SERVICE DESIGN:
WAYMATE
Project Type
TEAm Project
Duration
8 Weeks
My Role
SERVICE DESIGN (Research, UX/UI Design, Prototyping, Usability Test)
Project Overview
Waymate:
Rethinking Airport Transport through the Eyes of Real Travelers
Travel offers excitement and openness to new experiences, but it also brings uncertainty and fatigue from constant unfamiliarity. We saw an opportunity to design a service that reduces this anxiety while enhancing the joy and novelty of the journey. We focused on the first challenge every traveler faces—getting from the airport to the city—as a critical moment to create reassurance and set a positive tone for the trip.
Ride-Sharing: Affordable, Stress-Free Airport Transfers
Waymate pre-matches travellers heading in a similar direction, enabling them to share fares at a fair price. Users can review profiles, select co-passengers, and coordinate pick-up in advance, reducing uncertainty from the moment they arrive.
Airport Pickup: Transparent and Predictable
We designed a pickup system that visualises the full sequence of pick-ups and drop-offs based on each traveller’s location. This allows users to see their order, route, and expected timing in advance, reducing uncertainty and providing reassurance after landing.
Flight-Synced Booking: Smooth Travel Despite Delays
Waymate syncs with flight details in real time. If a flight is delayed or rescheduled, bookings are automatically adjusted and rides reassigned, ensuring travellers have a reliable pick-up at the correct time.
Discover
What does the experience of airport transfers mean to travellers?
Secondary Research
Understanding Shifts in Traveler Behavior
Through secondary research, we analysed travel mobility trends and traveler preferences for airport transportation. Our research showed that rising low-cost airline use and remote work have changed travel patterns. More travelers now prefer ride-hailing for airport transport. These insights guided our efforts to better meet evolving needs.
Insight 01
Growth of Low-Cost Airlines (LCC) and Changes in Airport Usage Patterns
As more people use low-cost airlines (LCCs), their growth is significantly influencing airport usage patterns. To cut costs, LCCs primarily operate at secondary airports and focus on maximizing flight utilization, often scheduling flights at night or early in the morning. This trend increases the demand for more flexible airport transportation services.
Insight 02
Increasing Preference for Ride-Hailing Services
Globally, ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft are becoming more popular, especially for airport transportation. Demand is even higher at night or in areas with limited public transport options. Key factors driving this preference include predictable fares, convenient booking systems, and a variety of vehicle choices.
SWOT Analysis
Evaluating the Airport Transportation Market
Through market analysis, we identified strong and growing demand in the airport transportation sector. Established ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft continue to develop tailored offerings for airport travel, highlighting the significance of this market. At the same time, gaps remain: high costs for private rides, limited late-night public transport, and persistent traveller discomfort. These insights revealed clear opportunities to design a service that addresses unmet needs and reduces friction in the airport transfer experience.
STRENGTH
Growing Travel Demand: More people need airport transport for tourism and business.
Tech-Driven Services: Ride-hailing apps like Uber offer real-time booking and fare estimates.
Varied Transport Options: Users can choose from ride-hailing, private pickups, public transport, and taxis.
WEAKNESSES
Long Waits & Inconvenience: Public transport has fixed schedules, and ride fares surge during peak hours.
Safety & Reliability Issues: Private pickups and shared rides may be less reliable and raise safety concerns.
High Costs: Airport taxis and private services are expensive, with unpredictable extra fees.
OPPORTUNITIES
Smart Mobility Growth: MaaS platforms improve real-time traffic updates and route suggestions.
Eco-Friendly Demand: More people prefer electric taxis and shared transport.
Late-Night Travel Gap: Few services cater to passengers between 10 PM and 6 AM.
THREATS
Strong Competition: Uber, Lyft, and taxis dominate the market, making entry hard.
Legal Barriers: Airport transport rules vary by country, creating legal hurdles.
Better Public Transport: Improved airport buses and trains may reduce demand for private rides.
