YASSIR: Algeria’s First Ride-Hailing App

YASSIR: Designing Algeria’s First Ride-Hailing App

I led the UX design for Algeria’s first ride-hailing platform, taking it from 25 to 500+ daily rides while cutting user drop-off by 81%. But the real challenge wasn’t the numbers—it was designing for people who had never used a ride-sharing app before.

The Problem: Algeria in 2017 had no ride-hailing market. Users were skeptical of getting into strangers’ cars and weren’t familiar with how these apps even worked. I had to solve for trust and simplicity at the same time.

What I Did: Put driver photos and transparent pricing upfront to build trust before anyone committed to a ride. Designed one-tap booking flows because people are always rushing when they need rides. Made everything large and clear since users were often booking outdoors in bright sunlight.

Most importantly, I created educational onboarding that actually explained what ride-hailing was, not just how to use our specific app.

The Results: Driver acceptance jumped from 45% to 80%. We cut down repeated verification code requests by 85%. Ride cancellations dropped by 45%. But honestly, my favorite moment was when an older driver told me it took him 3 minutes just to stop driving, put on his glasses, and read a ride request. That completely changed how I thought about accessibility.

What I Learned: Local research beats global assumptions every single time. You can’t just copy what works elsewhere and expect it to work in a completely different context. YASSIR has since expanded across North Africa and Europe, proving that getting those foundational UX principles right from the start really matters.

Read the full case study: https://ilyes.space/portfolio-item/yassir-designing-algerias-first-ride-hailing-app-2/