Do you ever just run into one of those rentable scooters in the street wanting to use it? You get on, get ready to scan the QR code, then you realize, after scrolling through your phone, that you don't have the app for that particular scooter, you frustratingly open up your Play store or App store, you download the correct app just to realize that there is a fuzzy registration process and you have to choose between giving your data away to yet another company or move along and find the nearest bike that you actually can use with the apps you already have?
Yeah me too.
So, when faced with the brief that prompted me and the other applicants for Yrgo Digital Designer class of 2019 to find a solution that would make the residents of Gothenburg choose to use rentable bikes rather than the car, I thought that spreading awareness in one of the worlds most commonly used apps surely would make an impact.
Timeline: April 2019
Created in: Figma
By showing the rentable bikes in Google Maps just like anything else, despite what company they belong to, it eliminates the hurdle of having to install and register for several apps. Thus one obstacle is eliminated. You can easily select one bike and see how far of a walk it is to get to it and if it has enough battery. You don't even have to leave Google Maps to scan or pay, you could just utilize Google Pay or your credit card.
This is the version that I actually submitted in my college application. It was before I knew what material design was, so I made everything by hand in Adobe Illustrator and tried to salvage that fact by writing a stellar motivation. Luckily enough I got in, so I must've done something right.
In reality, neither Google nor the different scooter providers would think this is a great idea. Surely there are clausules and legal aspects and what not that I don't really feel like reading up on that would hinder this type of cooperation. Google did integrate payment for Uber in Maps for a while, but because of the same reasons that would probably hinder Public Bicycles to become a real thing, it's now only possible to get information about a Uber trip in Maps, not actually pay for it.
One can dream of a better solution. But, for now, we'll have to keep registering for new apps if we want to keep riding scooters.
