How often do you hire a taxi or cab through a taxi operator? We believe the answer is rarely or never. And why would you, when you have online applications to make your life easier and more comfortable?
Speaking of these opportunities, you can now find a car by opening your favorite taxi-booking mobile app (no need to deal with the operator!). Furthermore, such services allow you to be more active in selecting and evaluating a driver based on reviews and ratings.
As a result, taxi service providers must accept the inevitable: without investing in taxi app development, their business is unlikely to thrive and may even fail. There is no other option: it is time to go online and mobile!
In addition, an on-demand mobile application for drivers and passengers would be a fantastic choice if you’re looking for great startup ideas. The most important thing is to know where to begin and what to look for first. And we’ll go over these topics in this article.
How Do Taxi Booking Apps Function?
Any application’s operating principle is extremely simple. It cannot be any other way; that is the beauty of digital platforms! They are simple to use and do not require any additional steps.
Taxi apps are no different (which should be considered when starting a taxi app development). The client launches the program, confirms his location and the time of taxi delivery, specifies any special requirements, selects a destination, and begins the car search. Everything else is up to digital algorithms!
Afterward, the application sends a request, and all nearby drivers get a notification. One accepts the order and meets the client at the specified location. Isn’t that fantastic?
But what is it about taxi software solutions and how they work that is so appealing? Here are some of the most popular reasons why they’re so popular.
Real-Time Tracking
To begin, tracking the car’s movement and determining the customer’s location (a person needing a ride) is possible.
Push Notifications
All participants receive immediate and timely notifications about the ride details, such as a new order in the system, a driver change, a high traffic alert, and so on.
Contactless Transactions
Drivers and passengers appreciate the ability to pay online.
Ratings and Reviews
People nowadays like to share their experiences with others, whether positive or negative. They read the cab driver’s ratings and reviews when they book a taxi. As a result, your app must include a “Submit Your Review” or “Rate Your Driver” button.
Who Should Invest in Taxi App Development?
So, why do you need a taxi app (as its owner) in the first place? Why would you embark on such an expensive venture (as any application development is)?
There are two main scenarios in which your entire investment will pay off:
Existing Taxi Company Owners
If you own a taxi company, you must go digital (if you haven’t already). Otherwise, you’ll lose to more forward-thinking competitors who realized a long time ago that to thrive, and one must keep up with the times and introduce new technologies into the business.
Users become more loyal to your business as taxi apps make finding and hiring a cab easier. Furthermore, there’s a chance they’ll recommend you to their friends, which will increase your client base (with the resulting growth in profits, obviously).
Of course, a large investment is required (as previously stated, the taxi mobile app development cost is high), but this is one of those times when saving is an unreasonable decision. In the long run, you will earn interest on every dollar spent, not least because you can manage your business with less money and time.
On-Demand Transport Services
If you don’t already have your own company but want to start one, consider providing on-demand transportation services. In this case, you don’t need a fleet of vehicles; your role is that of an intermediary. All you have to do is provide a mobile platform that connects drivers and passengers.
Here are two approaches to the problem:
A Mobile Application
A mobile program provides potential passengers with a list of existing taxi companies and an estimate of the cost of the trip (and goes no further). This application is simple to implement and thus does not necessitate a large investment. It’s not a full-fledged on-demand taxi booking app development, but it’s a great option if you’re on a tight budget.
Uber-like Solution
The app searches for drivers independently, making it easier to use. Of course, it is difficult (and expensive!) to implement (you must also attract drivers and persuade them to register in your application), but it is worthwhile.
Features of a Taxi Booking Application
First, you should develop at least two application versions (apps for drivers and passengers). Then you should include a panel for managing the program and its settings (in a global sense).
Driver Panel
You must provide a user-friendly working environment for the driver. Order management (accepting orders, changing their status, and so on), GPS navigation (as a tool for building routes), accepting payments, and so on are all important in this case.
Passengers Panel
It should provide features that allow users to book a car with maximum comfort from anywhere in the city and obtain all relevant information about a future ride (who the driver is, what kind of car he has, how much the ride costs, how long it will take, and so on). Don’t forget to include the ability to track the car online and other useful features.
Admin Panel
It is not enough to create a taxi solution; someone must also manage it afterward. And that person must have access to a special administrative panel.
How do you create a taxi app from scratch?
Select a Business Model
Most well-known taxi booking platforms, such as Uber, OlaCabs, and MeruCabs, are cab aggregators that work with cab operators to provide on-demand rides. The revenue strategy for such platforms is based on pay-for-performance criteria. Aside from that, such models are paid a commission by cab companies for each sale. Additionally, operators must pay a charge to use the technological platform’s features.
The following are some examples of prominent business models:
- Aggregator Model
- Ownership Model
- Revenue Generation Model
Competent Analysis
Conducting a market, target audience, and competitor analysis is critical for a successful taxi booking app development. You can read tea leaves all you want, but it makes no sense! What’s the point of speculating and then being wrong? It’s a waste of your time and, ultimately, money. Real facts are required, which can only be obtained by examining the modern market and its key players. So, research the latest trends, figure out what your users want today, and assess your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
Select a Feature list
Assume you have a great market data-driven idea and the funds to bring it to life. It’s time to make a list of features to help you turn your idea into a working taxi app. Perhaps you’ll expand its functionality later, but you must start somewhere.
Hire a team of experts
You must hire the best taxi booking app development company for your project. There are various taxi app development companies from which you can pick. Clutch, The Manifest, GoodFirms, and other review platforms are excellent places to begin your investigation. Begin by reviewing the team portfolios and work.
When comparing businesses, consider the difference in taxi app development costs based on the outsourcing region.
In the United States, for example, hourly costs for taxi app development services range between $150 and $200. In Europe, the same services cost roughly $50 per hour. At the same time, when you choose Europe, you don’t have to trade quality for cost-effectiveness.
UI/UX Design & Development
One of the critical development stages is the creation of application designs. It determines how your program will look and how user-friendly it will be. As you might expect, the development process is one of the project’s most difficult and time-consuming stages.
Testing
Customers no longer understand why spending time and money testing software is necessary. You can’t launch a digital product without first having the QA team test it (what if it doesn’t work as smoothly as expected?).
Launch the Application
Everything appears to be in order, and you can publish your app in the App Store and Google Play (which, by the way, is more difficult than it sounds, so make sure you’re doing it correctly).
How much does a taxi app development cost?
Let us now turn our attention to the essential question: cost.
The cost of developing a taxi app ranges from $1,959 and $12,999 for one platform (iOS or Android). The higher the development expense, the more platforms and functionalities you may add.
As previously stated, development costs are heavily influenced by the site of outsourcing. By selecting nations other than the United States, particularly Europe, you can construct two app versions – for iOS and Android – however, in the United States, the same sum will only allow you to build one version of a taxi application.