Project: Citi Bike NYC, Motivate
My Roles: UX Designer, Project Manager
Platform: Physical (Concept)
Overview: While conducting research (contextual inquiry and user interviews) on New York's Citibikes, my team found that the number #1 pain point was not finding an open space to dock your bike post-ride (27% as of July 2013).
Top Pain Points
Not Enough Docking Stations
Heavy Bikes
Poor maintenance of bikes
Safety Concerns/ No Helmets
Wait time for switching between bikes (3-5 minutes)
Depending on commuting patterns, parking in popular neighborhoods (West Village, Union Square, transit hubs) require bikes to be redistributed daily to increase chances of returning a bike at a destination. Although Motivate has rolled out valet parking to ease the congestion in popular areas such the Flatiron district, we found that bikers usually use the Citibikes' app. The app provides a real time look of available parking spaces near you, but during our research by the time we biked the 3 blocks to the next docking station all 17 spaces were gone. Also looking at your phone while riding a bike in NYC is a safety issue and not the best user experience.
Solution: I proposed that we borrow a signifier from the MTA's subway. Green globes highlight subway entrances that are open at night. While looking at the Citibikes' docking station, I noticed the solar pole provides an opportunity to be seen from the saddle of a bike while scanning a busy street. A green light would indicate to riders that there were empty parking spots. While a red light would let users know to keep riding to another station. In addition, my team recommended that the Citibikes app auto refreshes with open docking station capacities and uses data to share times a rider will most likely to find a parking spot.
