Having an Uber-like taxi-hailing app is essential for a successful ridesharing business. The reason is as follows. There is no doubt that taxi service apps will replace traditional ride-hailing services. Startups and existing taxi businesses that want to offer taxi booking services should have mobile apps today. The competition cannot be won with an app alone.
However, The problem can be solved. You must give your cab booking app users a reason to choose it over your competitors to be successful. You need a well-recognized and strong brand with a compelling value proposition for your taxi booking service. Taxi app success also depends on a reliable technology partner – a company that specializes in taxi app development.
What strategies can you use to compete with Uber, what revenue models can you use for your taxi app, and what core features should you include? During the cab booking app development process, we encountered several pitfalls that we will share with you.
We first need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture of how taxi booking apps are developed.
How long does it take to develop an MVP for an app like Uber?
The following is a rough estimation of how long it will take to develop a taxi booking app MVP:
Design specifications and functional specifications
- Designing the UI/UX and the functional specifications for the end product – 120-150 hours+
- Designing high-level features such as database schema, third party integrations, technology stacks, etc. – 50-plus hours
Single-Platform App Development
It takes twice as long to create an iOS and Android app.
- A registration process takes 32-40 hours (via app or social media)
- Profile of the client – 16-24 hours
- 16-24 hour driver profile
- Order placement (customer) – 80-96 hours
- Driver booking – 48-56 hours
- Route and location of pickup – 32 to 40 hours
- History of bookings (customer) – 16-24 hours
- History of bookings (driver) – 16-24 hours
- 40-48 hours for payment (adding a card, integrating payment API, automatic payment after order completion)
Development of the backend
- Schema for the database – 24 hours
- 240 hours – Business logic
- Dashboard for admins – 160 hours
- 160-hour performance report
Assurance of quality
There is usually a 30% increase in development time due to QA.
How do you run a successful taxi business like Uber?
Software development and taxi booking online applications are becoming very profitable businesses. Many people prefer these taxi booking services because they are convenient and reliable. Compared to other online companies like e-commerce ventures, the taxi business plan has a perfect revenue model.
This app is managed by a third-party company that handles all technology, infrastructure, and operations. It is a business that generates revenue for both the app provider and the taxi driver using the platform.
This business has different revenue models, and there are various decisions about how much investment to make when setting up the company. In this regard, you can also seek the guidance of a taxi app development. Let’s take a look at some of the revenue models that are successful to start your own taxi business:
Explore the revenue models of Cab Booking Application?
Revenues earned by individuals
The taxi booking app allows individuals or groups to book a taxi. When a single person books a vehicle, commissions are 20% instead of 10%, but if five or more people book it, commissions are reduced to 25%.
The more people in your booking party, the less commission you will pay.
Services that generate revenue
The taxi business plan includes apps that allow customers to book taxis. This service is more likely to be used by business people.
Nevertheless, the booking conditions remain the same as for individual bookings, except for an increase in commissions up to 25%.
Revenue from corporate bookings
There is stiff competition from other businesses, which makes taxi businesses heavily reliant on it for revenue. The company provides its clients with dedicated vehicles and professional drivers to travel to airports or train stations. Rides can also be booked in advance with these apps. There is a fixed commission rate of around 25% on all fares.
Using credit cards for payment commissions
Nowadays, most people pay for their rides using their credit or debit cards, and this service makes it possible for them to do so. Every time a user makes a payment, the service provider receives a commission. However, this model differs from others by 15% to 20% in percentage terms.
Booking commissions for outstations
Taxis booked through these apps are more expensive than local taxis when people travel long distances or visit distant places. These long-distance trips generate more profit for the service provider, who charges commission of around 30%.
Rental and leasing commissions
Also, if you plan to lease or rent your taxi vehicle to another taxi operator, you can use such apps to find customers. Service providers will receive 10% commission on total fares.
Dynamic pricing model
Dynamic pricing models are not limited to a certain number of people. Cab fleets are more efficiently managed when they are booked on an app, and prices are lower as a result.
Pay per hour model
Under the pay-per-hour model, a car can only be rented for a certain amount of time. It’s perfect for one-time trips. Commissions in this case will not exceed 20%.
A variety of alternative transportation options
This industry also generates revenue through alternative modes of transportation. A vehicle booked under this model travels on roads that are not commonly used, such as waterways. Here, 30% of the fare is charged as commission.
Using ride-sharing services
Individuals in the taxi industry can generate income through ridesharing, but it is not always effective. A low occupancy rate, for example, will make sharing rides not very profitable if not enough clients share the rides during peak hours. It is possible in this case to charge a commission of around 25%.
How to Make a Revenue Generated Cab Booking Application?
A step-by-step guide to developing an Uber-like app
Breaking down the taxi booking app development process into four steps is possible. As you can see, it looks like this:
Research & Auditing
The first step in developing your uber-like app is to make a list of the requirements. You will only need to build an app if you already have a taxi booking service. In contrast, starting from scratch will require you to plan everything according to your vision. To make their app better than existing taxi booking apps, business owners should research and identify improvements.
An app’s documentation
In addition to choosing the type of app – native or hybrid – and the platform on which it will be built – iOS or Android – before moving on to app documentation, you will also determine the type of app – native or hybrid. There are several important questions to answer in order to determine how an app will be developed. Identifying the technical specifications and architecture of the app, as well as the tech stack that would be used, follows answering these questions and finalizing requirements.
Developing a mobile app for taxi booking
A ready-made solution can be used, a taxi app development can be pursued from scratch. Regardless of the type of project, it includes a series of operations which are further broken down into smaller subtasks. The tasks are then prioritized and completed accordingly. Any logical errors are identified and resolved during unit testing.
The App’s Deployment
A new app is deployed to a live environment and tested on various devices to ensure functionality and performance. To launch the app on the market, any issues are quickly resolved.
Thus, those are the main stages of developing a taxi booking app. In order to put things into perspective, let’s consider how Uber has disrupted the taxi industry by offering on-demand ride-booking services.
Uber-like app: It’s possible!
Now you know all about how to build an app like Uber, from the list of features to marketing analytics and revenue models. I would definitely recommend this project to anyone who is interested in learning how to code. Now more than ever, the market is growing, and new opportunities await. What should be done first and where to start?
Initially, you should do some market research and develop your idea. A professional should then have access to this information, and our team is prepared to take on the challenge.
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