Project Overview & Brief
How do you make shared cars attractive enough that busy parents would use them next to their own?
The Vervoerregio Amsterdam (VRA) wants more people to choose shared mobility, but most municipalities leave it to the market, so what’s on offer is fragmented and little used. For my Service Design minor I narrowed the topic to one group: busy working parents in Hoofddorp who drive their kids to sports, starting at sports complex SKWA in Floriande.
How can I make shared mobility attractive and fun for busy working parents, so they see it as a valuable addition to their existing travel and become less dependent on their own car?
Research & User Insights
I started with the parents, not the product.
I mapped the stakeholders (first with two classmates, then with the whole class), tried an OV-fiets myself to feel what first-time use is like, and interviewed five parents at the sports complex about how they travel and what they think of shared mobility.
Stakeholder map
Need-based profile: the busy working parent
What parents told me:
I wouldn’t easily get in a car with my kids that isn’t mine. I don’t know who used it before.
I don’t want to lose time on research or reservations. If shared mobility were efficient, I’d use it sooner.
It feels like shared mobility is a “cheap option” for people who have less. It doesn’t have to be, but that’s the feeling I get.
What I took away: parents are open to shared cars for short trips like sports and groceries, but three things hold them back: trust (who used this car before?), effort (extra planning and reserving) and perception (shared cars feel like a “cheap option”). On top of that, today’s offer isn’t built for families, with child seats and space as the missing pieces.
