Improving Dashcam Adoption Among Uber Drivers

Overview:

In this project, I led the UX strategy to address a key issue in a pilot program: 42% of Uber pilot drivers were not attaching their cameras. This lack of participation posed a significant challenge to the program’s goal of encouraging Uber drivers to expand their coverage into new areas. My role was to uncover the barriers to participation and propose actionable solutions to improve product adoption and alignment with business goals.

Business Challenge:

Upon receiving the work request, I began asking problem framing questions to better understand the goals of all stakeholders. It was immediately clear that there were misaligned goals and untested hypotheses between the business, customer, and end-user, creating product-market risk.

Uber aimed to increase driver availability in areas with limited coverage, using dashcams to provide a sense of security, however this initial hypothesis that the dashcam would encourage drivers to expand their service areas was unvalidated and had not been tested with users. Moreover, we knew from the launched pilot program that drivers were not attaching their cameras, signaling a mismatch between the product offering and user needs. The pilot program’s success depended on solving this problem, as it had implications for Uber’s broader goals of driver safety and increased territory coverage.

With this in mind, I moved forward with the goal of gathering and providing as much information to help the current state pilot which was still under contract to continue, as well as future opportunities to improve product-market fit.

Approach:

I was the Sole UX Strategist on this project, sought out and responsible for framing the problem, conducting user research, identifying barriers to product adoption, and making recommendations to modify the product vision and improve market fit. The project timeline was two weeks with a requested budget of $500 for incentives.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by Uber drivers regarding the dashcam pilot program, I conducted a multi-faceted research approach that included the below components, which enabled me to identify critical gaps between Uber’s assumptions and the drivers' actual experiences.

  • Market Research:
    I reviewed competitor websites, content, user reviews, and product features to understand the options available in the market. While many competitors offered products at comparable prices, they generally provided more user-friendly dashcams with additional features. However, no single competitor appeared to hold a dominant market share or significant brand recognition.

  • Heuristic Analysis:
    To fully understand the user journey, I signed up for the pilot program to experience it firsthand, just as a participant would. From reviewing and signing up via a microsite to unboxing, setting up the dashcam, and taking several drives, I documented my thoughts, actions, and feelings throughout the process. This step was crucial in preparing targeted and relevant research.

  • Understanding Business Capabilities:
    I also interviewed several internal subject matter experts to gain a deeper understanding of the product, process, and business goals, ensuring alignment between the user experience and business objectives.

  • Jobs-to-Be-Done (JTBD) Analysis: 

    By reviewing Uber driver online forums, I identified a significant gap between Uber’s assumption—that dashcams would encourage drivers to operate in new areas—and the drivers' actual concerns. Drivers expressed an overwhelming lack of trust in Uber, particularly around the perception that Uber prioritizes passenger reports and concerns over those of the drivers. This distrust extended to the use of dashcams, with drivers fearing that footage could be used against them rather than for their protection.

  • Initial Hypothesis Creation:
    Initial discovery identified potential pain points for pilot participants spanning all areas of the program (people, process, technology, and design). A key hypothesis for testing was that Uber drivers would need repaired trust between Uber and drivers and/or a third party owner of dashcam footage, as well as improvements to the product to improve ease of use.

Rideshare drivers recommend using dashcams as a means to deter rider issues & to be a witness for the driver

Key Working Hypotheses:

Pilot’s value propisition and motivation/incentive to install are lacking, driving low attach rates

Uber drivers lack trust in Uber to rule in their favor when issues arise with riders

Rideshare drivers’ goal is to stay on the road earning money and want to speed up the review process as they are unable to earn wages when Uber is reviewing passenger complaints

Dashcams will do little to influence drivers to cover new / more territories

  • Analysis of Pilot Complaint Tickets:
    I reviewed complaint tickets submitted by pilot drivers, which provided valuable insights into recurring issues and concerns. This analysis revealed common themes related to installation difficulties, mistrust regarding video access, and uncertainty about how dashcam footage would be used by Uber. By identifying these pain points, I could pinpoint specific areas needing improvement.

  • Survey of Pilot Participants:
    I created and analyzed survey responses from participants in the pilot program to gauge their experiences and satisfaction levels. The surveys highlighted key concerns, such as fears around the complexity of installation and the perceived lack of support from Uber. Additionally, they provided quantitative data on driver sentiment regarding the value of the dashcam and its potential impact on their driving decisions.

  • Interviews with Rideshare Drivers:
    As we were not approved to interview pilot participants, I then conducted interviews with rideshare drivers who were not part of the pilot program to gather diverse perspectives and test working hypotheses. These conversations allowed me to explore views on dashcams, previous experiences with rideshare companies, and driver motivations for using or avoiding such technology. This qualitative data enriched my understanding of the broader driver community's sentiments, revealing underlying issues of trust and the desire for greater control over their footage.

Learnings:

Synthesized findings from the user interviews via journey maps, user archetypes, and research reports highlighting key pain points such as drivers’ fear of Uber’s access to their footage, lack of clarity about installation, and distrust in Uber.

TLDR:

● Uber drivers understand value of a dashcam product, and have interest in dashcams that are easy to use, cheap, and

● Dashcam owners expect to have access to all camera videos

● Our pilot users lack confidence that install is complete / device is working

● Users fear installation will be complex and delay install

● Drivers do not trust Uber

● Drivers have continued fear over what access Uber has to their videos

● Drivers are uncertain how to use camera after install, including sending videos to Uber

● Reminder emails are not driving many users to install

Opportunity exists to increase confidence & motivation to install, and additional opportunities exists post install

Recommendation:

  • Improve user product fit & value by modifying product features & value proposition.

  • Align with customer on pilot expectations and goals, given research learnings.

  • Modify the product value proposition to focus on drivers’ control over their footage.

  • A/B testing a new microsite that emphasized the driver’s safety and control, rather than Uber’s access to footage.

  • Adding pamphlets to dashcam packages to simplify installation and running on-site installations at Uber offices.

  • Benchmark study to track how long it takes to resolve driver complaints with and without video evidence, demonstrating the business value of dashcams.

Business Response:

There was initial pushback from the business, as their focus was primarily on the product's technical features, which were not aligned with the primary jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) or the actual needs of users. Through this discussion, it became clear that the resistance stemmed from concerns about a lack of resources and budget for modifying the product.

I took the time to explain the opportunities available for making minimum viable product (MVP) changes that could better align the product with the needs of pilot participants, as well as a proposal for Cambridge Mobile Telematics to retain the video footage and act as a third-party between Uber and their drivers to alleviate driver concerns about Uber accessing their video footage. In addition, I provided my business stakeholders with additional use cases for the dashcam that I had identified through other research efforts within the company.