MyRide is a car-sharing app that helps car owners earn money while providing a unique collection of services to the renter, leveraging user reviews, enhanced background checks, upfront inclusive pricing, and instant booking.
Traditional car rental processes can be slow, inconvenient, and often involve long wait times, paperwork, and limited access to vehicles. An app can streamline the booking, payment, and pick-up process, making it easy to rent directly from car owners quickly and efficiently.
The Problem
We addressed these issues by designing MyRide, an app that prioritizes intuitive navigation, transparent pricing, enhanced security features, and a community-driven trust system to create a more user-centric car-sharing experience.
The Solution / Goals
Role:
UX/UI Designer, Content Manager
Tools:
Figma, Adobe Illustrator,
Adobe Photoshop
Timeline:
Three Weeks
Our user research focused on understanding the challenges, motivations, and needs of car renters in accessing convenient, secure, and reliable peer-to-peer or traditional vehicle rentals. We created an online survey using Google Forms and had 32 participants. We also conducted 7 in-depth interviews to further understand potential users.
We then analyzed existing car-sharing apps to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement, and determine essential features that enhance accessibility, ease of use, confidence, and security.
User Research
The Survey
Question: If you have not used a car-sharing app, why?
42.9% indicated, “I don’t want to rent a car another person owns.”
38.1% selected safety
19% chose credibility as their reason for not using a car-sharing app.
Key Takeaways
Credibility will be the biggest obstacle for a car-sharing service. Most preferred to use a traditional rental car company mainly because of the questionable credibility of car owners.
Price is the most important factor when renting.
Reviews and ratings are a very popular feature that people want.
The Interviews
“…When pricing shows out-the-door cost.“ (Ideal rental car experience)
“The amount of information that was given (other car-sharing app) for pick-up and drop-off was very obscure. “
Key Takeaways
Credible reviews are extremely important factor when renting from a car-sharing service
Price was the second most important factor.
Transparent pricing desired: no hidden fees, and out-the-door cost displayed from the beginning
Clear and articulated on- and off-boarding:
List distance and travel time
Public transport options
Picture of the locations
Contactless preferred
Safety and customer support
Verified inspection check
Reliable in-app customer support in case of issues
Affinity Mapping
We used an affinity map to organize our findings. We found that these ideas naturally categorized themselves into four sections.
User Preferences and Needs
Trust, Safety, and Transparency
Technology, Features, and Support
Experience Gaps, Frustrations, and Improvements
POV Statement
A value-conscious traveler who prioritizes community feedback, needs a car rental platform that emphasizes transparency and trust. By leveraging user reviews, both positive and negative, and enhanced background checks, the platform can build credibility while addressing concerns to demonstrate accountability. By providing included options for insurance packages in the upfront price, and the flexibility to rent vehicles with instant booking, contactless access, and an abundance of return locations, the platform empowers users to conveniently rent with confidence.
Branding
MyRide was chosen as the name so that the customer could internalize that this car will be their car for the rental period, leaving behind the notion of driving someone else’s car.
We created a logo with 5 stars highlighting the app’s focus on credible user reviews.
The Persona
Liam Ford | 30
Photographer
Unmarried, No Children
Early Adopter of New Technology
Scenario
Liam, a frequent traveler, is planning a vacation to San Diego. He is a photographer and may do some work there so he needs flexible booking times/days. He also has a limited budget, so he needs an affordable rental with no hidden fees so he knows exactly what he will pay. He is also concerned about scams and unjust vehicle damage claims, so he needs an app he can trust with transparent user reviews so he can find a renter that meets his credibility standards.
Goals
To find a credible car owner
Find the perfect car for his needs
Upfront pricing with no hidden fees
24/7 customer support
Instant Booking
Guided on- and off-boarding protocols
Needs
Transparent pricing with no hidden fees.
Instant booking
Clear guided on- and off-boarding
Credible and vetted renters
Protection from scams
Flexible bookings with easy extensions and cancellations
Reliable customer service
Frustrations
Worrying about unexpected charges
Not finding the ideal car
Long waits
Poor customer service
Not enough information about the car or rental terms
Possible scams for damage claims
The Prototype
Home Page
The home page features a search bar that includes location, trip start date, and trip end date. Below we highlighted our four defining features that we identified during the research process.
Accountability: Transparency, verified reviews, and thorough background checks
Transparent Pricing: Insurance, options, fees, and taxes can be included in the upfront price.
Flexible Bookings: Instant and adjustable bookings in the app.
On & Offboarding: Guided onboarding and offboarding processes with contactless pickup and dropoff.
Search for a Car
Users can search for a car using a scrollable navigation bar or by using one of our many filter options.
Supported by our research, the filters also allow the user to view the total price with optional insurance, fees, and taxes included.
Components
Checkout
The checkout page includes detailed descriptions of both the car and car owner. There are verified user reviews, and a rating for the car and car owner. The total price with optional insurance, fees, and taxes is also included.
Once booked, the confirmation page features reservation details that you can download and email.
View the Prototype
User Testing
“I only want a breakdown of the price to include taxes, or things that I can actually change. “
Positive Feedback
Easy Navigation
Clean UI/UX
Seamlessly car booking process
Straightforward
Recommendations
Car search filters available in first search bar
Decline coverage button was suggested to move to the far left
“Why am I choosing insurance again? Wasn’t it already included?”
Constructive Feedback
Font size for filters and car search pages
The search bar on the home page is too small.
Label features (Filters, Search Icon)
Insurance included in the price is confusing.
Decline coverage box needs to be moved to the left side
The Continue button on the car Info page was unclear.