Uber Favorite Driver
An Uber experience created for you, by you.
My Role
Design + Project Lead
Led a team of three. My role included research & strategy, wireframing, prototyping, & final production.
The Team
1 Design + Project Lead
2 Designers
1 Researcher
The Client
Uber - Rider, Driver and Marketplace teams
The Challenge
Uber stakeholders assumed that their Premium customers would appreciate the option to customize their ride experience based on their preferences, such as choosing a favorite driver. They believed that doing so would ensure greater consistency in their ride experience, especially since Premium customers are often time-constrained and require a driver who knows their routines. On the driver side, Uber saw an opportunity to help them grow their business as independent contractors by providing repeat trips with riders who have added them as their 'favorite.'
This was during a time when cities and countries were pressuring Uber to do something about driver earnings and safety, and stakeholders wanted to understand how they might build better trust between riders and drivers to increase safety, retention and revenue.
The Outcome
Uber riders and drivers validated that the ability to recreate a specific Uber experience would help ensure their transportation needs are met and help them to better predict and plan future trips. Through Favorite Driver, riders can favorite drivers who delivered an experience in order to recall and recreate that experience for future rides.
I identified opportunity areas for interaction within the current ride sharing application and helped design solutions for each of the following:
Favoriting a driver for the first time
During-trip favoriting
Scheduling a future ride with a favorite driver
Driver opt-in / acceptance
Approach
During in-depth interviews, Premium Uber riders discussed three scenarios where they would desire customization, such as inputting preferences or choosing a specific driver. These scenarios focused on moments when needs, like comfort, quality, familiarity, and trust matter most.
Trips to the airport
Daily rides to work
Special occasions
“I’ve had instances when I’ve had the same driver more than twice, and they remember me. It’s kind of nice to have someone who knows your habits when you’re doing routine trips, like going to work in the morning.”
— Uber Premium Rider (30-year-old female, NY)
PROVOCATION
How might we match Uber riders to drivers based on their habits, routines, or preferences?
I discovered new entry points that could be used for the favorite driver feature by mapping out the current on-demand experience. Additionally, I developed a new workflow between the rider, driver, and backend system that helped to inform design decisions.
These artifacts were crucial in building consensus among cross-functional partners from the Product and Engineering teams. By using these artifacts, Uber partners were able to understand the work they were responsible for, represented simply and clearly.
Adding a Favorite Driver
In one-on-one discussions, riders mentioned they don’t always leave compliments even when they had a great experience on their trip, but they do rate and tip. Therefore, the trigger for Favorite Driver appears when rating a driver five stars, plus adding a tip. Riders will see a first-time user education prompt asking if they want to add this driver to their favorite driver list.
Scheduling a Favorite Driver
When scheduling an upcoming pickup, riders can prioritize their favorite drivers so that Uber can attempt to match riders with these drivers first. Riders must schedule the trip at least 30 minutes in advance to allow time for a rider’s favorite drivers to accept their pickup request. Riders can edit and choose favorite drivers depending on the scenario in order to have an ideal experience.
Favorite Driver request
When a rider schedules a trip with a favorite driver, the driver is promptly notified the next time they open the app and given the choice to either accept or decline the request. This system is in place to empower drivers by giving them more control over their Uber experience and allowing them to plan their days more efficiently, which can significantly impact their daily earnings.
Rider match notification
On the backend, Uber tries to match the rider with their favorite driver for an upcoming scheduled trip. When a favorite driver accepts the request, the rider gets notified about the update for peace of mind. If a driver declines, the rider will be given the option to schedule in the regular queue of drivers or attempt to send another notification to their favorites, time permitting.
