Uber has had unparalleled success since its inception, though other apps try to compete to match its standards; they weren’t as successful as the popular ride-hailing app. Currently, Uber operates in 80 countries across the world and has completed 5 billion rides worldwide.
The mammoth task of building a taxi booking app like Uber can be accomplished by sequential planning and execution. This blog covers the crucial factors involved in building a successful app.
Steps involved in building the taxi app
Identify your area of expertise
When it comes to taxi-app development, there are several options available for building the app. Business requirements formulate the need for building the taxi-booking apps. There are various types of taxi-booking apps available:
- Ride-hailing apps: It is one of the popular types that we see in the on-demand taxi sector. The app has a separate user app, driver app, and admin app with features to suit each stakeholder’s needs. Uber and Ola are some of the popular ride-hailing apps.
- Shuttle-service apps: The shuttle service apps mainly work based on advanced booking and operate on a fixed location across the city. There is also a private shuttle service, wherein users can use either book or rent a vehicle. For example, there is an airport shuttle service that picks users up from different locations and drops them off at the airport.
- Carpooling app: People who are traveling on the same route can connect using the Carpooling app. Revenue of the app is based on the commission it obtains per ride. BlaBlacar is based on the carpooling app model.
Instead of building the app for the needs of the public, it can also be developed to suit the specific organization or company’s requirements. The apps built for that are known as employee transportation apps.
Market analysis
The market for ride-booking apps has been flourishing, though there are mild setbacks due to the current Coronavirus situation. People are taking the necessary precautions and are stepping into their regular lifestyle, so things will get back to normal for taxi-booking apps. The revenue fell from $302.2 million in 2019 to $192.23 million this year. It has led to a decrease in revenue of about 36%. According to Statista, the situation will get better in the coming years as it is set to reach revenue of $344.5 million by 2023.
Understand the current situation and invest in the area where there is a demand for taxi-booking apps.
Overcome the challenges
There are certain challenges to overcome in order to become successful in the taxi-booking industry.
- Competition: There is severe competition faced in the taxi industry, so only top-rates apps stand a chance in the competitive sector. There must be a unique selling proposition to scale your business in the taxi booking sector. Ola has faced criticism for replicating the model similar to Uber. Ankit Bhati, Co-founder of Ola, gave a firm answer saying, “taking inspiration from others is not a bad thing. The real task lies in building the app to suit demographics.” Entrepreneurs can develop a successful app by taking this inspirational message from Ola.
- Security aspects: Security seems to be a concerning aspect when it comes to booking rides. A detailed background check has to be completed before enrolling drivers to become part of the app. SOS button, call masking, etc., are some of the features to include in taxi app development.
Revenue streams
The highly-backed revenue stream will bring in substantial income for your business. The fare is calculated for the rides for Uber-like app can be based by combining any of the following criteria:
- Base fares– fixed fare that is allocated based on car type
- Cost per minute– derived based on GPS time estimation
- Cost per mile– distance traveled during the entire ride
- Booking fare– for using the apps’ services
In addition to these, there is also surge pricing, which is computed based on the current demands at the moment.
Sequence to proceed with the app development process:
- UI/UX design
- iOS app
- Android app
- Backend development
- Admin panel
- Testing phase
- Deployment
Summing Up
The advent of technologies has made it possible for developers to build an app more effectively to meet customer needs. Approach Appdupe, the best taxi app development company, and get your Uber-like app deployed in major platforms within weeks.
Are you willing to invest in the On-demand taxi app development?
Marketing is my soul mate and writing is my side kick. Using my writing skills to share the knowledge of app development and upcoming technologies.