Prototype.
(click on the expand button)
Role: UX, Research, Ideas
Team: Group project (5 people)
Tools: Figma, FigJam, Slack
Duration: 4 weeks
HitchTheRoad is an application for hitchhikers to generate routes, discover places, interact with other community members, and seek assistance in crisis situations.
What was the main problem?
- Currently, there isn't a single comprehensive hitchhiking app on the market that combines various crucial hitchhiker-friendly features. Also, there isn't an app offering free rides with attractive route planning.
- Safety is the primary concern influencing whether someone will hitchhike. That's why we've mainly focused on ensuring safety features in our app.
Our application is for various groups:
- Travelers on a budget
- Individuals seeking travel companions
- Long-distance travelers
- Those traveling solo, in small groups, or pairs
- People interested in meeting new individuals
- Travelers going on short trips
- Individuals seeking travel companions
- Long-distance travelers
- Those traveling solo, in small groups, or pairs
- People interested in meeting new individuals
- Travelers going on short trips
The app offers several features:
- Real-time route updates
- Proposed routes
- Recommended hitchhiking spots
- Route planning
- Challenges
- Assistance in crisis situations
- Tips and advices
- Proposed routes
- Recommended hitchhiking spots
- Route planning
- Challenges
- Assistance in crisis situations
- Tips and advices
We use social media inside our application to allow hitchhikers to:
- Share routes
- Challenge each other
- Earn rewards and achievements.
Additionally, we plan to collaborate with cultural events, such as nationwide hitchhiking races.
To make money, we have:
- Premium accounts with extra features
- Reward systems
- Ads and sponsorships
- Donations
These will help us to make the app better for users and keep it running.
- Reward systems
- Ads and sponsorships
- Donations
These will help us to make the app better for users and keep it running.
Competitive analysis.
Before creating our app, we looked at other similar apps to understand them better. We checked what they were good at and where they could be better. This helped us figure out how our app could be stronger and more competitive.
How could your app be better than your competitors?
- Route Creation: Users can create routes from point A to Z. Additionally, we suggest frequently chosen or created routes by other users.
- Community Engagement: Users can challenge nearby users or registered individuals whose usernames are known. This fosters community integration and allows for exciting initiatives during travels.
- Crisis Support: The 'HELP' feature allows users to inform others about emergencies. In case of need, users can notify relevant services about their situation or trusted individuals about sudden route changes.
What company is your application's biggest competitor?
- BlaBlaCar is a big name in ride-sharing globally, known for its success and value in many markets. They bring people together to share rides, save money, and help the environment. They've become popular for promoting sustainable and affordable travel. But it's important to mention they provide paid transportation, which differs from the idea of hitchhiking.
How can we build a unique value?
- Understanding customer needs and communicating this clearly in the app content.
- Developing an app with unique features not available in competitor apps.
- Identifying user pain points through thorough research.
- Regularly exploring user needs and implementing updates.
- Cultivating a community around the product, making it attractive and trendy.
- Creating a memorable presence in people's minds, associating hitchhiking with our product.
- Encouraging the use of our app as a symbol of authentic travel and an eco-friendly lifestyle, aiming to change the perception of travel and influence positive change in the world.
- Developing an app with unique features not available in competitor apps.
- Identifying user pain points through thorough research.
- Regularly exploring user needs and implementing updates.
- Cultivating a community around the product, making it attractive and trendy.
- Creating a memorable presence in people's minds, associating hitchhiking with our product.
- Encouraging the use of our app as a symbol of authentic travel and an eco-friendly lifestyle, aiming to change the perception of travel and influence positive change in the world.
- Developing a specific safety feature that, according to our research and desk analysis, is a crucial factor influencing the use of hitchhiking.
This safety feature works by allowing the user, if they feel uncertain or are in danger, to tap their avatar to activate the SOS function. Then, a large and intuitive button appears, which they can tap to trigger an alarm. After pressing the alarm button, it automatically activates after 30 seconds, or the user can tap it again quickly to activate SOS immediately. Following that, a report containing the hitchhiker's travel log, their location, and the latest shared app photos are sent to:
1. Relevant security services.
2. Previously designated trusted contacts' phone numbers.
All nearby hitchhikers using the app.
Value Proposition Canvas.
Creating a detailed plan for our hitchhiking app helped us figure out a few important things:
- What Hitchhikers Want: We learned what hitchhikers really need, like safety, planning routes, being part of a community, and getting help in emergencies.
- What Makes Us Special: We found out what makes our app different from others. Things like giving real-time updates on routes and sharing tips for hitchhiking.
- How We're Better: By focusing on safety and offering more features for hitchhikers, we figured out how we can be better than our competition.
- Making Our Message Clear: It helped us explain clearly why our app is great, making it easier to tell people about it.
- Ideas to Improve: We got ideas on how to make our app even better in the future, making sure it's what hitchhikers really want.
Survey.
We made a survey about hitchhiking itself and how people feel and what they expect when hitchhiking.
We shared it in different Facebook groups, online forums, and sent it to friends. We got 100 people to fill out our survey, and from that, we learned that:
1. most people care a lot about feeling safe and comfortable while hitchhiking
2. and they also enjoy the adventure of hitchhiking
In summary, the survey results suggest that hitchhiking is popular among younger individuals who seek adventure, meeting new people, and saving money while traveling.
Safety is crucial, and most people prefer using apps and websites to plan their trips.
Spontaneity and openness to new experiences are also important.
It's worth noting that there are social groups and online spaces where hitchhikers share their experiences and tips.
In-Depth Interviews (IDIs).
We designed a screening process to select suitable participants for our study. This process helped us identify individuals who met our criteria.
Following that, we developed a scenario and conducted In-Depth Interviews (IDIs). Eventually, we conducted 10 IDIs.
The findings from the IDIs revealed that safety is the most important - hitchhikers want to feel safe and comfortable. They often rely on their instincts to assess safety, yet there have been instances where instincts failed.
Hitchhikers are not into buying a premium subscription - it negates the essence of hitchhiking, and essential app features like safety should be free. However, they might consider a very affordable premium access for features that enhance the app experience, such as races, challenges, or achievements.
Furthermore, hitchhikers pay particular attention to the spot they choose for hitchhiking. Research indicates that the maximum waiting time for hitchhiking is around 30 minutes.
Monetization.
The business model of our application will rely on advertisements that will be selectively chosen to provide valuable information to our users.
Additionally, we will provide a link to our crowdfunding campaign on Patreon where users and other travel enthusiasts can voluntarily support us.
The final monetization method for our application will be a low-cost premium access, allowing users to access additional features such as "challenge friends" or more achievements and trophies.
Main user-flows.
Usability tests.
Problem:
"I clicked the Panic Button, thinking I had to wait for a specific time for the information to be sent. I didn't realize I could click it again to send it immediately."
"The countdown information on the Panic Button isn't great. I felt some time pressure, didn't know what to do at one point, and searched for options, then quickly clicked the SOS button without much thought. Also the way the message about activating the alarm was written made me feel like I did something wrong."
Problem:
"I clicked the Panic Button, thinking I had to wait for a specific time for the information to be sent. I didn't realize I could click it again to send it immediately."
Additional features.
Challenge (Race) - If you already have travel companions, you can challenge them! Who will be faster? In return, earn rewards!Set meeting points along the route and edit the course as you go.
Achievements - The Achievements screen in our hitchhiking app displays milestones as you travel. Unlock achievements by taking rides, covering distances, and visiting unique places. Celebrate your journey's progress, share experiences, and explore more with fellow hitchhikers!
