Passenger Trip Planning using Ride-Sharing Services

Ride-sharing can potentially address transportation challenges such as traffic congestion and air pollution by letting drivers share their cars unused capacity with a number of passengers. However, even though multiple ride-sharing services exist and HCI research has investigated various aspects of their use, we still have limited knowledge on how passengers use ride-sharing services to plan their trips. In this paper, we study how passengers use existing services to support the activity of planning a trip. We report from a qualitative study where we participated in 5 rides and conducted interviews with 19 passengers about their use and opinions towards ride-sharing services. We found that planning a ride involves comparing individual preferences across a number of services which enabled participants to support finding a trip and handle challenges such as privacy and trust. Further, we discuss these findings and their implications for future HCI research in ride-sharing.