How would you design Lyft for commuters?

I think our goal should be increasing the growth of the commuters who use Lyft app since once we design it, we need to focus on the user acquisition primarily. Ok

So my goal is: design Lyft app for commuters who lives near SF area in order to increase the user acquisition and engagement.

User persona:

Commuters

Pain points:

- When I pay lyft daily, it becomes so expensive especially during the peak hours( 8 am , 6pm)

- I don’t have time to miss the bus, train, otherwise I can be late to work

- If I am losing time in the traffic of the city center, I need the alternatives to go to the office

Solutions:

- Create the UI for the alternative options like call Lyft, lyft-bus-walk, lyft- bus- Bike&scooter

- make them purchase the tickets in advance. Like to do not wait in trainstation to purchase the ticket there

- Create a subscription model so that commuters may not have to deal with surge pricing.

- Create LYFT commuter groups according to their home addresses. They are the riders who are traveling from the close are to the similar/same location. Ex: ppl from the same neighborhood go to train station at the same time. Like mini shuttle. This is going to be scheduled.

- If there is traffic congestion, always show the alternatives to the rider. Ex: app noticed the traffic and riders has been stayin in the car for 10 mins. The app can show the addresses of available bike and scooters

Prioritization/MVP:

	Impact to the goal	Effort
UI for alternative options	H	H
Bus/train Ticket purchase via app	H	H
Subs model	H	L
Lyft commuter group	M	L
Real time, alternative ways	M	L

MVP: UI for alternative options,subs model --> with these fatures, we can launch the MVP and the others may come next.

Metrics:

User metric:

- How many commuters joined the app

- DAU, WAU

- Feedback on the app store

- # users signed up to subs model

- #cancellations from commuters

Product Metric:

- How long does take for commuter to call lyft

- Any dropouts on the app funnel

Revenue Metric:

- Revenue from the subs model

- Average revenue per non-subs commuters

Lokesh Kumar R · Answer 4 · 2021-05-30T10:21:07+0000

I would like to understand the question before jumping on to it.

By Commuters is it safe to assume that, People who book rides to travel within city to reach a particular destination periodically. Yeah this is what we mean by Commuters.
I would like to assume that this is a new app from scratch that we are talking about. Okay. That's fine
I don't think the geography of market would matter as of now. However If it seems to be of important, I'll come to this at a later stage.
What goal are we focussing by designing the App? If you ask my choice, It would be to focus on user Acquisition and Engagement as this is a new app that we are talking about. You can proceed with your assumption itself.

This being a two sided marketplace, the stakholders involved are the Drivers and Travelers. I would like to focus on the Travelers, espescially the Commuters as the Questions Demands so.

It is always the understanding of the stakeholders that helps one to address the issue and come up with meaningful solutions. So I would like to come up with what they need/expect and what are missed in the usual public travel options.

As a commuter, one expects to book a ride with ease and reach the location asap.
As a commuter, one expects to know where their ride is,when will it come to the pickup point, and how long their ride will be to plan accordingly.
As a commuter, one expects to take a route of their choice at times as they would want to do some chores midway including picking up someone before reaching the destination.
As a commuter, one would want a cheap ride without compromising their safety and comfortability
As a commuter, one would want to use their travel timing more efficiently.

Of all this, I would like to address 1,2,4, and 5. The points 1,2, and 4 are so basic that every other customer would want it. So it is necessary to be addressed. While,5 can help us stand out from the Substitutes to us like Public Transport.

Solutions:

SolutionsReachImpactEffortNote

The app using the user data of when and where the pickups and drops are there usually and by using the Google Maps API can prebook the cab for the location automatically. The user need not open the app to book everyday.	high	medium	Low	This solution addresses the painpoint 1
The user can add extra information about how to reach their location specifically with a voice note apart from pinning their location in the map. This will help the user to easen things as often drivers new to a paricular area find it difficult to reach the pickup point and disturb the person who books to get to the place.	High	High	Low	This solution addresses the painpoint 1
While booking a ride, a user should be shown the approximate time taken to reach them, the approximate time to reach destination and real-time update on where the driver is through GPS and Maps API	High	High	Low	This solution addresses the painpoint 2
While booking a ride user should be given option on the types of vehicle available so that the user can choose one that suits his pricing and the requirement. For example when a commuter travels alone can either use a bike or a small car. When its a group of commuters to the same office they might need a bigger car.	Medium	Medium	Low	This solution addresses the painpoint 4. Not everyone will have many types of car at the start itself. Thus, this can be in the roadmap for a later stage
The Apps can have devices attached to the car that can be used as a music player along with ads in between. this provides the Firm a source of monetization and in return can provide services cheaper. Thus user will get cheaper services while our earning overall doesn't get affected	High	High	Medium	This solution addresses the painpoint 4. This can be implemented easily. However, collection of ads might be a tedious work
An algorithm should be added to the app so that the app can pair people who have their pickups and destination en route provided they are okay with sharing. This helps the user in getting a cheaper option and as well as helps the firm in logistics.	Medium	High	Medium	This solution addresses the painpoint 4. The users might not be always okay to share their ride. However once they are okay this'll help us improve our logistics and time reqquired to reach a person a lot.
The app can read through their calendar and inform the users about their schedule that day provided the user opts in for the service. This help's user be prepared for the day during the journey itself	Medium	High	Medium	This solution addresses the painpoint 5. The reach is lower as people would not want a 3rd party app to go through their official mail of calendar for data security issues
The app can be used as a reminder tool to remind what the user want to be reminded as soon as he gets inside the vehicle. He can set the reminder when he prebooks the ride.For eg:, it can recite a list of things that user needs to take that day the momment he gets in the car	High	High	Medium	This solution addresses the painpoint 5 Here the app reminds what the user lists beforehand thus, there are no extra permissions required.

Of all the above listed features for the app, I would like to have 1,2,3,5,8 from the above list. While have 4 and 6 for a later stage development.

Summary:

After many discussions and clarifications, The question was understood and came up with features like Prebooking a cab, Notes to the driver to reach the place, Functionality to know the stats related to ride, An additional source of income so as to give the service a bit cheaper and finally a reminder functionality to the user. These features will be there apart from usual payment option, selecting pickup and destination manually and option to claim an issue.