Uber Mobile Application Iterative Design for People Who are Blind Katie Anderson
Jingru Zhao
Abstract
DePaul University
DePaul University
243 S Wabash
243 S Wabash
Chicago, IL 60614 USA
Chicago, IL 60614 USA
kanderson632@gmail.com
Jingruzhao35@gmail.com
Ride-sharing has become a popular form of transportation and has many potential benefits for people who are blind. In this study, we sought to assess the usability and accessibility of the Uber ridesharing application for people who are blind. We conducted four interviews and observations with the people who are blind. We organized our findings into four themes: (1) contacting the driver is challenging, (2) identifying the car is difficult, (3) frequent cancellation of rides and inability to report the cancelled ride, and (4) drivers lack in training of serving the disabled. We provided several design recommendations to improve the features and usability of the Uber application. Recommendations include finding a more efficient way of communication between drivers and riders and educate Uber drivers about the needs of riders who have disabilities.
Cynthia Chong DePaul University 243 S Wabash Chicago, IL 60614 USA cynthiachong@gmail.com Wanshu Wang DePaul University 243 S Wabash Chicago, IL 60614 USA wanshu.wang@gmail.com
Author Keywords Visual impairment; blind; ride-sharing; mobile application; Uber; transportation; accessibility; humancomputer interaction.
CSS Concepts • Human-centered computing~Empirical studies in accessibility; Š 2020 Copyright is held by the owner/author(s).