User Survey
Understanding the Obstacles in a Traveler’s Path
We conducted research to understand how users plan their journey from the airport to their final destination and what their experience looks like. We surveyed 34 travelers in their 20s and 30s. The 18-question survey revealed key decision factors and common pain points in choosing transportation.
Insight 01
70.6% of users mainly use public transportation for airport travel.
70.6%
Public transportation
(Bus/Metro)
14.7%
Airport limousine/
Shuttle
8.8%
Modes of transportation used for airport travel during international trips
Taxi
Insight 02
55.9% of users consider convenience the most when choosing airport transportation.
55.9%
32.4%
11.8%
Criteria for selecting airport transportation
Convenience
Travel time
Cost
Insight 03
58.8% of users have experienced difficulty finding airport transportation.
58.8%
41.2%
Experience with difficulty in finding airport transportation
Yes
No
Insight 04
62.5% of users struggled to find airport transportation due to arriving at inconvenient times or long travel times.
62.5%
62.5%
37.5%
Challenges in Finding Airport Transportation
Arrived too early or too late
Long travel time
Uncertainty about the transportation options
The survey revealed that travelers face obstacles in airport transportaiton due to a lack of convenient options, difficulty finding transportaion at certain times, and long travel times.
In-Depth Interview
Delving Deeper into Travelers’ Challenges
After survey results revealed challenges with airport transportation, we conducted in-depth interviews with 8 participants to better understand their pain points.
Cost-conscious travelers in their 20s and 30s prefer public transit for its affordability and reliability, but struggle with limited service hours—especially at night. These insights shaped our project goal: to solve issues around inadequate public transportation options.
User A
Female, 20s
"I always check transportation options from the airport to my accommodation in advance. Since I have luggage, I need to plan ahead to save time."
User B
Female, 30s
"When public transport isn't available at night or requires multiple transfers, I take a taxi. But sometimes at night, taxis can be hard to book, and sometimes I’ve had to wait over 20 minutes because no cars were available."
User C
Female, 20s
"I don’t like wandering around alone after arriving at the airport, so I thoroughly research transportation options in advance and even download necessary apps if needed."
User D
Male, 20s
"I once had a 6 AM flight, but the airport shuttle didn’t run between 1 AM and 4 AM. I had to take a 10 PM bus the night before and ended up waiting at the airport for hours. There was no public transport at that time."
User E
Female, 20s
"I planned to take the bus, but the intervals were too long—30 to 40 minutes—so I ended up taking a taxi instead. Sticking to my schedule is important, and time is valuable when traveling."
User F
Female, 20s
“I've had trouble finding the pickup point when calling an Uber. I once received a call from the driver saying he was waiting, but since I couldn't speak the local language, communication was difficult, and the Uber got canceled.”
Define
What is the most significant difficulty travellers face during airport transfers?
Problem Statement
Defining the Main Challenges
We identified key challenges based on users' motivations, goals, needs, and pain points uncovered through our research.
Problem 01
Travelers face inconvenient and costly airport transfers due to limited public transport and expensive ride-hailing services during off-peak hours.
Problem 02
Travelers face ride refusals or extra fees due to mismatched transport needs like luggage or trip purpose.
Problem 03
Users struggle to communicate with drivers or locals, making it difficult to find and arrange transportation.
Ideation
Exploring Ideas: Brainstorming Solutions to Address Key Issues
Building on our problem statements, we held a "How Might We" session to generate diverse ideas and explore multiple solution angles. Next, we brainstormed solutions based on the HMW questions, exploring a wide range of ideas to tackle traveler challenges.
2X2 Matrix
Evaluating and Prioritising Ideas
Once we had gathered all the ideas, we organized them into a 2x2 matrix, evaluating them by feasibility and impact to identify the most valuable solutions. This led us to focus on a ride-sharing service for airport travelers, offering the best balance of practicality and user value.
Develop
How might a service be structured to reduce anxiety and build trust among travellers?
