ORIDE — UX Case Study

The era had passed when people had no other option but to depend on public transportation or wander the streets searching for a taxi. But now, ridesharing services offer a convenient and stress-free alternative to traditional taxi services, particularly for individuals seeking a smooth and trouble-free travel experience.

The Fact 🕵🏻

Despite remarkable technological advancements, we still face numerous challenges in various aspects of life, particularly when it comes to independent travel with proper security due to age-related factors. Therefore, researching to understand and analyze the problem areas is crucial. The objective is to find appropriate solutions for a ride-sharing application specifically focused on security.

This case study will focus on different use cases, including users who want to book a ride, users who own cars and offer rides, regular travelers with specific needs, and single-journey commuters. By addressing these diverse scenarios, the aim is to develop a ride-sharing application that effectively addresses the unique requirements of all users, enabling them to travel conveniently and comfortably.

Now starting to explore new things

Client’s Requirement ✍🏼

The key requirements can be described as simple, outlined as follows:

1. Create an Android application for car sharing that utilizes real-time data and availability as its driving force.
2. The app serves ride seekers and drivers in South Africa, offering tailored search results based on their location and specific needs.
3. Instead of relying on public transportation, individuals commuting to work or any destination can benefit from getting a ride from someone heading in the same direction. By sharing costs, they can enjoy a faster and more comfortable journey compared to public transport.
4. Accomplishing tasks through easy steps.
5. Reliable and secure.

The objective was to design a Ride-sharing app name ORIDE that should facilitate all users to feel confident about moving from one place to another.

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Insights 📈

Market Research

Market research is one of the research methods that has been selected because it will help me understand who the users are.

Market Definitions

The Ride-sharing & Taxi market connects passengers and drivers through online and offline booking channels. It includes traditional taxi services, Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft, and Ride Pooling services. Revenue represents the total booking volume, and users are those who have completed a booking. Car-sharing and long-distance ride-sharing services are not included.

Pros

1. Platforms that help you book rides with drivers who use their own private vehicles (e.g., Uber)
2. Taxi companies offer their services through third-party apps
3. Platforms providing shared rides (Ride Pooling) with fellow passengers (e.g., Moia)
4. Offline taxi bookings made directly with taxi companies (e.g., telephone)

Cons

1. Offline-organized carpooling (e.g., picking up colleagues)
2. Long-distance ride-sharing services (e.g., BlaBlaCar)
3. Car sharing and car rental services enabling users to rent and drive vehicles (e.g., Hertz or Share Now)

Highlights

By 2023, the Ride-Sharing & Taxi market is-

1. Projected to reach a revenue of US$0.80 billion.
2. An annual growth rate of 1.55% (CAGR 2023–2027) is expected, resulting in a market volume of US$0.85 billion by 2027.
3. The number of users is estimated to reach 7.08 million by 2027, with a user penetration rate of 11.3% in both 2023 and 2027.
4. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is anticipated to be US$117.70.
5. Online sales are projected to contribute 46% of the total revenue by 2027.
6. In terms of global comparison, China is forecasted to generate the highest revenue, reaching US$130.90 billion in 2023.

**Data collected from Statista

Stats

Table 1. Average Uber use by South African residents

Table 2. Primary mode of transport among South African Uber Riders

Table 3. Rankings of beneficial Uber features.

**Collect data from govt. transport data South Africa

User Research 🧐

During this phase, the initial two steps of the design thinking process (empathize and define) were addressed.

The app caters to two user types, each with their own sub-categories:

Drivers:

• Intra-city commuters
• Inter-city commuters

Riders:

• Intra-city commuters
• Hitchhikers/Inter-city commuters
• Rural commuters

User Interviews 🤝

1. How do you usually travel?
2. How often do you use ride-sharing services?
3. If you’ve never used ride-sharing, is there any specific reason why?
4. If you have used ride-sharing before (but not regularly), which service did you choose and why?
5. How was your experience with ride-sharing?
6. Have you tried different ride-sharing services? If so, why and which ones?
7. What are your thoughts on using different ride-sharing services, and why do you choose them?
8. Have you shared the cost with others during a ride? If yes, how was the experience?
9. What do you think about using ride-sharing services in emergencies?

These interviews were crucial in achieving an important goal — to confirm whether the concept of such an app would be beneficial for users.

Now I’m free for some days 🙄

Even more importantly, these interviews provided valuable insights into the needs, frustrations, and situations where the app would be used by our target users.

Competitive Analysis 👇☝️

This chart presents a comparison between the ride-sharing app and its competitors, which include Uber, DiDi, and Bolt. The listed features encompass in-app safety measures, cheapest fare, share co-rider, and seamless integration with public transportation. By analyzing the features provided by each competitor, the ride-sharing app can identify opportunities to distinguish itself and offer exclusive value to its users.

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User Persona 👼🏽

Leth 🍩

Sipho 👌

User Journey Map 🗺️

Persona: Lethabo

Goal: Hassle-free commuter service

Opportunities 🔬

1. Profile verification: Making sure user profiles are authentic is a priority. Competitors reward users who verify their government IDs, and having visible social media profiles adds to trust.
2. SOS button for security: Some apps have an SOS button for added safety.
3. Opportunities in non-urban areas: Carpool companies mostly focus on cities in South Africa, so there’s potential to expand to rural and smaller cities in the future.
4. Emotional connection through environmental impact: One app shows how using it benefits the environment, a chance to connect with users emotionally by promoting eco-friendliness.

With these opportunities, I now had all the necessary information to move forward to the next phase.

My Solution — Design 🎨

In this phase, we come up with ideas and create prototypes as part of the design thinking process.

Assumptions:

1. The app is made for people who use their own cars, not for cab drivers.
2. Before getting a ride, drivers and riders need to verify their vehicle details, phone, and government ID.
3. Riders must have enough money in their app wallet to pay for the ride.
4. The app shows search results based on the user’s location only and can’t be used to book rides for someone else.

The Flow 💫

I created a flow chart to describe the journey a user must complete when searching for a ride.

Login/Signup Flow Chart

This chart shows the journey of how you can signup or log in easily.

Request a Ride

This flow shows the journey of how to get a ride simply and safely.

Complete a Ride

This chart shows the journey of how you can complete a ride.

Hi-Fi Screens 👌

Just a glimpse 😇

Performance Evaluation — Wrapping Up

Even though I wished for more time to test these flows with users thoroughly, as that’s the best way to gauge their effectiveness, I still managed to tackle the problem areas mentioned in the brief:

1. Enabling passengers to share rides with others heading in the same direction, which allows cost-sharing and offers a faster and more comfortable option than public transportation.
2. Helping drivers connect with co-riders who are traveling along the same route.
3. Addressing the situation of car-sharing with more than two passengers.

To make the user experience even better, I suggest adding the following two features:

1. To simplify the app experience, users can choose a primary mode (rider/driver) that remains selected each time they open the app.
2. The app will let regular commuters schedule rides at specific times and frequencies, making their travel more convenient.

User testing is crucial, but the solutions we’ve implemented are designed to tackle the identified issues and enhance the app’s overall user experience.

Closing 😊

This project isn’t over yet! I’m excited to share the driver app with you soon. While the writing and design solutions in this application may not be perfect, I’ve learned so much from the users during the research process.

To all the readers, thank you for taking the time to read my article. I hope it can be beneficial to everyone. I welcome any feedback and would adore hearing from you!

Thank You!

Omar Faruque 😍

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