The Bike Share Mobile App

The Divvy App Concept

The idea to create a mobile application came in-part from the specifications of the creative brief, what form it took was guided by the 6-8-5 ideation sessions. A clickable prototype was created and tested on eight users.

Route planning, including a timer with an audible chime to alert users that their usage is nearing thirty minutes was one of the more practical ideas. Some iterations of this concept included provisions for a self-guided tour.

Additionally I discussed the idea of a cost comparison calculator that demonstrates how much money will be saved by using Divvy instead of the alternatives. A section for bicycling safety also seemed like a natural idea, since so many people expressed safety concerns. The resulting app would be advertised on the Divvy landing page, as well as on the station maps and kiosks.

Some Background on Divvy

Divvy is a Chicago-based bike share program that launched in June of 2014. It was established by the Chicago Department of Transportation  to promote financial recovery, reduce traffic and improve air quality.

The program offers two types of subscription, a 24-hour pass and an annual membership. Both allow the user to use the bikes for 30-minutes at a time. Users need to return the bikes, or briefly redock the bikes before embarking on another 30-minute ride. If the bikes are redocked after the 30 minutes, overtime charges are applied.

Thus far the program has been largely successful, having grown from 750 bicycles and 75 stations at launch, to over 4760 bikes and 476 stations at present.

On August 31st, 2015 real estate developer AMLI Residential, became the first company to make a donation to the program in exchange for two new Divvy stations in front of their properties in the South Loop. This and other factors including population growth are expected to contribute to the continued growth of the program.

The Divvy Project Brief

My team was given a total of two weeks to deliver a solution based on the following brief:

The Problem:

Divvy is well known to the bike sharing community, but they have not gained as much mainstream reach as they would prefer. Divvy believes that there may be an opportunity to increase awareness of their brand through providing value added content to new bike sharers or people with an interest in outdoor sports. They want to do this by providing an application with real utility for this market.

Some initial features to think about:

• Content oriented to cyclists
• Trail maps and information
• Social groups centered around cycling
• Tips and tricks for cyclists
• Information about Divvy that leads to membership

Target Devices:

• iPad and/or iPhone application
• Webpage on the Divvy website promoting the application

The Research Process

I spent many hours of our time near Divvy stations in contextual inquiry, monitoring and observing usage patterns. Over forty people were interviewed in-person.

In addition to the field interviews, I conducted an online survey, in which forty-three people participated. I asked people if they have used Divvy, and if not, why not. I also asked people if they work in the city, and if so, what mode of transportation they typically use.

Once I had all of the responses recorded, I began looking for recurrent themes. I created a framework based on the usage patterns before, during and after the rental timeframe and then began dividing the categories into sub-categories. From there, I was able to identify a number of needs and pain points.

Street Interview Results

Two things I heard consistently:

1. Both the users and non-users of Divvy are not particularly fond of the thirty minute time restriction. They felt that it confined their trip to a shorter distance than they might otherwise travel.
    
2. A large percentage of those interviewed indicated a concern for their personal safety while cycling on city streets.

Another concern was for the "balance" of the stations. At times there are strong patterns of use in some parts of the city, and weaker patterns in other areas. This means that there is sometimes a scarcity of bikes at some stations, and an abundance of bikes at others. When all of the dock spaces at a station are occupied, there is no place to return a bike, which forces the user ride to another station. I heard this concern in the interviews, as well as in online social media. In the past some users utilized @DivvyFail to report problems with the bike share system.

Which Transportation Methods Do You Usually Use?

The online survey participants were invited to "check all that apply" on the first survey question. This provides a high-level view of current transportation modes currently being employed by our potential user base. This graph shows that Chicagoans are mostly using their car or public transportation, as well as their own bicycles.

Patterns of Use - User Flows

There were three broad patterns of use that emerged from our research results:

1. TOUR from point A to point A ( a return trip )
2. TOUR from point A to point B
3. COMMUTE from point A to point B

Divvy User Personae

Two basic personae were formulated based on patterns of use, the tourist and the commuter. I made the addition of a third potential user based on people who expressed interest in using the program, but who had not yet done so, that user I classified as curious. You can read about the personae in greater detail in the sections below...

Ideation Sessions

A total of twenty people participated in a 6-8-5 ideation session. First I showed the participants the personae I had created, explained some of the problems the users of Divvy frequently encounter, then each person spent five minutes sketching 6-8 ideas on Post-It notes.

Three affinity boards were created, one for each of the personae, and divided the sketches according to whose needs or pain points were addressed with the solution.

The participants were instructed to ideate using minimum viable product criteria. That is, which products will provide the best return on investment. I culled through the ideas to find which would provide solutions to the broadest base of users possible.

Wireframes - High Fidelity

Audible Prompts

Other Considerations

Though it was tempting to discuss adjustments to the Divvy program, I tried to stay focused on easing the pain points using application based solutions.

When discussing the thirty minute time constraint, most people are confused about why Divvy would choose to put such a policy in place. If you consider how the program would run without them, it doesn't take long to figure out why. Divvy has an interest in seeing that the bikes are circulating throughout the city, they don't want people hanging on to the bikes for too long.

One possible solution that came up during ideation was an a system similar to the iPass highway toll system. It seems unnecessary to ask users to dock the bikes every half hour when a sensor on the bike could alert a nearby station that the bike is indeed in motion, and not locked up near a local cafe.

Conclusion

Despite the initial success of Divvy, it is possible that at some point in the future there will be a usage plateau. Some of the obstacles for entry are significant, and continued success of the service will likely depend on ability of the provider to create a safe and efficient space for the users. Some of the difficulties can be eased with a mobile app, and some of the problems with need to be addressed from within the system.