Access Cab

My Role: UX Designer

Date: November 2023

Duration: 6 Weeks

Background

I started this project because my Uncle John had a stroke and couldn't drive anymore. My mom was always busy organizing rides for him to go to the doctor, even though it was only a mile away. I realized that ride share apps aren't easy to use for disabled people, especially those in wheelchairs. Research showed that many people with different abilities could benefit from an app that helps them be more independent. So, I wanted to create an app for these users to have more control over their lives.

Problem Statement

The user is a disabled adult who wants a simpler digital app for commuting to feel more independent.

Goal Statement

Design a app with a complimentary website to help adults with physical disabilities commute independently.

Empathize

Competitive Research

User Interviews

To begin my research I started by exploring existing ride share companies that were available to adults with diverse abilities. Today, in most cities, wheelchair-accessible vehicles are unreliable and hard to find through existing transportation options. Handicap transportation options require booking a ride as much as a day in advance, and often mean riders have to wait until many other passengers are picked up and dropped off before they reach their destination. I found that wheel chair accessible vehicles are newly available through companies such as Uber, but are still not available in most cities. I also discovered that these apps do not go beyond just having appropriate vehicles. Meaning, if the rider requires assistance from their door they would need to hire a handicap transportation service that is not available on demand.

Empathy Map

I created an empathy map, for each interview, to organize and analyze all the important information I learned from talking to users. This helped me understand their main needs and desires. By looking carefully at the empathy map, I found useful insights and discovered problems that I may not have noticed before the interviews.

Define

Pain Points

Users need access to wheelchair accessible vehicles on demand in order to maintain independence.
There are not enough ride options for costing to be reasonable for users. Riders with physical disabilities should have the same options as able bodied riders.
Riders should be able to arrange transportation easy and quickly the same as able bodied users.