Envoy America

Mobility for Seniors

From Legacy to Scalable: Cutting Trip Finalization Time by 80%

Envoy America provides transportation for seniors and people with disabilities across 200+ cities in the U.S., but their 15-year-old system was slow and outdated. I redesigned how trips are booked, tracked, and managed, making it simpler and more intuitive for both the operations team and drivers.

Mobility-tech

Web & Mobile

Launched

In partnership with:

My role

Sr. UX Designer

Timeline

18 Months (8/2022)

Team

The story behind

The Spark That Started It All

How did it start?

In early 2022, a friend introduced me to Adel, the founder of RadixTech—a Palestinian software agency—who was leading a major project for Envoy America. The mission? Rebuild their clunky, 15-year-old desktop system into a seamless, responsive web platform—plus a brand-new mobile app for drivers. Big ask. yea?

First thing I did was get full access to the legacy system. From there, I started unpacking it. Booking, Customers, Vehicles, Employees, Invoicing. Screen by screen, flow by flow. I needed to understand how it all connected (or didn’t). That deep dive set the foundation for a full UX revamp grounded in modern usability, not legacy habits.

PS: The image is AI-generated based on Envoy’s old design. The real design cannot be shared due to privacy constraints.

Project summary

From challenge to impact: A focused look at the problem, process, solution, and results.

User’s Problem

They were using a 15-year-old legacy desktop platform to manage everything. Rides, drivers, clients, and finances. It was slow, hard to navigate, and built on disconnected flows. Drivers got notified by phone calls or insurance portals. The ops team had no real-time updates, manual coordination was the norm, and reports were a nightmare to generate.

The system wasn’t just old—it was actively holding the business back.

Our solution

We built a smart mobile app for Envoy’s drivers, letting them accept, manage, and track trips with built-in maps, live routes, and a simple, intuitive interface. At the same time, we replaced the old desktop system with a modern admin portal, giving the ops team full control over reservations, trip tracking, costs, and driver payments.

The key wasn’t just new tools, but redesigning workflows around the team’s mental models, making the whole operation faster, clearer, and scalable for the future.

Execution Process

I kept things practical from the start. Instead of overthinking, I went straight into wireframing their core workflows—trip creation, assignment, and dispatch. Getting it visual made the conversations easier: “Does this flow actually fix the inefficiencies you’re dealing with? If yes, why?” Simple, direct, and focused.

For the mobile side, I had to make sure the experience worked for drivers in their 40s–60s. So I spoke with a few drivers to see how they used their apps in real life—what felt natural, what tripped them up. I also dug around for proven UI and interaction patterns to bring in the right inspiration.

At the end of the day, the process was straightforward: Create → Test → Iterate.

Current solution

At the time, Envoy America was running everything through a legacy desktop app. All operations—bookings, customer data, driver management, vehicle tracking, and invoicing—were handled through it. On top of that, they used spreadsheets, phone calls, and insurance platforms to manage and coordinate rides manually.

Design challenge

Stepping into a 15-year-old legacy system that was outdated, messy, and hard to navigate. My first challenge was simply making sense of it, figuring out how the different modules connected, what data mattered, and how people actually used it on a day-to-day basis. Additionally, we were working against a tight deadline and faced real technical limitations. The hardest part for me was designing a whole new system that felt modern and efficient, while still respecting the mental models people had built over years of using the old one.

Solution Values

Real-time route visibility

Modern UI for legacy workflows

End-to-end trip management

On-the-go mobile access

Automated driver payouts

Seamless reservation

Centralized control

Frictionless team coordination

Numbers speaks

~96%

Faster to track a trip

90%

Less trip route-related issues

80%

Faster to finalize a trip

PS: These numbers are hypothetical & approximate based on stakeholder feedback on the pre-launch iterations/releases and post-launch feedback.

User’s Problem

The system wasn’t just old—it was actively holding the business back.

Current solution

Execution Process

At the end of the day, the process was straightforward: Create → Test → Iterate.

