Driver-Centric App for FourKites

Reconciling competing driver/shipper incentives through behavioral design—turning resistance into adoption

FourKites' predictive visibility platform depended on rich driver location data—but drivers actively resisted sharing it because they perceived it as surveillance. Shippers wanted maximum visibility; drivers wanted autonomy, privacy, and proof for detention billing disputes.

This was a two-sided marketplace problem disguised as a mobile app project:

Competing incentives: Shippers wanted surveillance; drivers wanted privacy and autonomy

Trust deficit: Drivers viewed any tracking app as management control and potential job risk

Technical friction: Battery drain, data costs, and unreliable connectivity on the road

Zero mandate: Drivers could simply refuse to use any app—and many did

Asymmetric value: Shippers got visibility; drivers got... what exactly?

We reframed the problem: What if the driver app was designed for drivers first?

Driver-First Value: Lead with benefits drivers actually care about—detention evidence, facility ratings, traffic-aware routing

Transparency as Trust: Show drivers exactly what's shared and why—no hidden tracking

Friction Elimination: Make participation effortless—one-tap trip start, smart background triggers, battery optimization

Gentle Incentives: Encourage participation through value, not manipulation

Built features drivers requested: timestamped detention evidence for billing disputes, facility ratings from other drivers, and traffic-aware routing. Tracking became a byproduct of value, not the primary ask.

Showed drivers exactly what shippers could see, with clear controls. Visibility into the visibility built trust.

One-tap trip activation, automatic trip detection when possible, and battery-optimized tracking that didn't kill phones.

32% more shipments tracked with real-time GPS—the core metric that mattered for shipper value

41% driver retention increase—drivers chose to keep using the app

Built an app that drivers preferred to use—not just tolerated under pressure

Enabled shipper expansion by solving the data quality problem at its source

This work demonstrated:

That behavioral design can solve incentive problems that seem intractable

The importance of designing for both sides of a marketplace, not just the paying customer

How to scale a design team during hypergrowth without losing velocity