Uber Rent

The rental car industry is a $60B industry, globally, and in 2019, 53% of our customers rented a vehicle outside of Uber. How might we create a product that would keep renters on our platform?

My role

I advocated for a vision that extended beyond developing a traditional rental car platform, leading and facilitating meetings with cross-functional teams and leadership. I also provided valuable feedback during key project milestones, ensuring high standards of craft and quality throughout the process.

Our team

The team consisted of myself as the one Product Design Manager, one Product Manager, one Engineering Manager, one UX Researcher, one Content Designer, two Product Designers, and five Engineers.

Research

In late 2019, a survey was distributed to over 50,000 Uber riders across various locations to assess their current car usage and identify key pain points. The survey also aimed to gauge interest in renting a vehicle through Uber, providing valuable insights to inform future service offerings.

Our research revealed that the existing rental experience is often subpar, with customers facing significant inefficiencies throughout the process. On average, renters wait approximately 45 minutes at the rental counter before receiving their vehicle, highlighting a major inconvenience in the current process.

Through our survey, we identified the top three pain points in the traditional rental model: vehicle pickup, vehicle drop-off, and refueling. These steps consistently created friction for customers, contributing to a less-than-ideal experience. Addressing these challenges presented a significant opportunity for improvement.

Despite these frustrations, we found there was strong interest in an alternative solution. Over 56% of surveyed customers indicated they would likely rent a vehicle through our platform, underscoring the demand for a more seamless and user-friendly rental experience.

Goals

Easy

Our goal was to redefine the rental experience by making it as seamless and effortless as requesting a ride on Uber. With just a tap of a button, users should be able to access a vehicle without the hassle of lengthy processes or unnecessary steps. Renting a car should be simple, intuitive, and frictionless.

Convenient

Convenience was at the core of our vision. Instead of requiring users to stand in line and navigate cumbersome rental procedures, we aimed to bring the rental experience directly to them. By streamlining access and reducing wait times, our goal was to create a product that prioritized efficiency.

Explorations

Research studies

We conducted unmoderated usability studies to assess the effectiveness and usability of our rental car experience. Participants interacted with our prototypes, completing tasks such as renting a car to simulate real-world usage. This approach allowed us to gather feedback on the intuitiveness and efficiency of our design.

The primary objectives of our study were to evaluate how easily users could discover the rental feature from our home screen, assess the overall user experience when completing a rental, and determine which version of our prototype best supported our goals. By analyzing participant interactions and behaviors, we aimed to refine our design to create a seamless and intuitive rental process.

Feedback

Our research revealed that the initial onboarding process introduced too much friction for users. In an effort to collect all necessary information at the beginning of the experience, we inadvertently overwhelmed users by presenting too many questions on a single screen. This resulted in cognitive overload, making the process feel cumbersome rather than seamless.

Additionally, our calendar design, while effective for immediate rentals, did not align with the needs of users looking to book a vehicle weeks in advance. The structure required too much effort for long-term planning, creating unnecessary barriers for those seeking future reservations. This insight underscored the importance of designing a flexible and intuitive booking system that accommodates both short-term and advanced rental needs.

Final Designs

Results

100%

We rolled out this product to 100% of traffic on April 28, 2021

$21.5M

In gross bookings for the rest of the year.

Next steps

We introduced Uber Valet to enhance the rental experience by offering vehicle delivery and pickup, eliminating the need for users to visit a rental location. With this service, customers could rent a vehicle directly through Uber and have it delivered to their chosen location. Once their trip was complete, the vehicle would be conveniently picked up, making the process seamless and hassle-free.

Initially piloted in Washington, D.C., Uber Valet has since expanded to eight cities across the U.S., including San Francisco, Washington D.C., Miami, Chicago, Boston, Hoboken (NJ), New York City, and Philadelphia.

Uber Valet Designs

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