2969
How to Build a Taxi Booking App Like Uber
16 Jun, 2020
12 min read
2969
16 Jun, 2020
12 min read
Uber revolutionized the taxi booking business by taking it entirely online. The company was the product of a terrible taxi booking ecosystem in California before 2010. Since then, many companies have come up with similar taxi booking app models. The ease of opting for services and delighted customers are the reasons for the success of this business model.
Uber was designed to make taxi booking services far more reliable and more effortless. Another such brand, Lyft, conceived initially as a long-distance carpooling service, retuned its structure to compete against Uber. But, Uber had already made its trademark. So much so that words like Uberification and Uberization became the buzzwords and reframed the definitions of exemplary services.
Ask yourself, “Have your services been uberized?”
Can you enhance the quality of your current services to make them on-demand? How will you disrupt the market just like Uber did with their unique idea?
If you’re just setting foot into the taxi booking business, you’d have this question: How to create an Uber-like app? And this is precisely what this article is about. So, if you are looking to invest your time and money to develop an app like Uber (or a taxi booking app), then this article is for you. We will cover the following things for you:
So, what propelled the humongous growth of the ride-hailing behemoth: Uber!
Let’s jump back into where it all began.
Uber was just an idea that emerged in 2008 when two friends (Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp) meeting at a Paris conference couldn’t find a cab to go back to their hotels. What if we could only book a cab in seconds without calling dozens? And then boom! Uber, a revolutionary taxi booking app, was born.
Uber did not set out to do something revolutionary; instead, they created a simple software that would allow you to hail a cab. But it did the simplest thing most exceptionally.
As a result, today, Uber is valued at over a whopping $79 billion for its taxi-booking service in over 81 countries! Although the taxi-booking market existed even before Uber. Then what’s the big deal with Uber? Here’s a short answer to that question:
The reason: Its unique value proposition!
Uber did it, and so can you!
Taxi booking app development keeps getting better and better by the day. It keeps making it easier for customers to book their rides with minimal effort. You might think that cloning the exact same thing and building a business out of it would be a win-win situation for all. But, it is far from the truth.
As cool as the app cloning approach sounds, it is not practical. After all, an original is worth more than a copy. With the proliferation of multiple cloning platforms, the overall quality and originality of mobile applications have taken a nosedive. Many entrepreneurs find themselves in the puddle of problems like up-charging, bad UI/UX, less scalability, and poor functionality.
The only solution to this problem is customized apps. Here are a few benefits:
Entrepreneurs thus need to deliver taxi booking apps with a twist that will keep them ahead of the competition. Cloning isn’t cool – so if you’re planning to jump on the trend of app cloning or simply copying, think again.
Do you crave to develop an app like Uber or want to create something exceptional? Besides, If your taxi booking app development is in the hands of professional developers, the high functionality of the app can be ensured.
Kickstart your taxi booking business. The experience that you deliver through your application lies at the core of its development. Only development experts can bring an exceptional app together. If you are in the process of creating an app like Uber for your business, you must check out Biztech’s taxi booking app model.
Before you begin to create an app like Uber, the first thing is to know how it works. You can’t navigate through a map unless you know the origin and the destination.
A taxi booking app like uber acts as a connecting bridge between the consumer (rider) and the service provider (drivers). The taxi booking app is designed on a basic 5-steps foundation.
Customers request the ride by choosing the origin and destination; they pick an option based on the fare and car type.
The user confirms the pickup location.
Uber locates nearby drivers. The driver chooses to accept or decline the drive request. If one driver rejects the request, it is automatically diverted to another nearby driver.
Auto-deducting the payments at the end of the ride. To make it fast and hassle-free, users add their credit and debit cards, PayPal account, and other wallet accounts.
Ratings are requested after the ride has ended. These ratings help other users in choosing the driver for their next ride.
And that’s how an app like Uber works. But which features will you require to make this flow smooth and effortless for riders, drivers, as well as admins?
Taxi booking app development requires both client and server-side development. It involves planning numerous functionalities like matching, cost calculation, location, guiding the way to the driver through Google map, fare calculation, commission subtraction, and rating. You’ll need a highly optimized central server to manage the interaction between riders and drivers in that world in real-time.
For this, you’ll need multiple geographically distributed servers to optimize response times, eliminate failures, and provide constant service availability. Let’s have an in-depth look.
A centralized approach is required for an Admin to manage the drivers and passengers, and the overall system; a complete management system.
For that, the Admin management system must have the following features:
As they say, actions speak louder than words; there is a huge difference between reading about the features and visually experiencing them work. If you’re still confused about how the features function and how things will work for your taxi booking app, try taking an interactive demo.
The world is gradually returning to its routine, despite the growing coronavirus cases. Thus, it would be valuable if your taxi booking app had advanced safety features that would benefit drivers and customers on the road.
