lua almeida design

The lessons I've learned from this project have been incredible and have contributed greatly to my professional growth. My experience with user research and the importance of this aspect for a company changed completely with this project. In a way, but the final lesson is that we can't control the results when we talk about user needs.

Our goal was to validate through research our hypothesis about the need for a digital product for private bike rentals. During this process, we delved into various academic and non-academic content and conducted several studies to substantiate our idea.

As a result, we found the invalidation of our initial hypothesis, meaning that there was no real user need for bike sharing and that the existing system was already serving the need. However, during this process, other insights emerged that could be valuable for improving the bike-sharing service in the city of Fortaleza.

As a result, we found that our initial hypothesis was invalidated. However, during this process, other insights emerged that could be valuable for improving the bike-sharing service in the city of Fortaleza.

Context about the shared system

How do you think collaborative consumption can contribute to sustainable mobility? What do you think has been the impact of sharing services in Brazil?

In recent years, "collaborative consumption" has become global, promoting sustainability through the sharing of products and services. Collaborative consumption, driven by economic benefits and socio-environmental awareness, is a strategy to spread Mobility as a Service (MaaS).

Despite its international success, the shared system, as exemplified by Bicicletar in Fortaleza, faces challenges in Brazil that reveal weaknesses that hinder its expansion. Studies show that shared services in the country have had a positive impact on reducing car traffic and promoting active mobility, resulting in users purchasing their bicycles.

Bicicletar, inaugurated in 2014, has been successful in integrating with the Bilhete Único (prepaid credit card for public transport) and providing an efficient infrastructure. Factors such as environmental value, customer satisfaction, and enjoyment are mediators between service quality and customer loyalty. Climate issues, distance, and land use characteristics also influence user loyalty.

The next topics will address research and digital solutions to understand users and improve urban mobility with bicycles, exploring data on profiles, needs, and preferences. The analysis aims to understand how technology can contribute to more efficient, sustainable mobility that meets urban needs.

Research goals

Our research stemmed from the desire to understand if there was a need for other bike-sharing services in the city of Fortaleza. Therefore, our general objective was to understand the scenario of active urban mobility focused on bicycles in the city, to validate the creation of a digital product for renting private bicycles.

To achieve this, we wanted to:

Understand how the bike rental model works at the regional, national, and international levels to identify usage patterns;

Analyze the acceptance of the current bike-sharing system in the city, BICICLETAR;

Understand the users of this transportation model;

Seek to understand the feasibility of a digital product to solve problems related to bike sharing.

Competitor analysis

Intending to get to know and deepen existing products, we conducted an analysis of three bike-sharing platforms, whether fleets owned by companies or private bicycles. This study was carried out on a local, national, and international level. They are:

Bicicletar: A bike-sharing application used in the city of Fortaleza;
Pedale: A national bike rental platform that allows direct interaction between the bike owner and those who want to ride;
Donkey Republic: A platform available in several European countries that has different bikes for sharing.

Below is a table summarizing these three platforms, followed by a more detailed analysis of each one.

Idea validation

The research was conducted from September to December 2021, representing a study of users' pain points, needs, and desires regarding collaborative consumption and bike sharing in the city of Fortaleza. It consisted of three phases:

First phase: A series of strategies were developed to identify the main issues that the research would address, as well as to identify the main characteristics of potential users;
Second phase: Consisted of interviews to get to know each type of user more deeply, through conversations with pre-established themes;
Third phase: A questionnaire was applied to each type of user in order to validate hypotheses and identify opportunities.

CSD Matrix

With an understanding of the collaborative consumption and bike-sharing scenario in Brazil and Fortaleza, we conducted a dynamic to gather what was discovered from the analyzed materials and raised assumptions and doubts to guide the next steps. A matrix of certainties, supositions, and doubts (CSD) was created. The main doubts and assumptions revolved around the practice of bicycle rental, both from the perspective of the lessor and the lessee.

Once the CSD matrix was complete, strategies were determined to understand the key issues addressed in the dynamics. Since this was a study of a new product, it was decided that in-depth interviews would be more appropriate to gather as much information as possible. First, we developed a preliminary profile of potential users to guide this process.

Users

To define the users, proto-personas were created, which are a set of information that the team believes represents the characteristics of the users based on the research conducted. This step was mainly used to support the recruitment and selection of people for the interviews, as we selected people who would fit one of the three defined profiles.

