Apr 2025 - May 2025
Improving Pickup Accuracy
for Drivers
52%
Reduction in
Cancellation rate
72%
Reduction in
Support tickets
44%
Improvement in
Avg. Pickup time
The driver app is a core mobility platform that enables professional drivers to accept ride requests, navigate to riders, complete trips, and earn income. It acts as the driver’s main tool for managing their day-to-day operations—covering trip assignments, navigation, rider communication, and earnings management.
Overview
🌍 Setting the scene
Every minute matters in a driver’s day. At bustling transit hubs like railway stations and airports, even the smallest delay in finding a rider can trigger frustration, cancellations, and lost income. As part of Rapido’s design team, I took on a challenge that had long puzzled both our drivers and operations teams — how might we help drivers find their passengers more accurately in complex pickup zones?
🧩 The Problem
Our data showed a troubling pattern. Drivers were spending over twice as long finding passengers in these zones.
23%
Transit hub
Cancellation
40%
Increase in
Help Tickets
8.5 mins
Increase in avg.
Pickup time
The goal was clear:
Improve pickup
Setting out to solve
🚖 The Field Work
To understand the real problem, I did research on the ground for three intense days across four major hubs — observing, interviewing 24 drivers, and listening to hundreds of micro-stories from the people behind the wheel.
3 Days
Research
4 Hubs
Transits
24
Drivers
I learned that:
GPS alone couldn’t cope with the multi-layered layouts of stations and airports.
Drivers were guessing based on intuition, not information.
Many simply wished they could “see where the rider actually is.”
One driver summed it up perfectly:
“Show me a photo of where to go — I’ll find them faster than any map can.”
Sangappa, Auto Driver
💡 Reimagining the Pickup Experience
I reframed the problem not as a navigation issue, but as a context issue. The insight was simple yet powerful: seeing the location is more reliable than following it. That single insight sparked the hypothesis:
“If drivers can see the pickup point through real-world visuals, we can dramatically improve pickup accuracy.”
The solution
Solution
Introduce street view or image of pick-up location
This feature will view of the pick-up location directly in the app, helping drivers visually identify exactly where to meet passengers at busy or confusing places. It provides real-world context—such as nearby landmarks, building entrances, or special waiting zones—for greater accuracy and confidence during pickups.
✨ My Vision as a Lead Designer
Instead of treating this as a minor feature addition, I saw it as an opportunity to redefine the driver experience — both visually and functionally. I proposed creating a Visual Pickup Experience, a holistic redesign that blended real-world imagery, contextual cues, and conversational communication.
This required more than UI tweaks — it called for a new design language built on three user needs that I have defined:
Confidence to arrive at the pickup location
For a driver, confidence doesn’t come from the map — it comes from certainty. In crowded transit hubs, every moment of hesitation—choosing the right gate or lane adds delays, and frustration.
Save time, stress and
fuel
Helping drivers save time, stress, and fuel meant designing for efficiency — fewer wrong turns, quicker decisions, and smoother pickups that made every trip feel effortless.
A handshake between driver & customer
Creating a handshake between driver and customer meant building trust through clearer communication — making it easier for both to find each other quickly and confidently.
The Redesign
Here’s how we transformed the experience:
Visual Intelligence on the Map
Integrating an Image View within the Pickup Screen helped drivers visually identify exact pickup points instead of relying solely on abstract map pins. It bridged the gap between digital navigation and real-world context, reducing confusion and search time. This visual clarity led to faster, more accurate pickups and improved driver confidence at busy transit hubs.
Pickup Screen
Chat & Call ingress
The chat and call customer feature was bought outside to make quick contact if required
Street view ingress
Drivers can now see this card which will lead to the google street view
Pickup marker
The pickup marker will give an idea about the distance to measure
Street View of the pick up spot
The Pickup Screen first attempts to load a Street View of the exact pickup spot, showing a 360° real-world image with a highlighted marker. If Street View isn’t available, the app automatically switches to a static Image View — a cached photo of the location with the same visual cues — ensuring drivers always have a reliable visual reference regardless of connectivity or data availability.
Street View
The Street View displays a highlighted pickup marker, helping drivers instantly identify the exact pickup spot.
When the view is moved
When the view is moved, a “Reset to Pickup Point” option appears, allowing drivers to quickly return to the original pickup marker.
Navigation Reimagined
As the driver approaches the pickup point, the default navigation marker seamlessly transitions into a Street View marker. The driver can click the marker, and the street view of the exact pickup spot appears for quick visual confirmation.
Navigation Screen
Location marker with
street view card
The card will lead to the street view when the driver is nearing the location
Chat ingress
Chat ingress on the navigation screen to check customer messages or driver can send if required
Photo & Voice Message Integration on Chat
The Photo and Voice Message Integration in chat enables drivers and passengers to communicate more effectively during pickups. Drivers can send a quick photo of their exact location or a short voice message when typing isn’t convenient, reducing misunderstandings and delays. This feature adds a personal, real-time layer to communication, helping both parties identify each other faster and complete pickups smoothly even in crowded or noisy environments.
Photo capability
Camera integration
Recording voice
Voice message
All screens
Here are the screens that I designed as part of this initiative.
Impact & Result
🧪 User testing
I conducted usability testing with 10 active drivers who frequently operate around major transit hubs. Each participant completed simulated pickups using the new Pickup View prototype on their own devices.
🌟 Key outcomes
9 out of 10 drivers successfully identified the correct pickup spot without external help.
7 drivers mentioned the street image gave immediate clarity about where to stop.
3 drivers operating in areas without Street View said the static photo fallback still provided enough visual context.
100% of participants said they would prefer this new view for crowded locations.
🚀 Phased rollout
The feature was launched through a phased rollout, starting with pilot deployments in Hyderabad and Bangalore, two cities known for complex transit hubs and high pickup volumes. After observing strong improvements in pickup accuracy, reduced cancellations, and positive driver feedback, the rollout was gradually expanded to other major cities across India. This step-by-step approach ensured performance stability, allowed for quick iteration based on real-world feedback, and built confidence among stakeholders before nationwide implementation.
Metric
Before
After
Improvement
Average pickup time at transit hubs
12.5 mins
7 mins
44%
Cancellation rate at transit hubs
23%
11%
52.2%
Customer complaints (can't find driver)
340/month
89/month
73.8% reduction
🧠 Closing thought
This project began as a minor feature request but evolved into a defining moment for the design team. By pushing beyond the requirement, I helped reimagine the driver experience and set a new creative standard for future Rapido Captain products.
“Sometimes, the most meaningful design happens when you go beyond what’s asked — and build what’s truly needed.”
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