Every time a driver starts the ride, they need to go through a checklist. A real-time selfie would ensure the driver is wearing a mask, along with other information like completely sanitized, no COVID-19 symptoms, body temperature, etc.
The driver would be able to commence the ride after verifying all the info.
Integrate a tracker that would assist drivers and customers in tracking nearby COVID-19 patients and provide details of the total count in the area they are riding. With the help of a tracker, drivers can be sure if they want to take a ride or cancel it.
Security is a must, after all!
When a driver feels that the ride’s destination is not safe, then allow them to cancel the ride at no charge.
By allowing the COVID-19 tracker to capture the details of that region, you can automate this feature and give drivers an option:
Example: Area XYZ is a red zone.
Want to go on this ride?
Yes or no
Note: No fee would be charged
You can even add in this function
‘Not more than two passengers at one time.’
If a driver finds more than two people on arrival, they can cancel the ride without paying extra charges.
Riders are asked for ratings based on various factors such as driver’s behavior, vehicle, etc. You may add another segment to it, asking if the driver has followed all the safety measures and precautions like masks, coverings, sanitizers, etc.
The benefit of this feature will be that it double-checks the overall safety. And this allows other customers to book with relief.
By now, we have the idea of the features that would make the taxi booking app a success. But are those basic features enough?
In my opinion, not so.
Hence, here are the additional must-have features for a robust Uber-like app.
Let’s take a look.
How do you think the fare for the trip is calculated?
Kms-based, huh? But does that do justice to the waiting time, traffic, and the time it takes for the drivers to complete the ride or the fuel prices?
Tracking distance and the time in real-time and auto-calculating the fare based on it is how the taxi booking app can help you be fair with your drivers and passengers.
You can mention a defined radius of, say, 10 km for passengers, and the drivers within that range would be alerted of the ride. Drivers, on the contrary, will be able to pick the distance they’d like to go. Say, 10 km in the passenger’s direction or the opposite path.
Only when both the parties, passengers and drivers, are in the range of 10 km, they would be notified of the ride details.
Upon completion of the ride, the payment would be auto-deduced from the credit/debit card of the passenger. The deducted payment will be automatically bifurcated into the share of drivers and the commission of Admin based on the given rates and credited to their respective accounts.
A rider sometimes pays the fare ahead of time only to be told that the driver has canceled the journey. As a leading mobile development service provider, we can support you with a taxi booking app with automatic refunds and other complex features.
Biztech Consulting & Solutions assures you affordable pricing for the successful execution of taxi booking apps like Uber. While calculating the actual cost of developing an Uber app for Android and iPhone, the platform (Android or iOS) plays an essential role as it affects the total hours of developers. Without discussing the pricing of developing apps like Uber, here is a brief analysis of estimation for Uber app development.
The feature list mentioned here includes everything you would need to have a fully functional app. Our hourly rate would be around <$25/hour. For further queries, you can get in touch with us.
User/Customer Side Features | API | Native: Android (in Hrs) | Native: iOS (in Hrs) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Module Name | Design | Development | QA/UAT/PM | Design | Development | QA/UAT/PM | |
1. Business Analysis & Communication | 18.0 | 4.0 | 30.0 | 20.0 | 4.0 | 30.0 | 20.0 |
2. Base Code & Architecture | 5.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
3.1. Instructions | 4.5 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.5 |
3.2. Create a Profile: | 13.0 | 4.0 | 24.0 | 9.0 | 4.0 | 24.0 | 7.0 |
3.3. Terms & Condition | 2.5 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
3.4. Sign In | 5.5 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 3.0 |
3.5. Sliding Menu | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
3.6. Main Screen, Map, Bottom car, Pickup | 10.0 | 6.0 | 28.0 | 11.0 | 6.0 | 32.0 | 11.0 |
3.7. Set Pick Up Location, Fare quote, Promo code, Payment | 21.5 | 8.0 | 44.0 | 13.5 | 8.0 | 44.0 | 14.0 |
3.8. Request Screens | 7.5 | 6.0 | 24.0 | 5.5 | 6.0 | 24.0 | 5.5 |
3.9. Rate Driver & Feedback | 3.5 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 |
3.10. Profile | 6.5 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 5.5 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 5.5 |
3.11. Payment | 22.5 | 4.0 | 24.0 | 6.0 | 4.0 | 24.0 | 4.0 |
3.12. Support | 5.0 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 1.0 |
3.13. Promotions | 5.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
3.14. Share | 5.5 | 2.0 | 16.0 | 3.5 | 2.0 | 16.0 | 3.5 |
3.15. About | 2.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
4. Graphics Design Integration | 0.0 | 12.0 | 28.0 | 15.0 | 16.0 | 40.0 | 15.0 |
5. Push Notifications Logic | 16.0 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 9.0 | 0.0 | 20.0 | 9.0 |
Subtotal: | 154.5 | 63.0 | 310.0 | 119.0 | 67.0 | 330.0 | 115.0 |
Grand Total: | 1158.5 | Native: Android + API | 646.5 | Native: iOS + API | 666.5 |
