the trip with somebody. I asked my respondents to imagine the situation when they wanted to leave the airport after a long night flight. Also I asked people to describe the purpose of all of the controls on screens. All 4 respondents completed the task and gave me correct definitions. Users did not have any difficulties with the new controls and finished the scenario without hints. People noted the low price of this trip compared to usual one.
Conclusion
By adding the new ridesharing tariff in airports and giving the ability to specify trip settings, I fully achieved my goals. Showing the time remaining counter, I made the process of waiting for a taxi more predictable and transparent. All my ideas are supposed to help users to get their destination faster, cheaper and more comfortable.
