Ride-Share Civic Project
The Ride-Share Problem
Cities are becoming increasingly frustrated with ride-share services. In addition to a general frustration in being unable to tax services like Lyft and Uber, a pandemic of double-parking has created significant traffic and safety issues.
As a side project, I have been developing a proposal to turns 60% of Boston's 15,000 fire hydrants into ride-share pickup/drop-zones (roughly two zones per block).
Role: Design Lead Time: Sept 2017 - Present
Overview
User Interface
This project is meant to supplement, not supplant the pin-drop interface currently employed by most prominent ride share services.
In dense urban areas, users would be able to see and select nearby pickup/drop-off zones, and receive precise walking directions (less than 400 ft).
Benefits for Drivers and Passengers
In a short survey, I found that 90% of ride-share passengers have had an issue finding a driver based on a misplaced pin or mapping issue—particularly in dense urban areas.
By creating designated pickup/drop-off zones, there is no grey area.
Financial Incentive
By enforcing ride-share zones, cities can begin leasing pickup/drop-off spots to companies like Lyft and Uber—effectively taxing them to operate within urban centers.
By applying these funds towards public safety projects, cities can gather public support and make it more difficult for corporations to refuse compliance (Philadelphia used a similar methodology to get support for a sweetened beverage tax).
Challenges
Emergency Service Vehicles
One potential challenge to the implementation of this solution is concern from emergency response teams. Why, for example, should Lyft and Uber vehicles be allowed to park in front of fire hydrants?
One argument in favor of adoption suggests that because Lyft and Uber drivers never leave the car, they can easily move in the event of a fire. Additionally, the average pickup/drop-off time is under 2 mins—with a 5 minute cap on standing time.
User Resistance
Another potential challenge area is the users themselves: will users feel inconvenienced by the additional 100-400 feet walking distance? Will the efficiency of pickup makeup for that inconvenience? Additional research and user testing is required.