Cycloop is a Geo-location based real-time mobile application for renting cycles. Daily commuters, travellers and bicycle enthusiasts can easily book an eco-friendly ride to anywhere in the city through this app.
Cycloop is environmentally sustaining, socio-culturally responsive and a contextually demanding service which aims to build an eco friendly, healthy and self sustaining business in the travel and lifestyle sector.
Context
Due to the increasing urbanization many people are adopting “cycling to work” which is a smart an environment friendly move to keep excercising in practice and reducing the traffic and pollution on roads.
Microsoft wants to take the initiative to help and encourage people to rent bicycle for com- muting needs for which a complete system level approach is required to run the service.
Role & Process
The project came to me as a design task from Microsoft as a part of a workshop at NID. The demand was a complete system level design for solution that not only facilitates the end user but also motivate people to adopt this as a regular practice and help spread awareness about this initiative.
Research
I started the research by firstly identifying the potential end users and the effect of the environment and city infrastructure on cycling.
Through stakeholder mapping I tried to understand the stakeholders involved at all the levels of a cycle renting service.
To understand the key tasks performed by the people when they travel form one place to another especially during the office hours, I did a complete existing user experience mapping. This helped me in identifying the pain points, motivations and needs of a commuter.
Experience strategy
Defining persona
Defining user types through personas which highlights the pain points and needs. This helped in outlining the features of the cycle renting service to cater to the most potential target audience.
Insights
The challenges to be targeted as per the insights from the above research.
Defining Value
In order to have an outstanding service at system level Cycloop proposes to create value through these factors:
Key features
Task Flow
The information architecture of the app is very intuitive and it guides the user through the seamless cycle of renting and riding a bicycle from anywhere in the city.
Introducing Cycloop
The name Cycloop represents beginning a loop of a green revolution with this small step of adopting cycling for commuting. Connecting more users and promoting the cause.
Colour Palette
A set of fresh and eye catching colours are used to give the app a more clean and energetic look. The primary and secondary colour palette creates the major look and feel and highlights the important information and tasks.
While the tertiary colour palette just acts as a supporter, by highlighting more number of pins on the map during navigation. It is slightly different the primary and secondary palette for the purpose of being more eye catching.
App Icon
The app icon has a gradient background which elevates and highlights the icon with the a part of Cycloop logo. The logo is formed by merging the form of a cyclist with the Cycloop font.
App Login
The user is given three options to get started with Cycloop, he can either start with Facebook or Google authentication or register by a unique name and password with phone and e-mail authentication.
Home Screen
Being a geo location based app it tracks users location and the home screen highlights the nearest cycle renting booths and independent cycle owners. It also gives a menu of the types of cycles available in the area with their daily fares.
Bicycle renting booths
Cycloop gives users all the details of the renting booths and local bicycle owners in just one tap. Users just need to select any of the nearest desired renting facility showing on the map and it gives details like the name of the renting booth or owner, number of available cycles, the dock capacity and its distance from the user.
Users can also filter and enhance their search of the cycles by purpose, price and popularity.
Booking Ride
Cycloop gives a complete detail of the bicycle user has chosen and guides him through the booking process in a simple and quick way. User can know more about the performance, purpose and rates of the cycle he is booking for the desired time.
After confirming the booking the app gives all the ride details (bicycle name, bicycle code, pickup point address, booking duration and the amount payable) to the user and guides him to the pickup point.
Pick up
At the bicycle renting booth the user identifies the cycle he has booked by the cycle code he received after booking. Then he unlocks the bicycle by scanning the QR code using his phone.
Riding
While riding Cycloop navigates the rider via the roads of optimum traffic and best suited for cycle riders. Also it highlights the repair shops, refreshment centres and the co riders riding in the same direction. Rider can easily tap and ask to pair with other riders, other riders if willing can approve the request and start riding together.
Rider raising a request to the other riders moving in his direction.
Other riders who recieves request can accept or decline to co ride.
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