Uber Green: making the greener ride easier to choose
Uber Green offers a lower-emission ride, but many riders don’t notice it or understand why it matters at the moment they book. I set out to understand why, and to test whether riders could find and explain it without being slowed down.
- Project type
- Self-directed (personal) project
- My role
- Sole UX researcher (I also built the prototype used for testing)
- Methods
- Competitor analysis, think-aloud usability testing
- Tools
- Figma (test prototype)
The problem
Uber Green sits among several ride options that riders scan quickly, mostly for price and arrival time. If the green option doesn’t stand out, and its benefit isn’t obvious, most people simply pick what they always pick.
The brief I set myself was to increase the visibility and clarity of Uber Green without adding steps or cognitive load. The audience is everyday ride-hailing users on mobile, including price-conscious riders.
Research
I ran a competitor analysis of how Uber, Bolt and FREE NOW present their greener ride options. I also defined UX goals and success measures before designing, so testing could show whether riders could find the option and explain what it does.
| What I compared | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Where the green option appears in the list | Riders scan quickly, so position affects whether it is seen at all. |
| How it is labelled | A clear name and icon help riders recognise it at a glance. |
| Whether the benefit is explained | If riders don’t know why it matters, they have no reason to choose it. |
Riders make this decision in seconds. The benefit has to be understood at a glance, inside the flow they already use.
From insight to test prototype
To test the research findings with riders, I built a high-fidelity prototype in Figma. Each change responds to one insight, so testing could show whether it made a difference.
Highlight Green in the ride list
Insight: riders were missing the option, so I gave it a clear highlight and label where they already look, rather than adding a new screen.
Explain the benefit in a short confirmation
Insight: one short message at the moment of choosing tells riders what Green does, without asking them to read anything beforehand.
Show impact after the ride
Insight: a sustainability summary reinforces the choice and gives a reason to choose it again, without interrupting the booking.
Testing and outcome
I ran think-aloud usability testing with four participants, who booked a ride while describing what they noticed and why they made each choice.
- Easier to findMost participants found the Green option quicker to identify.
- Easier to understandAfter the confirmation and feedback screens, most could explain its environmental benefit.
- Price still mattersSome still chose on price, showing that visibility alone is not enough to change behaviour.
What I learned and what’s next
This project showed me that making something visible and making it persuasive are two different problems. Riders could find Green, but price still won for some of them.
Four participants is a small group, so these results are early signals rather than proof. Next, I would:
- Test clearer side-by-side cost and CO₂ comparisons.
- Explore incentives for choosing the greener option.
- Test with a larger and more diverse group of riders.