Commute Ride Share App
Transportation and commuting is a very vital aspect of one's modern life. And in cities like Bangalore, commuting is quite a hassle with huge number of vehicles depending on meager road Infrastructures. And adding to this, we see lot of cars with single or no passengers (only driver) plying along busy routes at peak hours. Ride sharing or Car Pooling ( where people share their journey with others, so that more than one person travels in cars) can help reduce traffic congestion to a certain extent.
Ride sharing or Car Pooling is definitely a good option, to such individuals - who would not mind paying nominal prices to travel hassle free along with other Individuals. But, finding such individuals & asking for ride sharing is difficult.
A person who does not have or prefers to not drive his/her own vehicle and needs to travel has about 2 options -
1. Hire a Taxi/auto, and be willing to pay high prices.
2. Depend on the public transport which is irregular & crowded.
With all of the above things in mind, a software application (preferably mobile based) - to help connect individuals intending to share their rides with like-minded individuals if designed would solve the issue to a certain extent; and also help de-congestion of busy roads during peak hours.
Problem Statement - defining need
Technology Integrations
Google Maps Integration - The real time position of the user could be accurately placed along with real time movement tracking and live traffic updates. Also the metering could be highly GPS driven and the cost calculation could be done with respect to the distance traveled. As the distance measured would be highly accurate the users would be able to relate to it in a better way.
Paytm payment Integration - Paytm offers multiple options for payment and also e-retail market to redeem Eco-points; along with user profile info. So, it would be highly beneficial for the app functionality with the simplified user experience of getting user account details with a simple scan of QR code along with various payment possibilities.
User Research and Insights
Application Mapping
The whole application should be simple to understand and operate. The entire user progression through the app should be minimal and intuitive with lesser operational steps. Lesser the operational steps, better would be the ease of usability. Accordingly the operational steps for this application was broadly broken down, into the following five Steps.
RIDE - PROVIDER
(user who - offers the ride)
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Sets the route preferences after setting destination and also inputs details regarding his/her vehicle and his/her preferences for the user.
(users vehicle and route will get updated as a ride - which other users will now be able to see.)
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If his ride is suitable to any user, they send their request to join the ride.
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Now, the user can confirm and proceed with giving the ride.
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Once the ride is complete, the payment is done through Paytm and accordingly the Eco-points also get added. Along with this the user is given a trust rating, by the other user, who just commuted with him/her.
RIDE - UTILIZER
(user who - needs the ride)
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Sets the route preferences after setting destination and also inputs details regarding his/her preferences for the vehicle and users (women only drivers)
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(According to users requirement a list gets populated of all the users giving rides.)
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If any ride is suitable along with the user’s preferences, the user sends a request to join those rides.
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Now, if the user giving the ride confirms, both proceed with the ride together.
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Once the ride is complete, the payment is done through Paytm and accordingly the Eco-points also get added. Along with this the user is given a trust rating by the other user, who just commuted with him/her.
Application Prototype Screens
Login and Registration Screens
The login and signup/register user screens have been designed to be clean, with clear emphasis to all the form list elements, brand logo and social buttons on a Bangalore city backdrop. The backdrop image chosen here, helps in connecting with the application theme to a great extent.
Selecting Destination & Route Screens
The route selection is quite simple, and follows the simple process of searching for a location and selecting it from a list of locations. Google maps then would suggest all the routes along with real time traffic data. Once the required route is selected, the user can then opt for either Asking for a ride or giving a Ride.
Walk through Screens
All the operational functions of the app, have been clearly listed in Steps - with the help of a primary graphic, explanatory text and navigational elements. And these elements are laid out on a bold graphical style - flat brand color background.
User profile setup & role toggle Screens
The user setup screen follows the native ios form style to keep the UI fairly intuitive and comparable to other apps. Also the upfront toggle form for user role select, gives it clear prominence over other elements.
The side menu is also laid out clearly for easy access.
Ride Provider
Ride Utilizer
An app
to Bridge
the gap
Ride selection & ride request
Based on the route selected, all the rides matching the route gets listed along with the ride providers information and all other information related to the ride. The user can then call the ride provider and get any doubts clarified. Once satisfied the user can officially request for a Ride. The user gets the ride confirmation, and the arriving status along with OTP in the following screens. When the ride is in progress, the user can track the position and ride-charges in real time.
Payment & User rating, activity screens
Once the ride is finished, the user gets forwarded to the payment screen automatically. Here the user can either scan the Paytm QR Code or directly send money to the ride provider with his Paytm Wallet. The user is then sent to the rating screen, where the user can rate the other user accordingly. Other than this the user can check their overall activity segregated monthly.
App USP's for better future
