EV GO

Part of

Design Future

Reimagine EV learning curve for London black cab drivers

MA 22/23

Keywords

Mobility, Transport, Electric Vehicle, Taxi Drivers, London

Overview

For London black cab drivers who want to better adapt themselves to the EV system, our solution is a service platform named EV GO that provides personalised support for the use of cars and an online community that shares knowledge and experiences, which may help those who are new to understand this system and form their routine faster and smoother.

Collaboration

No items found.

SECTION ONE SECTION TWO STATEMENT SECTION THREE SECTION FOUR

Discover

London is striving to achieve net carbon-zero in 2030. Transportation, as a major driver of the total emission needs to be transformed. According to this goal, TfL has identified 5 key user groups in the process of electrification. Among the five groups, we chose to focus on the London taxis and their drivers because this group of proud, professional city ambassadors is transitioning from old diesel cars into electric vehicles. And the process may not be easy.

FIELD research

We conducted three rounds of observation in different areas like Kensington and Paddington etc., and interviewed eight taxi drivers in total.

Throughout the process, we heard voices like,

“I can't easily find charging points on my way. So I need to make a heavy charging plan or strategy before starting to drive.”

“ I changed my car to EV recently. This is because I can avoid the high congestion fee by doing so. However, I still struggle with dealing with charging tools, especially since there are different types of plugs.”

“The charging apps are quite helpful, but sometimes the chargers are occupied even though they are available in the app. Because of this, I used petrol mode more than EV mode. ”

We identified three archetypes based on our field research,

Careful Planner: Detail-oriented, confident; Takes a professional strategic approach to ensure an efficient charging experience.
Late Adopter: Time-oriented, determined; Finds it difficult to know which type of charger is suitable for them, hoping to get used to the charging experience.
Passive Quitter: Casual, spontaneous; Often gives up when facing challenges in finding charge points, and frequently changes to the petrol mode.

Given that the careful planners already cope well with the system, we decided to focus on the latter two archetypes.

Define

Key Insights

While conducting our research and interviews, we realised that there are resistant factors for black cab drivers like late adopters and passive quitters according to our 3 archetypes to move to EVs. And the cause of resistance includes:

Confusions caused by the use of car: Getting used to different driving modes
Information Gap: Latency of charger availability updating from current infrastructure
Negative On-site experience: Charging spots are frequently taken by irrelevant cars
Change of Daily routine: Required heavy planning as well as the significant gap between ICE cars and EV

Problem Statement

Based on our research and interview, the key barriers for London black cab drivers are:

Taxi drivers do not have charging experience as part of the routine.
Taxi drivers need support and guidance to learn the charging process and tools.
Taxi drivers found information about charging spots unreliable.

Any of these factors may end up as a failing charging experience that causes disruption to the driver's daily routine.

Mission Statement

HMW help London black cab drivers form a knowledge network about electric vehicle and charging by

Integrating charging activities into drivers’ daily routines in a personalised way.
Sharing guidance and tips for charging infrastructure and tools.
Establish communication among taxi drivers to create reliable charger information.

So that they will face fewer disruptions in their daily business and form new driving routines.

Deliver

For London black cab drivers who want to better adapt themselves to the EV system, our solution is a service platform that provides personalised support to the use of cars and an online community that shares knowledge and experiences, which may help those who are new to understand this system and form their routine faster and smoother.