Proposes a unified interface for drivers, similar to Mystro (for ride-hailing) or Petpooja (for food delivery), to manage notifications, filter rides, and switch between multiple ride-hailing apps (Uber, Lyft, Ola, Rapido) to reduce noise and distraction.
Ever been in a cab and felt like your driver was getting a private Hotplay concert, aided by ride-hailing app notifications? Yesterday, I noticed that my Uber driver, towards the end of the ride, was getting bombarded with notifications from Uber, Rapido, and Ola for accepting the next ride. Each notification would stay for about 10 seconds. The driver wouldn’t cancel them directly, and the sound of the notification was particularly annoying for the passengers (us) and the driver, especially from Uber and Rapido. Ola's notification sound was, in particular, much better - ironically, though, considering they make me go through completely unrelated pop-ups (book an EV, order food, get a loan) while booking a ride on a workday morning. I think it was also quite distracting for the driver on a busy road, especially while managing my deboarding and payment. I was wondering if notifications can be better constructed for ride-hailing apps? The current notifications are complex and different for each app. They demand a substantial cognitive load from someone who should be focusing on the road. The notifications include: - Pickup distance and time - Ride distance and time - Rider rating - Tip amount - Pickup address (complete - not sure why) - Drop address (complete - not sure why) It can be too difficult at times to read so much, especially for a driver who has Dyslexia or ADHD. Riders use multiple apps to place a ride request. Drivers use multiple apps. Maybe we should just have a super app or just a wrapper already? Each driver could define their "dream ride" (in terms of per km rate, distance, end-localities), which gets auto-accepted. Non-dream rides could just be shown to a driver with a slight vibration (soundless) and a voice notification. I understand that for low-end phones, this may not be feasible. Each driver should also have to be alerted to a few "nightmare rides" for the day which need urgent attention (i.e., no one accepted them after multiple silent vibrations). I am sure this is quite a simplified view of the product problems the teams at such reputed companies are trying to solve, but I am just wondering if there’s a better way here. Thoughts? PS: I know, I know that Mygate notification is the worst among all, but wanted to write about ride-hailing apps for now. #UserExperience #ProductManagement #DesignThinking #RideHailing #Bengaluru