Solution Values

Real-time route visibility

Modern UI for legacy workflows

End-to-end trip management

On-the-go mobile access

Automated driver payouts

Seamless reservation

Centralized control

Frictionless team coordination

Design challenge

Our solution

The key wasn’t just new tools, but redesigning workflows around the team’s mental models, making the whole operation faster, clearer, and scalable for the future.

Numbers speaks

~96%

Faster to track a trip

90%

Less trip route-related issues

80%

Faster to finalize a trip

PS: These numbers are hypothetical & approximate based on stakeholder feedback on the pre-launch iterations/releases and post-launch feedback.

Tools & Practices

Blended design intuition with structured audits and design best practices

Tools

The tools I used at Envoy were simple yet powerful, helping me stay focused on delivering value as a designer. Most of them supported documentation, design, collaboration, and testing, covering everything I needed to work efficiently across the product process.

Miro

Notion

Figma

Slack

ChatGPT

Test flight

Practices

I combined hands-on design, user research, and real-world observation—quickly wireframing flows, testing with the team, and learning from drivers to ensure the mobile experience felt intuitive, especially for older, non-tech-savvy users.

User interviews

stack-holders interviews

Prioritization

Brainstorming sessions

Usability testing

Sprint planning

Tools

Miro

Notion

Figma

Slack

ChatGPT

Test flight

Practices

User interviews

stack-holders interviews

Prioritization

Brainstorming sessions

Usability testing

Sprint planning

Visuals (Portal)

Considering the previously described challenge, I aimed to deliver a visually appealing and modern UI—covering all visual aspects like typography, color palette, and components—without compromising usability for the non-tech-savvy users who rely on this interface for core job tasks. Since we were replacing a long-standing experience, it was crucial to ensure clear improvements across the entire UX, not just better aesthetics.

Trips map

A visually intuitive, tracking-focused view designed for Envoy admins to monitor every active trip in the system. Interactions included hovering over a trip dot to preview it, and clicking to open a side model with detailed trip data, showing the assigned driver, route, distance, locations, time, status, and more.

Trip details

Expense request

By pressing any dot on the trip map view, Envoy admins can view full trip details in a side modal, along with a visual representation directly on the map—maximizing visibility and efficiency in managing and tracking trips.

Trips list

Expense record

All trips were grouped under an accessible tab that listed every recorded trip in the system, with a wide range of customization and filtering options tailored to user preferences—offering a significantly improved experience for managing reservations.

Trip details

Trips list

Drivers list

Expense request

This section lists all Envoy drivers in the system, giving admins quick access to profiles, trip history, and statuses—making it easy to manage assignments and monitor performance.

new trip

Expense record

While trips are usually pulled from a third-party system, the Envoy team can manually add new ones by clicking “Create New Trip” and filling out a structured form to ensure accurate data entry.

Drivers list

This section lists all Envoy drivers in the system, giving admins quick access to profiles, trip history, and statuses—making it easy to manage assignments and monitor performance.

new trip

While trips are usually pulled from a third-party system, the Envoy team can manually add new ones by clicking “Create New Trip” and filling out a structured form to ensure accurate data entry.

Notifications

Expense request

Instant in-app notifications that allow admin teams to get notified about any new reservations that get assigned/recorded to the system, trip issues, driver updates, and more...

Messages

Expense record

This is where Envoy admins stay in touch with drivers—resolving issues, sharing updates, and keeping communication flowing. They can search messages or send bulk updates when needed.

Notifications

Instant in-app notifications that allow admin teams to get notified about any new reservations that get assigned/recorded to the system, trip issues, driver updates, and more...

Messages

This is where Envoy admins stay in touch with drivers—resolving issues, sharing updates, and keeping communication flowing. They can search messages or send bulk updates when needed.

Visuals (driver app)

Visuals

(driver app)

The driver app was built out of necessity—to provide Envoy drivers with a simple, intuitive way to view trip history, accept new assignments, contact admins, and more.

