SKILyft
Overview
SKILyft is a collaborative carpool concept app design, aiding winter enthusiast in the creation of peer-to-peer rideshares from Denver to Loveland, CO.
Problem Statement
While Lyft is a rideshare app, it does not provide true peer-to-peer ride sharing for its’ users.
Problem Solution
SKILyft provides a safe and convenient way for users to carpool to Loveland Ski Area from Denver, CO.
View InVision Prototypes
Tools & Methodologies
Google Slides
Google Surveys
Sketch
Toggl
Project Timeline
2 weeks
My role
Research
Surveys
Competitive Analysis
Journey Mapping
Presentation
Project Management
Teammates
Mike Kreisse
Zoe Pasternack
Delaney Reimers
Initial Research and Ideation
Our goal was to create a new feature within Lyft Pool. How would we stand out from the existing modes of carpooling and rideshares? What would Lyft users want for a new feature?
Avenues we researched included Business and Corporate, Mountain Sports and Pastimes, and Concerts and Events.
Initial Survey
Key points from our first survey were to gather information on the following:
User frequency of use of Lyft & other transportation apps.
Destinations.
Experiences with carpooling/rideshares.
Factors taken into consideration (i.e. safety, cost, etc).
Journey Mapping
Aside from major points of frustration, it was noteworthy that many users, especially female users, experienced nervousness in anticipation of having negative interactions with their driver and/or fellow riders.
Note: Further research concluded that regulations and requirements for drivers varied from state-to-state.
Competitive Analysis
Along with main competitors, such as Uber and Waze, we found it important to research lesser known companies. These included Safr, Via, and Sluglines.
“...over the past five years, about seven million people annually visited mountains in Colorado Ski Country USA’s network, which does not include Vail-owned properties like Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail, and Beaver Creek. Vail Resorts does not break out individual numbers for each locale, but estimates suggest an additional five million skiers and riders annually frequent those mountains, as well—making the Colorado total somewhere north of 12 million.”
As we sifted through competitors, we saw an opportunity… a lack of carpooling and rideshares to the mountain towns and resorts from Denver and surrounding areas. With the increase of population and subsequent winter activity enthusiast, traffic along the I70 corridor becomes a gridlocked nightmare. Thus ridesharing and carpooling are highly recommended to help alleviate the congestion, on the highways as well in the lots of mountain resorts.
Leaning in, we focused research into specific competitors and their pros and cons.
Epic Mountain Express: Shuttle service provided to and from DIA to Mountain Ski Resorts such as Breckenridge, Keystone, and Copper.
RTD ski-n-ride: Public bus shuttles.
Ski Carpool: Independent scheduling of carpools via Facebook.
Snowstang and Bustang: Bus shuttles.
UberSKI: Available only in Vail and Beaver Creek.
Winter Park Express: Train system.
Follow-up Survey
With Winter Sports and Activities in mind, further user research was needed. Main points now were the following:
The timing and frequency of visits to the mountains and resorts.
What forms of transportation they were taking to reach their destination.
What activities they were participating in.
Research Synthesis
Opportunity in sight, we ideated SKILyft. This feature would be first introduced as a Beta-test. With that in mind, the only route available would be Denver to Loveland and back. Features that would be included in this Beta-test would include:
Drivers & Rider background checks.
More comprehensive profiles of drivers & riders.
Comprehensive overviews of vehicles, approved for winter weather.
Easy access to trip overview page with specific trip details.
Personas
User Flows
Keeping with the peer-to-peer nature of SKILyft, it was important to differentiate between the Drivers and the Riders in their uses of the app. Thus, there were multiple userflows.
Lo-Fidelity Wireframes
Hi-Fidelity Prototypes
Day of Ride InVision Prototype
Closing Thoughts and Next Steps
Next steps that would be beneficial to this specific feature as well as Lyft would include the following:
Unifying thorough background checks for all users, ensuring the safety for everyone.
Expansion into more Ski Resort locations throughout the Rocky Mountains.
Conducting A/B Testing with users of SKILyft.