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Project Overview
May Mobility: ADA Rider App is a specialized iOS experience designed to solve the "Last 50 Feet" in autonomous transit. It closes the critical gap between a standard GPS drop-off point and the actual accessible building entrance, prioritizing dignity, autonomy, and safety for wheelchair users. Role: Lead Product Designer
The Challenge: The "Last 50 Feet"
For riders with mobility challenges, a transit trip doesn't end when the vehicle stops; it ends when they are safely inside their destination. Traditional ride-hail services treat a GPS coordinate as the finish line, leaving riders stranded at curbs without ramps or facing heavy, inaccessible manual doors.
Key Friction Points:
The Accessibility Gap: Standard mapping ignores physical barriers (e.g., a 6-inch curb) that can make a short distance impassable.
Assistance Misalignment: Ambiguity in assistance expectations causes awkwardness or unsafe situations between AV operators and riders.
Caregiver Anxiety: Families face significant stress when they cannot verify that a rider has successfully entered a building.
User Research Methods
The design was grounded in inclusive research, built with the community, not just for them:
Contextual Inquiry (Shadowing): Researchers shadowed wheelchair users during transit to document critical "micro-barriers" invisible to standard maps, such as subtle pavement cracks, steep inclines, and blocked sidewalks.
Co-Design Workshops: Sessions with riders, caregivers, and AV operators defined a three-tier assistance model (Curb to Curb, Door to Door, Hand to Hand) to ensure clarity and comfort for all.
Task Analysis: Mapping the precise steps of boarding led to the creation of the Boarding Point Indicator, optimizing the moment information is presented.
Key Solutions & Features
Wayfinding the "Last 50 Feet"
The app surfaces verified accessible entrances and provides clear, animated visual paths from the drop-off spot to the correct door. A green wheelchair icon offers continuous, reassuring real-time feedback.
The Boarding Point System
To reduce boarding anxiety, a pulsing blue circle indicates the precise location (4 meters behind the vehicle) where the ramp will deploy. This allows riders to position themselves efficiently before the vehicle stops.
Specialized Assistance Tiers
Riders pre-set their required level of care, empowering them to define their own support needs. This removes ambiguity for the AV operator, improving both dignity and operational predictability.
Impact & Measurable Outcomes
For Riders:
Increased Dignity & Autonomy: Empowerment to navigate the final leg of their journey independently.
Reduced Anxiety: Clear expectations for boarding and wayfinding significantly lower user-reported stress.
Caregiver Peace of Mind: Integrated protocols verify safe building entry, reducing secondary anxiety for families.
For the Business:
Operational Efficiency (Lower Dwell Time): A 10-second reduction per boarding scales to major cost savings. Pre-positioning riders via the Boarding Point System speeds up the process.
Operator Safety (Clear Roles): Defined service tiers minimize operator risk from improper lifting and improve job clarity.
Brand Trust & Differentiation: Leadership in inclusive transit solves a critical, unaddressed need, driving brand loyalty.