Driver Side Features | API | Native: Android (in Hrs) | Native: iOS (in Hrs) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Module Name | Design | Development | QA/UAT/PM | Design | Development | QA/UAT/PM | |
1. Business Analysis & Communication | 2.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
2. Base Code & Architecture | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 6.0 |
3.1. Authorization | 7.0 | 4.0 | 12.0 | 6.0 | 5.0 | 12.0 | 5.0 |
3.2. View/Edit Driver’s Profile | 6.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 16.0 | 3.0 |
3.3. Orders Monitoring | 8.0 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 20.0 | 3.0 |
3.4. Accepting an Order | 2.5 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 |
3.5. Navigate to Destination | 5.0 | 2.0 | 24.0 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 28.0 | 7.0 |
3.6. Order Completion | 3.5 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 3.0 |
3.7. Interaction with Supervisor | 5.0 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 1.5 |
3.8. Rate Customer | 3.0 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 4.0 | 0.5 |
4. Graphics Design Integration | 0.0 | 8.0 | 16.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 24.0 | 4.0 |
5. Push Notifications Logic | 16.0 | 0.0 | 12.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 6.0 |
Subtotal: | 58.0 | 31.5 | 160.0 | 58.5 | 33.5 | 176.0 | 58.0 |
Grand Total: | 575.5 | Native: Android + API | 308.0 | Native: iOS + API | 325.5 |
You will need a brilliant go-to-market strategy to stand out. You can’t repeat what Uber did. You need to create a different story, or else your taxi booking app may go unnoticed. It will not help you gain a competitive advantage in the current marketplace. There needs to be a uniqueness that users can remember. For technologies like taxi booking apps, innovation has become more critical.
Think Different and Innovate
Your taxi booking app must trigger an emotion that the users’ have never felt before. After all, it is all about user satisfaction. Along with this, you must also comply with the needs of your drivers. There are numerous ways to offer a unique value to both riders and drivers. Here are some strategies to help you improve your chances of success.
Global expansion is yet another unique value proposition that inspires people to prefer your brand. The more you expand, the more your target audience scales. Uber’s success itself indicates the same.
But there are still untapped markets where Uber hasn’t set foot yet. It includes Brunei, Malta, Iceland, Cyprus, and Luxembourg. This suggests that the service has some roadblocks, and the first business to find a way across them can expect lucrative rewards.
Ready With Your Innovative Idea?
If you want to stay relevant in this rapidly changing market, look no further. We have expertise in taxi booking app development. We can help you create an app like Uber and customize it as per your taste. Consider taking a demo!
Taxi booking apps have three primary sources to earn money. These sources are:
Taxi booking apps like uber primarily earn from both the rider and driver. Their primary part of income comes through commission from the drivers. Apps like Uber charge drivers a certain commission for giving them business. It is usually equal to 20% – 35% of the driver’s total ride fare. Uber’s commission rates differ in different regions. These apps also charge fees from riders in the form of extra charges, i.e., ride cancellation charges, animal transportation charges, etc.
Millions of people use taxi booking apps regularly. Hence, it is the right spot for companies to run their ads. The app showcases advertisements from various brands and companies across the world. They usually follow a cost-per-click model. Large corporations often collaborate with these apps to offer a discount on their products and services for users.
Because most apps are free at the point of installation, the app business model needs to be adjusted to equalize this. Hence, app monetization is a necessary aspect. There are lots of app monetization strategies and models in the market, some more popular than others. Two major ones are:
To attain this, you need to brainstorm all the monetization methods and find out the best one. As a development company, our developers dive deep into the app features and bring out the best possible monetization strategy model for that app.
By providing you with all the features that Uber has, the complex, and the safety features that your taxi booking app must have along with your additional requirements. And to get all this done, you would need many technologies, integrations, backend developments, and other complexities.
We have expertise in various technologies and can help you with:
Companies like Uber and Lyft have not entirely captured the taxi booking market. A lot of opportunities are still left in the business. If you identify a niche and focus on the unique value proposition, you can create a profitable taxi booking app business.
You only need an out-of-the-box idea and a successful implementation of that idea. The more innovative you get, the more lucrative your taxi-booking app becomes. If you want a solution that best fits your business needs, we can help you get your taxi booking app with features built from scratch. We specialize in taxi booking app development for Android, iOS, and cross-platform apps.
Suppose you need help and guidance along the way to build an app like uber, or you want to outsource the project to an exceptionally talented and experienced team of developers. In that case, you should consider taking a demo. We have the best developers from around the world to help you develop your dream taxi booking app.
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