Design Prompt: Using a well-known transportation or ridesharing app extend or redesign a feature that fosters better in-vehicle communication between multiple riders or between riders and drivers.
Scope: Given the large project scope, we narrowed it down to use cases regarding students who use Lyft to get to and from the airport.
Lyft airport rideshare customers in San Diego need an easy way to build rapport and common ground with their Lyft driver.
We designed a new feature for the Lyft app: driver profile, to give airport rideshare users a convenient way to build familiarity with their driver. The driver profile provides information about the driver’s background information, their driving experience, and their points of interest recommendations.
After conducting our initial 10 user interviews (I interviewed 4/10), we decided to target Lyft use cases between airport rideshare users and drivers. From user interviews, we found that airport rideshare trips generally took 30 minutes.
From the 14 student responses, we found out what factors students prioritize and prioritize as being more important. Below are some of the highlighted findings.
The typical sentiment that customers have of Lyft is that it is simply a convenient way to get from one place to another. Striking up a conversation during the car ride is expressed as a second-rate priority for customers.
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User archetypes were formed to categorize different tendencies and willingness for passengers to engage in a friendly conversation during the rideshare car trip.
Not comfortable talking
Looking to talk but doesn't know how
Saving money may cost an awkward ride
Back in March 2015, Lyft Profiles were introduced to encourage conversations between drivers and passengers. The Lyft Profile's feature has since been removed from the app for unstated reasons. Although it may not have be a commercial success, we can still learn and springboard off of previous attempts.
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Based on the use case flow, I sketched out UI screens for the carpool music feature. The shared music player idea grew from a frequent common basis for ice breaker conversations about people's taste in music.
Our design strategy was to cast our net wide and sketch out multiple new features and then double down on the features that resonated with users.
The carpool karaoke music player builds common ground between drivers and passenger by basing conversations on music, an easy and relatable topic. It also allows passengers the ability to customize the music playing in the car.
We conducted within-subjects testing with 6 users (each person interacted with both prototypes A and B).
Less complex interactivity within the app
Overall, most people didn’t want to be overwhelmed with interactivity within the app itself. People wanted to be able to quickly scan information about the driver’s profile.
The objective of the driver’s profile (about driver + driver’s recommendation) is to provide riders easily scannable information that can build rapport and trust with the driver to promote meaningful conversations during rideshare trips to and from the airport.
Providing easily scannable information helps passengers springboard into conversations beyond surface greetings during the longer trips to and from the airport. Lyft's more personable brand is a distinct competitive advantage over UBER.
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When designing for specifically airport users, what we found was that even general users could benefit from using the driver profile. The main difference was that regular rideshare trips were even shorter (~15 minutes), which further reinforced the notion of “less complex interactivity within the app”. At the core of it, creating common ground between the driver and rider helps to build rapport and connection for a meaningful conversation. Even for users who would rather avoid conversations, at the very least, they can feel safer knowing their driver isn’t a complete stranger with a quick scan of the driver’s profile. At the end of the day, people just want to get to their destination as smoothly as possible. They are willing to put up with small discomforts in the ride because it is a one way car ride with the driver. However, Lyft can continue pursue a rideshare culture that is personable and inclusive without being overbearing.
