Ola Carpool(Ola Share)User Experience Enhancement Solution| GCPM | INSAID
By: Avishek Das
Tags: Product Management, Case Study, Solutions, Product

Problem Statement : Customer wants shorter wait time , and rides felt boring.

Task : As a product manager think of ways, to make the ride journey more interesting by

a) Strategizing new features within the app.

b) Market the newly added feature and measure its metrics.

What do we need more as a PM?

1. Sample data in below sections

a) user’s persona & journey ; b) avg wait time; c) avg wait time when maximum cancellations happening ; d)What are the factors considered to conclude the ride was boring, if any; e) any other underlying problem to be considered.

Available data :

USERS

A set of urban users under age group 18–30 years who are fresh grads / early corporates are using the shared carpool services to optimize the travel cost & people who are having more inclination towards environment awareness tend to use carpool as a service to reduce the carbon footprint.

Average wait time and cancellations

Average wait time for carpool services in cities like Bangalore has gone as much as 17–20minutes as shown in recent surveys.

Most of the users are cancelling the rides

a) as soon as they see high wait times on the app after ride is booked, trying to get a nearby cab in the next booking.

b) when rides are found from competitor apps/services with shorter wait time.

Why is it boring?

a) Longer rides, less conversations.

b) Peak hours traffic and delayed pick ups/drops.

Underlying problems?

Poor network can be one, not sufficient data available at the moment;

How would I solve it as a PM in OLA?

A) Delayed pick up

i) Gamification — Gratification

Once ride is booked and it shows cab arrival time a trivia based quiz to be played by users on any selected topic as given as options, and if the user can score 80% or above, user will get a discount voucher/coupon code of same value as initial wait time (e.g.,17% for 17mins wait time) which can be applied for the same ride or next ride taken within 7 days.

ii) Walk & pick — Gratification

Walk to the nearest super-pickup point(to be situated in main locations /junctions of the city from where it will require less U-turns for the driver), Ola app will calculate the distance walked and offer flat discounts on share rides.

e.g., 0–500mtrs — 20rupees , 501–1000mtrs — 45rs etc.

B) In-Cab engagement

i) AR/VR based games — (TG teenagers/early professionals)

While on ride, on the Ola app, riders can play a super fast ride based game (example Need for Speed) and earn prizes(condition applied).

ii) Meditate-Live sessions on Ola Play

According to the statistics, riders will spend more time in the peak hour traffic on the roads and may feel emotionally exhausted. Hence on Ola play we launch a new feature where we have live meditation experts available only during peak hours doing live meditation session with the riders. This can be primarily offered at FOC/ nominal pricing.

iii) Map — OP (VR story telling)

Using tech like these rides can be made more fun, while riders pass any historical monument/important locations of the city, quick AVs can be played for new movers to know the place where they live.

Success Metrics

A) Increased percentage of share rides in 30days once features are launched

B) Decreased percentage of ride cancellations in 7/15/30 days once features are launched.

I am on my process to learn this domain of study, looking forward to your views and comments which shall enhance my learning more.

Thank you!

- By an Aspiring product manager.