Lack of awareness
Riders cannot use tools they do not know exist.
UBER SAFETY / UX RESEARCH + PRODUCT DESIGN
Safety shouldn’t hide
when riders need it most.
Rethinking Uber’s ride-hailing safety experience to make support easier to notice, understand, and use across every stage of a trip.
Research • Strategy • Interaction design • Mobile experience
PROJECT CONTEXT / THE CHALLENGE
Safety tools fail riders in the moments they’re built for.
Safety features such as sharing a trip, emergency calling, and driver verification are often hidden behind multiple taps. In high-stress moments, every second counts—but riders must first remember that the tools exist, find them, and decide whether the situation is serious enough to use them.
THE CURRENT EXPERIENCE
Uber already has safety tools. The problem is reaching them in time.
I mapped the current safety experience across pre-trip, in-trip, and after-trip moments to understand what support is available—and when riders are expected to find it.
The gap was not the absence of safety tools. It was discoverability, speed, and confidence in what happens next.
WHERE THE EXPERIENCE BREAKS
Four points of friction repeatedly appeared in riders’ comments.
Low emergency visibility
In emergencies, every second matters and safety actions need immediate visibility.
Driver verification
Riders need stronger confirmation that the driver and vehicle match the information shown.
Trust and reporting
After reporting, a lack of transparency makes the process feel uncertain and high-stakes.
WHAT WE HEARD FROM RIDERS
Safety is not a single emergency moment. It is a changing need for control.
Rider and driver interviews revealed six recurring behaviors, concerns, and coping strategies across the trip.
Map checking gives control
Riders check their own map—or the driver’s phone—to make sure the route feels correct.
Safety tools feel hidden or slow
In stressful moments, riders want fewer steps and faster access to help.
Reporting feels high-stakes
Many riders leave a low rating instead because formal reporting feels unclear or too consequential.
Sharing location is the most common safety behavior
Riders share live location, trip details, or screenshots with people they trust.
Driver behavior shapes comfort
Calm driving and respectful communication build trust; personal questions or unusual behavior can quickly undermine it.
Dangerous driving increases anxiety
Speeding, hard braking, and risky turns make riders feel they have less control.
DEFINING THE AUDIENCE
Two riders, two different ways of seeking safety.
The project direction had to support both self-reliant riders and riders who feel safer when a trusted person stays connected.
MAPPING THE FULL RIDE
The need for reassurance changes from booking to arrival.
Comparing Max and Maya revealed the specific moments when riders seek control, involve others, hesitate to report, or need faster access to help.
LEARNING FROM OTHER SAFETY PRODUCTS
Direct competitors repeated the same tools. Indirect products supported the emotional gap.
Comparing ride-sharing and personal-safety apps revealed patterns for faster activation, quiet escalation, trusted-contact visibility, and reassurance before an emergency.
DEVELOP / PRIORITIZATION
Prioritizing ideas by impact and effort.
After expanding the solution space, I evaluated each concept by its potential value for riders and the effort required to deliver it. This narrowed the strongest ideas into a focused feature direction.
DEVELOP / CONCEPT DIRECTION
The strongest ideas became a graduated safety system.
The matrix narrowed a broad set of possibilities into four connected features that support riders before, during, and after a trip.
Ride preferences
Comfort starts before booking.
Adaptive response
Support changes as concern changes.
Stay with me
Help remains visible and transparent.
Direct actions
Critical tools stay within reach.
FEATURE 01 / BEFORE THE RIDE
Comfort becomes part of the booking experience.
Ride preferences let riders communicate everyday comfort needs before pickup. Selected settings stay visible on the ride option, connecting comfort directly to the booking decision instead of burying it in account settings.
FEATURE 02 / DURING THE RIDE
Safety support changes as the rider’s concern changes.
A persistent safety control makes reassurance visible without demanding attention. Moving from Safe to Concerned quietly starts protective actions, then asks for just enough context to guide the next response.
FEATURE 03 / GUIDED SUPPORT
Help stays present—even when the rider cannot keep interacting.
Stay With Me connects the rider to a safety agent, keeps automatic protection active, and makes every step visible. Riders can reply, choose a quick answer, or remain silent while monitoring and recording continue.
FEATURE 04 / DIRECT SAFETY ACTIONS
Each action shows what is active, shared, and happening next.
The safety menu opens distinct flows for emergency calling, audio recording, trip sharing, and issue reporting. The four states focus on confirmation, persistence, and clear follow-up.
DEVELOP / USABILITY TESTING
Testing changed two specific moments in the safety flow.
Rather than redesigning the entire experience, the revisions focused on where the participant needed clearer navigation, more choice, and greater control over escalation.
DELIVER / USABILITY TESTING
Testing showed that riders needed choice before escalation.
One moderated usability session focused on the safety entry points, slider, and response flow.
KEY FINDINGS
- Open the relevant safety flow directly from the home or lock-screen entry.
- Ask whether the rider wants immediate help or only wants to document the experience.
- Let riders save privately and request support later, without automatic escalation.
DELIVER / FINAL RESULT
A safety system that adapts without taking control away.
The final prototype connects prevention, graduated response, documentation, and visible follow-up in one continuous experience. Riders can ask for urgent help, stay accompanied, or simply record what happened—without being pushed into escalation.
One connected experience, across the full ride.
Ride preferences reduce avoidable discomfort before booking.
The adaptive safety control keeps support visible and proportional to concern.
Riders choose immediate help or document the experience without forced escalation.
Visible progress, safety chat, saved notes, and case summaries preserve clarity and control.