Sunday, August 24, 2014

Day 36: Maximizing affordances in Lyft

Lyft is a mobile phone application which enables passengers to request rides from available drivers using a peer-to-peer format. It provides an alternative to booking cabs through lengthy telephone calls.

Lyft, which facilitates transportation, provides spatial affordability by providing the passenger’s location on the map. It improves the readability of the map by providing an estimate on the time required for the nearest driver to arrive at the passenger’s location. This helps the interactor (the passenger) make a decision about requesting the ride. 

Lyft provides a single button to request a ride, helping the interactor in this participatory action. This transparent interaction can be equated to the convention of hailing a cab by simply waving your hand.



Once a ride is requested, the interactor is given information about the assigned driver, car and location. The passenger can add the destination for the ride. The passenger may also access previous reviews about the driver. This encyclopedic information helps build and sustain trust in both the application and in the concept of community ride-sharing.




The interactor may choose to cancel the ride at any point of the interaction. Thus, the interactor has control during the entire procedure. 

No comments:

Post a Comment