Three main user profiles were identified:

Renter: One who normally rents a bicycle;
Renting individuals: Someone who has rented or intends to rent their bicycle to others;
Rental company: A shop, store, or kiosk offering bicycle rental services.

This allowed us to identify the daily responsibilities and characteristics, frustrations, goals and needs that these users might have.

The information provided by the proto-personas was crucial in guiding the recruitment of interview participants. They helped us understand the roles, characteristics, frustrations, goals, and needs of the users and provided valuable insights. These insights were essential in structuring the interview questions with users and directing the research development more efficiently.

In addition, we also conducted a proto-journey method. This procedure aims to determine a journey for the user and raise their actions, what they do during the rental, what they think, what they feel, and the possible opportunities from this survey. This way we would know the most problematic points of the user's journey and act to try to mitigate them.

Interviews

To conduct the in-depth interviews, we developed a short script with specific questions divided into three distinct blocks, each adapted to the characteristics of different personas. Part of the interviews were conducted remotely using the Google Meet platform, while the other part took place in person. The divisions by persona were based on renters, individual renters, and rental companies.

Renter: Three people who regularly use the bike-sharing system in the city of Fortaleza were interviewed. With this research, we wanted to go deeper into this audience, to understand the reasons for using shared bikes and to identify the main problems encountered in this service.

For the research, some hypotheses were made, as shown in the table below. However, some of them were not validated and some insights emerged.

It has been observed that:

The most common use is for leisure and not for work;
Users usually use the Bicicletar system;
Although they are aware of other sharing services, they do not use them;
Only 1 out of 3 respondents owns a bike;
They do not use safety equipment;
They have difficulties in renting bicycles.

Other data obtained were:

The frequency of use is higher in the evening;
They choose to use Bicicletar for its simplicity, convenience, cost savings, and the possibility of taking a bike whenever they want;
They usually use bike lanes or bike paths;
They use Bicicletar because the problems do not significantly affect them.

2. Renting individuals: In the interviews with potential lessors, six people who own their bicycles were interviewed. The objective was to validate the availability of renting this equipment and to know their first reactions to this possibility.

Thus, questions were asked to better understand these users, the use of the bicycle, and finally the sharing of this equipment. Among the hypotheses raised, we had some validations and some invalidations, as shown in the table below:

From this, it was possible to observe that

The majority of users use their bicycles for occasional travel or leisure;
Most use personal protective equipment or safety equipment on their bikes;
Almost everyone is familiar with the concept of the sharing economy;
Only two out of six respondents have tried to rent their bike;
Three out of six respondents said they would rent their bike.

In addition, it was possible to identify other important perceptions from these interviews, such as:

The pandemic has changed their cycling habits;
They find it more advantageous to have their bike for freedom of use;
For most, it is not a problem to store the bike where they live;
They find the cost of bicycle maintenance low;
Most of the respondents criticize some aspects of the Bicicletar, such as the Lack of bikes at the station; Availability and distribution of stations; Mechanical problems of the bikes; App problems; Time limitations;
It is necessary to make the rental financially attractive.
People tend to lend to friends or acquaintances for reasons of trust;
People with more bikes are more likely to rent;
Some people do not want to rent the bike because they have a sentimental attachment.

3. Rental company: In the city of Fortaleza, in addition to the service offered by the Bicicletar app, some shops and kiosks rent bicycles. We have personally visited three of these places. The first is a shop that offers other services in addition to rentals, such as organizing night tours, repairing bikes, and selling them; the other two are kiosks that rent bikes on the city's waterfront.

We gathered information on the bike rental business, its functioning, and the target audience. Our assumptions were mostly confirmed, but we also gained insight into other factors impacting rentals.

The matrix shows that

The start of the rental was driven by increased demand;
Rental includes personal protection and safety equipment;
Rental control is manual;
There is no tracking of rented bikes.

In addition, there are other issues to consider, such as:

City hall permits are required to rent bikes on the waterfront;
Hours of operation vary from place to place;
The price can be negotiated with the client;
The rental process is not bureaucratic;
2 out of 3 respondents do not rent daily;
1 out of 3 respondents have suffered losses due to bicycle theft;
Prices can vary according to the type of bike;
Customers are either recreational or sports users;
Customers can be locals or tourists.

Quantitative survey

With the results of the in-depth interview phase, we were able to validate some of the certainties, assumptions, and doubts that we had gathered during the CAD matrix phase, while new questions arose from the conversations with the interviewees. Therefore, we decided to add another research stage, this time through a survey, to give numerical relevance to the perceptions from the interviews.

