Meet Andrew, the PM behind Lyft’s recent Transit launch!
Lyft recently announced the launch of Nearby Transit in Santa Monica! This launch includes public transit information in the main app for passengers. This is a big step forward toward achieving our mission of improving people’s lives with the world’s best transportation. Read more about the launch in TechCrunch, Wired, and our Blog!
Meet Andrew, the Product Manager behind the launch. We had a conversation with Andrew to give you a peek into the product development process, and to show a bit about what it’s like to work as a PM at Lyft.
Congrats on the launch! What was the best part?
For me the best part of any launch is hearing stories from people using what we’ve built. For Transit Nearby, I distinctly remember one person mentioned that they found our transit integration useful because they were “pretty sure a bus was near here” but weren’t quite sure, and Lyft helped them explore the nearby routes. This case is especially interesting because it’s a use that we weren’t expecting.
Who did you work with to make it a reality?
The transit team — small, but growing — came together to make this a reality. Our designers, engineers, user researchers, and data scientists all collaborated to learn about what people need from public transit and how Lyft can help. A core part of this process included weekly user research sessions where we asked people to try out our latest prototypes and asked for feedback. We also brought in executive leadership because our feature is front and center on Lyft’s home screen. I’m looking forward to experimenting with new transit features and learn directly from our users what works and how we can improve.
How do you think about launching something that — if used by existing Lyft users — could take away from our main business of car rides?
Lyft isn’t only in the business of making the best ridesharing app. Rather, it’s in the business of providing great transportation. When viewed from this perspective, it’s essential for Lyft to help people take transit because transit is a core part of transportation. It’s a big change for us at Lyft to expand our offerings to include not just ridesharing but also transit (and scooters!) and this change is something I’m excited to help with.
As a San Francisco resident, I’m sure you look for transit all the time. How did you remove your own personal biases and gather customer empathy from more perspectives than your own?
It’s hard! This is where product design as a discipline comes in. Our team frequently reminds each other to not rely on our own experiences, but instead to listen and learn from the people we’re trying to help. This can mean bringing people into the office and showing them our latest ideas, and observing aggregate effects after we launch. It also means learning about transit systems across the entire country, rather than simply relying on what I use living in San Francisco. When we traveled to Santa Monica, we realized how important it is to catch the bus when the next one might not come for another 30 minutes, and in NYC we saw how impressive 24 hour service is and how weekend closures make step by step navigation more important even for transit experts.
Where were you before Lyft, and how does Lyft compare?
I got my start as an APM at Google, wondering why they chose me as someone with a BA from a small liberal arts college. Turns out, nobody cared about my background as long as I could be a sponge for learning. Google’s rotational program gave me a lot of responsibility but also enough support and guidance that I really learned how to be a good PM. Google is a lot bigger now than when I joined, and is working on so many things. It’s refreshing to be at a focused startup that’s just starting to branch out into more products.
Why’d you choose Lyft?
At some point it became inevitable that I’d join a transportation company. Maybe it was after I learned that building more lanes generally induces additional trips, bringing the road right back up to capacity. Or possibly it was after reading that a highway, railway, or river can cut a community off from its neighbors, making it less likely to be vibrant and safe. Or it could be because I enjoy weird types of transportation enough to pay for a bobsled down from the Great Wall. In any case, I picked Lyft over other transportation companies because it’s growing fast, focused on helping users, and is filled with really smart people.
Booking time on your calendar, I see you’re very intentional about how you structure your days with meetings. Do you have any advice or tips for other busy folks to manage their time?
I have a hard time context switching and I’m not good at multitasking, so it’s really important for me to carve out chunks of focused, uninterrupted time. I also have a bunch of other commitments outside of work so I need to spend my time wisely. Cal Newport has good thoughts and suggestions on how to structure your time for deep work.
What do you think made it a successful launch — and similarly, makes someone a successful PM here?
I’d be a bad PM if I didn’t mention that a product needs to solve a user need to be successful. Beyond that, it helps to think about who might feel a sense of ownership over the product and ensure that they’re onboard with whatever you’re shipping. It’s much better to include them from the beginning rather than have them find out when they read the article in TechCrunch.
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