Design a ride-sharing app for elderly users
Company: Uber
01 · Goal
Objective
Increase completed rides by elderly users by 20% within 6 months
Measured By
- 1 App open to ride end (full funnel completion rate)
- 2 Driver cancellation rates on elderly bookings — flat or declining
Why Uber Cares
Elderly users have high trip frequency (medical, social etc) and low price sensitivity. Capturing this segment also builds loyalty with their adult children — future high LTV users.
02 · Market
India's context — Uber's largest emerging market for this segment
People aged 65+ in India
~140 Million / 14 Crore
Smartphone-enabled (15%)
~21 Million / 2.1 Crore
Uber addressable (~35% market share)
~7.3 Million / 73 Lakhs
Feature adoption (20%)
~1.5 Million / 15 Lakhs
Insight
At 15 lakhs active users, even a modest ARPU lift of ₹200/month = ₹3 Cr/month incremental revenue. Low asymmetric upside.
03 · Users
Adult children (25–45)
Working professionals
Core Need: Know parent is safe, book on their behalf
Mobile Comfortable Elderly
65–72, semi tech savvy
Core Need: Book independently, larger UI
Fully assisted elderly
73+, hands off phone to others
Core Need: Driver finds them easily, no app needed
Focus Segment
Segment 1 — Adult Children. High WTP, acts as the onboarding agent for the elderly parent, and directly solves the safety anxiety pain point.
04 · Pain Points
Family can't track elderly parent's live ride
Elderly users can't find or type destination
Driver can't locate elderly pickup (phone not answered)
Small text, cluttered UI, wrong button taps
Emergency / panic situation
05 · Priority
RICE framework: (Reach × Impact × Confidence) / Effort
| Feature | R | I | C | E | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver alert: elderly passenger | 1500 | 2x | 50% | 1.5m | 1000 |
| Saved frequent destinations | 750 | 3x | 80% | 3m | 600 |
| Linked family account + live tracking | 450 | 4x | 80% | 6m | 240 |
| Simplified large mode UI | 300 | 2x | 50% | 8m | 37 |
| Voice booking agent | 225 | 3x | 50% | 14m | 24 |
MVP Decision
Ship Driver alert + Linked family account + Saved destinations together as the MVP — solves both booking friction and tracking anxiety in one sprint.
06 · Solution
Driver briefing flag
When an elderly account books, the driver app shows: 'Senior passenger — please call if you cannot locate pickup.' Reduces cancellations caused by the passenger not answering an unknown number.
Linked family account
Adult child links parent's Uber account via phone number. They can book a ride for the parent from their own app — the ride shows up on the parent's phone with large-format driver details and a single 'Call driver' button. Both accounts see live tracking simultaneously.
Saved My Places with friendly labels
Family pre-saves 3–5 frequent destinations (hospital, temple, daughter's home). Elderly user sees these as large tappable tiles — no typing required. Labels can be set as 'Doctor' or 'Home' in the user's language.
07 · Metrics
North Star Metric
% of active 65+ accounts that complete at least 1 ride per week, booked by themselves or a linked family member
| Type | Metric | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Adoption | % of 65+ accounts with a linked family member within 30 days | > 30% |
| Engagement | Weekly active family members opening the tracking view | > 60% of linked accounts |
| Quality | Ride completion rate for elderly | +15% vs baseline |
| Driver | Cancellation rate on senior-flagged rides | Flat or declining |
Guardrails — stop shipping if:
- Family tracking view opens but elderly user unlinks within 7 days at >25% — signals privacy friction
- Overall elderly ride volume drops after launch — feature is causing confusion, not solving it
- Driver complaint rate on senior-flagged rides increases
08 · Risks
Privacy — elderly user feels surveilled
HighTracking only during active ride; parent can unlink at any time; OTP-based consent flow
Onboarding drop-off — family doesn't complete setup
MediumIn-app guided flow with <4 steps; WhatsApp deep-link for family invite
Driver resistance to senior flag
MediumA/B test flag visibility; incentivize good ratings on senior rides
Regulatory — location data retention (DPDP Act 2023)
LowPurge location data within 24hr of ride end; align with India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act
Summary
The core bet is that the adult child is the real product user for this segment — they onboard the parent, they pay, and they carry the safety anxiety that makes this feature worth building. If family-linked tracking works, voice booking is a natural Phase 2 that reuses the same infrastructure. The MVP is deliberately narrow: two features, one sprint, one measurable north star.
Let's Connect
Open to discussions around product design, UX engineering, trust systems, and meaningful problem-solving.
