Building Trust in Car Sharing and Getting People Behind the Wheel in Minutes
$300K Generated & 3,000 Bookings Served
Co-Founder
Product Management
iOS Development
Product Design
At a Glance
Crafted a delightful peer-to-peer mobile car rental app allowing users to book and get behind the wheel of a car in minutes. Got buy-in from stakeholders like insurance companies whilst creating a simple booking system and building trust between users and car owners.
The Problem
Renting a car for short-term travel and errand runs is inconvenient, expensive, and an overall poor experience. Most car rental apps prioritize scheduling and have many restrictions, making it a rushed and unpleasant experience. The users typically don’t own a car and looking to flexibly rent a car, like its their own car.
The Solution
We designed a mobile app that gave users an experience similar to owning a car, mixed with the convenience of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft. New users book cars from our marketplace in as little as 5 minutes within ShiftRide and returning users in 30 seconds. Users are also charged according to their usage, making the pricing more fair and flexible.
Delivering Faster Pickups
As we partnered with an insurance provider to tailor a custom insurance policy securing our trips, we had to solve for potential damages that were already on the car. To help with this, we introduced a required video upload, having users walk around the car and take a video. Our app would seamlessly upload videos in the background, but we had a small issue. Winters in Canada are cold and very snowy, especially where we operated, in Waterloo.
So we adopted a booking flow that asks users to take photos and report it to us if they see any damages. Giving them an easy access to us through the in-app chat.
The Outcome
We grew ShiftRide to a $10K MRR business using very little funding and obsessing over user experience. Eventually, we pivoted to providing short-term lease solutions during the 2020 pandemic, in order to expand and grow in more cities.
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