User Story Mapping
Defining the Minimum Viable Product(MVP)
After selecting ideas with the 2x2 matrix, we defined our MVP using user story mapping. We broke down the journey—from booking to drop-off—into key stages to identify essential actions and features for MVP1 and MVP2.
Information Architecture
IA & Taskflows
To create a simple and natural flow for ride booking and reaching the destination, we designed both IA and workflow to handle all scenarios seamlessly.
Idea Sketches
Exploring Concepts through Sketches
We began the design process with rapid, low-fidelity sketches to explore different ideas and user flows. Sketching allowed us to quickly test variations, identify key interactions, and align on the core structure of the experience before moving forward.
Deliver
How should the service be communicated to ensure clarity and reassurance for travellers?
Function Specifications
In addition, we created function specifications to explain how each feature works, ensuring clarity and alignment in the design. This process helped us outline the user journey from start to finish, refining the essential features and their interactions within the app.
Design System
Building Design Consistency & Efficiency
We created a design system to deliver a cohesive user experience and improve design efficiency, grounded in the service's core values.
Final Designs
Bringing the Vision to Life: Final Design Implementation
Onboarding
Safe Travel Starts Here
Travelers often feel anxious when meeting unverified drivers or passengers in an unfamiliar international airport. Waymate’s onboarding verifies email, phone, and ID to build a trusted network and ensure safer shared rides.
Ride Booking
Plan your Stress-Free Transit
Waymate lets users pre-book rides with detailed info like pickup points, gate numbers, and luggage needs—reducing airport stress and making travel smoother and more predictable.
Ride Companion Matching
Find your Ride Companion
Waymate helps users find the right ride companion by showing verified profiles and matching based on group needs, language, and preferences—making shared rides safer and more comfortable.
Waymate's 'Best Match' aids decisions
Match drivers with group needs.
Build a reliable network through ratings.
View companion profiles before joining.
Waiting the Ride
Personalised Guidance for
Seamless Pickups
Real-time updates show the driver and ride companion locations, making pickup easier and reducing the need to communicate directly—especially helpful in unfamiliar languages or settings.
Post-Ride Management
Post-Ride Insights and Management
Users can see a full trip summary with route, fare, and ride companion details. They can easily access receipts, add a tip, or leave ratings and reviews—making it simple to manage everything after the ride.
Requesting Changes
Flight-Synced Booking: Stress-Free Travel Even with Schedule Changes
Waymate connects with users' flight information to update pickup time and location automatically. If a flight is delayed, it assigns a new ride group based on the updated arrival time—making schedule changes stress-free.
Heuristic Evaluation
Usability Test
Usability Test
We conducted a usability test with 6 users, covering 10 tasks across the full user journey—from onboarding to post-ride. This helped us identify key friction points and evaluate the overall service flow. A heuristic evaluation was also performed to assess usability against best practices. Together, these insights guided our design improvements for a smoother, more intuitive ride-sharing experience.
Usability Test Plan
Usability Test (Online via Zoom)
Reflections
What I Learned
Through this project, I gained valuable key insights into creating a seamless experience, from booking to arrival, while optimising the design for ease of use and practicality.
01
Understanding Mobility Users
I gained hands-on experience designing for shared ride services, learning to balance user needs like safety and trust with operational challenges such as route efficiency and real-time matching. Understanding user behavior helped me design for clarity, speed, and confidence throughout the ride experience.
02
Prioritisation Matters
With limited time and scope, I had to make thoughtful decisions about which features would bring the most value to users. This taught me how to identify the core user flows and ensure that essential tasks—like booking a ride or confirming a shared route—are intuitive and seamless.
03
Collaborative Alignment
Working in a team setting reinforced the value of collaborative alignment. Through user research synthesis, persona creation, and iterative feedback, we stayed on the same page and delivered a consistent user-centered experience.
Works
Sustaininvest
Waymate
Product Designer
Katherine Heo
© 2025 katherine HEO.
LONDON, GMT +0