Home

After several iterations, we designed a screen that gave drivers clear control over their trips and assigned vehicles.

Notifications

Keep drivers updated in real time. Covering rides, payments, vehicle updates, and key announcements from Envoy’s team.

Shows active real estate agents by location.

Helping users find nearby professionals based on their area of interest.

Home

After several iterations, we designed a screen that gave drivers clear control over their trips and assigned vehicles.

Notifications

Keep drivers updated in real time. Covering rides, payments, vehicle updates, and key announcements from Envoy’s team.

available trips

This is where drivers can view all available trips and accept the ones assigned to them.

Driver wallet

An in-app wallet gives drivers clear visibility on earnings with easy bank transfers when needed.

available trips

This is where drivers can view all available trips and accept the ones assigned to them.

Driver wallet

An in-app wallet gives drivers clear visibility on earnings with easy bank transfers when needed.

Chat

Here where drivers can contact admins, and have their support when needed.

Profile

Drivers can view and manage their personal details, including documents shared with Envoy’s team.

Shows active real estate agents by location.

Helping users find nearby professionals based on their area of interest.

Chat

Here where drivers can contact admins, and have their support when needed.

Profile

Drivers can view and manage their personal details, including documents shared with Envoy’s team.

Learnings

Reflections, takeaways, and what I’d do differently.

What did I learn?

This project was inspiring on so many levels. From the first call with Adel and Taymoor, I knew I was lucky to be working with such a sharp, supportive team. Later, when Kareem and Hania—Envoy’s brilliant founders—came in, their trust and openness gave me space to do more than just design. I was able to contribute to the business logic, propose new features, and shape the experience with real confidence.

On the learning side, the pressure was real. Tight timelines and heavy tech constraints forced me to grow fast. I learned to think more like an engineer—understanding APIs, endpoints, and the boundaries of what was actually doable. But the most important lesson was letting go of design ego: knowing when to fight for a decision and when to adapt for the bigger goal, making the product faster, easier, and better for the people using it every day.

What went well?

Balancing a product mindset while wearing the “designer” hat isn’t always easy, but I leaned into it. Without proper research time, I turned business conversations into insights, then translated them into features I could design, present, and help ship. Closing the loop by tracking performance gave me confidence that we weren’t just designing screens, we were solving real needs.

The design challenges were no joke, handling invoicing, trip creation, COV management, what an interesting stuff! But seeing the validation come back from the team, hearing “yes, this fixed it, yes, this made things better”, made the long nights and tough calls worth it.

What went well?

What could be improved?

3 years later, I can clearly see what I’d do differently. In the “Create New Trip” flow, I’d add bulk upload via Excel to cut down repetitive work. On the driver app, I’d improve the home screen visuals so available trips pop out more clearly. For the admin portal, I’d rethink the map—organizing filters better and making trip cards more actionable.

But the biggest shift is how I now handle constraints. I’ve learned to challenge assumptions, defend design decisions with clarity, and push for what actually helps users—while still respecting technical and business realities.

What could be improved?

Project summary

From challenge to impact: A focused look at the problem, process, solution, and results.

User’s Problem

The system wasn’t just old—it was actively holding the business back.

Our solution

The key wasn’t just new tools, but redesigning workflows around the team’s mental models, making the whole operation faster, clearer, and scalable for the future.

Execution Process

At the end of the day, the process was straightforward: Create → Test → Iterate.

Current solution

At the time, Envoy America was running everything through a legacy desktop app.

All operations—bookings, customer data, driver management, vehicle tracking, and invoicing—were handled through it. On top of that, they used spreadsheets, phone calls, and insurance platforms to manage and coordinate rides manually.

Solution Values

Real-time route visibility

Modern UI for legacy workflows

End-to-end trip management

On-the-go mobile access

Automated driver payouts

Seamless reservation

Centralized control

Frictionless team coordination

Design challenge

Numbers speaks

~96%