PDT an Astronics Company: Product Design and Development Firm in Chicago, IL

our rideshare study

the passenger experience

Because of our ongoing work in new technologies and solutions to elevate the passenger experience in the sky, we couldn’t help but take a look at a perspective that is often overlooked in vehicles- the perspective of the passenger. So we hopped in back and took a look at some of the most important aspects, from leg room to power to access.

 

37%

1.9 b

13.9 b

of 16 to 24 year olds actively use Uber in the U.S.

 

trips have been taken with Uber worldwide (as of 4th quarter 2019).

 

US dollars is the total revenue for Uber and Lyft combined in 2018.

leg room

Chevrolet Malibu

Hyundai Elantra (extremely small)

 

Ford Fusion Hybrid

 

Hyundai Kona (EV)

 

Toyota TRD Avalon (power)

 

Mazda 3

 

Toyota Corolla Hybrid

 

Toyota Camry

 

In this group of vehicles, only the Toyota Prius & Avalon had power in the back seat. Space in the backseat certainly varied from car to car; not nearly enough attention is given to back seat amenities as the popularity of rideshare companies surges.

 

 

Toyota Prius

Honda Accord

 

VW Jetta

 

Edmunds.com ranked its favorite vehicles for rideshare,
with the top 3 being:

 

1

chevy traverse

2

FORD fusion hybrid

3

honda accord hybrid

rider experience assessment

vehicle

rider's view and access

port area

leg room

head room

mazda cx-30

The car had the head room, but no ports and my knees were digging right into the frame of the seat. ouch!

 

kia forte

Little leg and head room & no power ports in the back.

 

 

genesis G90

This car was designed for those to be driven not just drive. These are back seat controls.

 

 

honda accord

More space than the Honda Insight. No power ports in the back.

 

 

 

honda insight

Little leg and head room.

No power ports in the back.

 

 

 

buick encore gx

Surprisingly not a lot of room in this SUV.

Interesting to have a wall out along with USB.

 

 

 

 

subaru forester

Suvs are so much easier to get in to. Plenty of head and leg room. 2 usb ports & individual headed seat controls.

 

 

subaru legacy

Little leg and head room; 2 ports in the rear. Strange that they have a cover, seems like something that will break easily or add stress to a charging cable.

 

toyota prius

The most common Uber vehicle has some room in the  back and 2 easy to access USB ports. Not bad.

VW Jetta

The faux wood detail on the door looked nice.

There was good room and 2 available usb ports. Strange it was not constant across all VW.

 

 

VW atlas

SUVs do have the space and power options in the back.

 

 

subaru crosstrack

Little leg and head room. No power ports in the back. Very interesting that this is not a standard across all Subaru vehicles.

 

 

number

1

favorite thing about Uber according to US Uber users:

convenience

Family car or rideshare, most back seats seem to have the least focus in a vehicle’s design.

Minimal head room and limited to no access to charging ports seem to be the norm.

Why? Will we start to see this change?

 

 

questions? comments?

We hope you enjoyed our look through the Chicago Auto Show 2020. We’re always happy to talk about your product development goals. Want to chat? Send us a note.

 

 

 

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