GatoRyde
ROLE
UX Design lead
SKILLS
Mobile app Design
User Research
TIMELINE
12 Weeks
Project Overview
Project Overview
GatorRide is a mobile application designed to provide University of Florida (UF) students with an affordable and community-focused carpooling solution.
The project aimed to solve transportation challenges faced by students, particularly for long-distance trips where traditional ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft can be prohibitively expensive.
The app creates a safe, convenient, and socially engaging platform for students to connect, share rides, and build a community of like-minded peers. This case study demonstrates the design process, key features, and user-centered approach that made GatorRide a viable solution for the UF campus.
Problem
High Transportation Costs: Traditional ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft are often too expensive for long-distance trips.
Limited Transportation Options: Some students lack access to personal vehicles, making it difficult to find reliable transportation for trips beyond campus.
Safety Concerns: Students are hesitant to carpool with strangers due to concerns about safety and trust in traditional ride-sharing platforms.
Lack of Community Connection: Existing transportation solutions do not facilitate connections between students, missing opportunities to build a stronger campus community.
User Research
User Interviews:
Recruited 10 diverse UF students, evenly split between car owners and non-owners, and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore their transportation habits, challenges, needs, carpooling preferences, safety concerns, and a walkthrough of the GatorRide app.
Drivers: Motivated primarily by the potential to offset fuel costs and earn extra money. However, they raised concerns about safety, clear communication with riders, and the desire for features that streamline navigation and ride management.
Riders: Focused on safety, with a strong emphasis on transparent identity verification of drivers. They valued the ability to review drivers and co-passengers for a secure experience. Cost-sharing options were also seen as a key benefit.
Common Ground: Both drivers and riders sought a simple, intuitive interface. They highlighted the need for emergency features like an SOS button and stressed the importance of a verified, student-only environment to ensure trust and security.
Landscape Review
By researching competitor ride-sharing apps like Hitch, Lyft, and Uber, we identified opportunities for enhancing the GatorRide app within the current market. The comparison criteria focused on the product’s primary use case, entry points, user interface, strengths, and weaknesses.
User Interviews:
Recruited 10 diverse UF students, evenly split between car owners and non-owners, and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore their transportation habits, challenges, needs, carpooling preferences, safety concerns, and a walkthrough of the GatorRide app.
Drivers: Motivated primarily by the potential to offset fuel costs and earn extra money. However, they raised concerns about safety, clear communication with riders, and the desire for features that streamline navigation and ride management.
Riders: Focused on safety, with a strong emphasis on transparent identity verification of drivers. They valued the ability to review drivers and co-passengers for a secure experience. Cost-sharing options were also seen as a key benefit.
Common Ground: Both drivers and riders sought a simple, intuitive interface. They highlighted the need for emergency features like an SOS button and stressed the importance of a verified, student-only environment to ensure trust and security.
User Personas
GatorRide serves a diverse UF student community with varied transportation needs. Some seek quick, cheap rides, others need reliable long-distance options, and many prioritize safety. I developed 2 user personas to guide my design decisions.
Solution/Goals
GatorRide offers a streamlined app experience with features tailored to student needs:
Exclusive Access: Only UF students can join, ensuring a trusted community.
User Profiles: Detailed profiles for drivers and riders with bios and preferences to build trust.
Safety Measures: Emergency button, real-time ride tracking, and secure communication.
Community Engagement: Group chat features for popular events and destinations to foster social interactions.