A questionnaire was sent to the inhabitants of the city of Fortaleza through the Google Forms platform. 126 responses were collected, divided into four types of profiles:

People who use sharing systems

Of the 20 respondents who use bike-sharing systems, 16 choose the Bicicletar service. Only four respondents choose to rent bikes directly from individuals or private companies. The preference for Bicicletar can be attributed to its convenience, affordable price and availability, as highlighted by the participants.

However, it is important to note that the respondents expressed some dissatisfaction with the current service, as shown in the second graph below.

Of the respondents, eight indicated that they use the service at least twice a week, while another eight use it once a month or less. Two respondents use the service between two and five times a week, and only one respondent uses the system daily. These data can be better understood by analyzing the graph that shows the reasons why people use the sharing system: seventeen respondents indicated leisure as the main reason, while four use the service for regular commuting.

The last question was a qualitative survey where users were asked about their experiences with bike sharing in the city of Fortaleza. Most of the answers were directly related to Bicicletar.

This allowed us to draw some conclusions about the experiences of users of bike sharing systems:

People who own a bicycle

In this research category, our goal was to understand the context of private bicycle use in Fortaleza and to explore the receptivity to bike-sharing. We received responses from 71 participants who indicated that they use their bicycles for three main purposes: as a form of leisure (43 responses), for daily commuting (41 responses), and physical activity (41 responses).

Concerning to accessories and personal protective equipment, we found that 44 cyclists had a night signal and 43 of them stated that they had a helmet. Other items mentioned include a horn (12 respondents), a basket (8 respondents) and a rear-view mirror (4 respondents). However, it is important to note that 13 cyclists stated that they did not have any personal protective equipment and/or accessories.

When asked if they had ever tried to rent or lend their bicycle to others, 93% (66 people) said they had never rented or tried to rent, while only three people had rented and only one person had tried to rent. This indicates that there is no real need and/or interest among bicycle owners to rent their bicycles to others.

People who own a bike and also use bike-sharing

Of the 18 responses received in this category, all cyclists indicated that they use the Bicicletar bike-sharing service. The frequency of use varies, with six people using it less than once a month, seven people using it at least once a month, and two people using it up to twice a week. Only one person uses Bicicletar more than twice a week, while another person uses the service every day of the week.

When evaluating the Bicicletar service, we found that cyclists who use bike-sharing and own a bike are more dissatisfied than cyclists who only use bike-sharing systems, as shown in the graph below. This data highlights the importance of improving the Bicicletar service to better meet the expectations and needs of cyclists who own their bikes.

If we analyze the responses regarding the reasons for using bike-sharing systems, we can understand the reasons why cyclists often choose not to use their bikes. Looking at the graph above, they are very satisfied with the price of the service. This is because, even if they have their bike, they see advantages in the convenience offered by Bicicletar, coupled with the low price:

"[...] it helps a lot for short trips to places where you wouldn't be able to 'park' your own bike."

Conclusions

Based on the data obtained during the quantitative and qualitative research, it was found that the initial idea of creating a new service for active bicycle mobility in Fortaleza was not validated. Several factors contributed to this result, including:

Low acceptance by users of other bike-sharing services, although they are aware of their existence;
Users prefer the services offered by Bicicletar due to its convenience, affordable price, and satisfaction of mobility needs;
The problems faced by the system do not significantly affect the users;
Users are very satisfied with the value offered by Bicicletar.
The system is mainly used for leisure purposes, with no real need or interest on the part of bike owners to rent their bikes to others.

Considering the data obtained, it is clear that for a new service to effectively compete with the existing one, it must be financially attractive and capable of mitigating the problems associated with the current system. The strategic distribution of stations throughout the city also stands out as a relevant aspect. It is worth noting that the hypothesis that bike owners want or need to rent their bikes to others was refuted, contradicting the proto-personas and proto-journeys developed in this study.

Based on these findings, it is suggested that improvements to the Bicicletar service, such as adding new stations in the city, improving the equipment available, and improving the registration process, could lead to greater user satisfaction. This highlights that quality and convenience are critical factors in consumer choice and can be decisive for the success of a bike-sharing service.

Therefore, to continue the process, it is necessary to revisit the initial hypothesis and conduct new studies to explore and validate a new product model. It is essential to conduct an in-depth analysis of user needs and preferences in the new model, as well as to consider other approaches and possibilities to develop a service that meets the needs of the active mobility market in Fortaleza.

Lua Almeida

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