Busy and hectic lifestyle and moreover, increasing parking problem have paved way for ride sharing options which people find much convenient and flexible to avail. This is a major reason why cab services are gaining much importance these days and you can see ample taxi apps on the app stores. However, these apps differ much in features, functionalities, and user experience but there are some taxi apps like Uber that has set benchmarks for the entire industry. Uber is the most downloaded app in travel category and was installed over 95 million times till 2020.

The company offers its economical and efficient taxi services in over 600 cities covering 65 nations. Any taxi app development company can learn a lot from this renowned taxi service app and come up with a similar taxi app to offer value and contentment for people looking for ride sharing services. This post will offer informative insights into the development aspect of a taxi app like Uber (probably even better) to offer you complete contentment and build good reputation in the market.

Developing the Right Strategy 

Before you start with your taxi app development project, you need to deeply analyze the Uber business model. We don’t aim to help you develop a Uber-clone by some travel app development company but when it comes to perfection and professionalism, you have to be open-minded and a good learner.

This is how the Uber app works

Step 1: Trip request: When a user sends a trip request with end destination, it can see the upfront pricing of the trip’s fare that is based on the type of vehicle selected.

Step 2: Trip Confirmation: The verification of the trip request where user confirms the data and pick-up location.

Step 3: Matching Process: Matching up with the nearest available driver in that area. A driver can also accept or reject a request on their end.

Step 4: Ride: The cab is made available for the user in the quickest possible time.

Step 5: Payment Procedure: The user connects a bank account with the app and the payment is automatically done in-app when the ride is completed.

Step 6: Rating & Reviews: A rating is requested after each ride and this is a core component of Uber app business logic.

When a user sends a trip request, it is directed to all Uber drivers near that particular geographical area and the closest car near the customer reaches within few minutes after sending the request. Moreover, the user is given a 5-minutes time to cancel the trip-request otherwise the app charges $5 to 10.

Developing an Uber-like Taxi App: Functionality Aspect

To come up with a robust-performing taxi app like Uber, you have to ask your taxi app development company to provide you with four panels including Admin panel, Drivers’ panel, Passenger panel, and Analytics panel. A reliable taxi app must be developed as two distinct apps with unlike functionality and making them both interconnected with the help of an Admin panel.

Developing a taxi app booking service as a simple website landing page will help you to collect interested users and drivers’ requests to participate in the platform.

Let’s discuss some passenger features

Easy Registration process: Try to make it possible for users to register with the app through their e-mail, social media account or phone number followed by verification. Users usually prefer registering through their social media accounts.

Cab Booking Aspect: Offer simple and straightforward taxi booking process including address, car-type, and a pick-up & drop location option. Use great UI designs but in a simple way to make navigation convenient and swift.

Fare Estimation: This feature might trouble you to instill on the backend side of the system but we assure you that your diligence will pay good returns when you allow a customer to check the price for a ride beforehand.

Tracking Driver’s Location: This feature develops a sense of faith in users when they are able to track driver’s location in real-time after booking a trip.

Payment: Try including multiple payment variants like cashless-in-app payment via credit cards and PayPal or simply accepting cash in your taxi app as people prefer apps with flexible payment options.

 Push notifications: One of the most crucial elements for a taxi app as this feature keeps a user updated with all trip-related information like trip request status, driver’s arrival time, car details and anything that you want your users to be informed.

Messaging: When you allow a user to get in touch with the driver through a chat option, it works wonders in developing faith for your taxi app.

Travel History: Let your customers know their entire travel history including, trips, payments made, miles travelled and many more.

Responsive Customer Support: In case a user faces any trouble or inconvenience in accessing your taxi, let them resolve the issue as soon as possible.

However, to get an extra edge over the competitive environment, ask your taxi app development company to provide features like:

Pick-up Location: Allows a user to find the nearest driver automatically based on location.

Ride cancellation: Offer ride cancellation within a set time limit.

Split Payment: Allowing a few fellow customers to share the price for a ride.

Interactive Map: Allow your users to view all taxis in map in real-time.

Advance Booking, Panic button, Discounts & Offers, book for others, and Waiting list are some additional features which can add to the value of your taxi app.

Here are some features for Drivers which you can offer in your taxi app-

Driver Profile & Status: Verification of drivers on administrator’s end including license, vehicle insurance, and status of his availability.

Trip Alert: Option to accept or reject a trip request including all information regarding the trip.

Push Notifications: Including alerts like location, route, payment, trip changes, and trips completed.

Navigation & Route Optimization: Allowing them to find the safest and shortest possible route.

Driver’s Record: Providing statistical information regarding trips and earnings based on trips completed and debts if any.

Take complete control of your taxi app with Admin panel

Ask your iOS app development company to provide you an elaborated admin panel will allow you to monitor each detail about drivers and passengers. Try developing a web-based admin panel so that you can manage customer, drivers, orders, locations, payments, payouts, and other business processes in an app. An illustrious admin platform for a taxi app like Uber must include:

• Locations & Fares Management
• Driver & User Management
• Booking Management
• Vehicle Management
• Review Driver’s Orders & Payoffs
• Check Ratings & Reviews
• Notifications Management
• System Content Management & FAQ
• Promotions & Discounts Management
• Driver & User Support
• Integration with Google Analytics

Choosing the best technical stack for your Taxi app

You must approach a Mobile App Development Company after a thorough research if you want a taxi app like Uber. Using the best updated and advanced technology and software is a key element in developing an app like Uber taxi. Making best use of Geo-location and mapping technologies will give your app an extra edge over competitors.

• CoreLocation framework is used for iOS in identifying a device’s location whereas Google’s location APIs is used for the same purpose in Android.
• Provide direction to drivers using MapKit for iOS and Google Map’s Android API for Android devices.
• Allow integration with Google maps for both Android and iOS
• Use Twilio Telecommunication provider to offer text messaging services for both users and drivers.
• For Push notifications, you can use Apple Push notification service for iOS and Google Cloud Messaging GCM for Androids.
• Use BrainTree or Stripe or PayTM for payment integration. Moreover to proceed with payment integration, it is mandatory to comply with certain requirements and country policies for handling the data securely.

Apart from technical implementation, an Android App Development Company must also focus on exceptional UI and UX aspect as it is going to play a major role in your taxi app’s success. A thorough market research followed by an elaborated development strategy will pay you rich dividends.

You must also focus on building a revenue model embedded within your taxi app. Deciding with the factors like Base fare, cost per mile, cost per minute, and booking fee will help you to generate great revenue from the app.

If you are looking for the cost of development for a Uber-like app, we won’t keep you in any ambiguity, the development cost for such an app will be depending on the following factors:

• Number & complexity of features
• Design aspects
• Number of platforms and operating system details
• Technology preferences
• Development team capabilities, location, & rates
• Back-end development
• Web development (admin panel)
• Native app development (iOS & Android)
• Native app interface (UX/UI Design)
• Project management
• Quality assurance
• Business analysis (Functional Specification)

Moreover, the development cost also differs in terms of per hour basis which differs a lot from country to country. Still if we try to provide a fair estimate, a basic version of a taxi app including driver panel, passenger panel, and an admin panel will cost somewhere about $60,000 to $80,000 at an hourly rate of $ 40 per hour.

The above calculation is just a rough estimate and doesn’t include business analysis, project management, communication, planning, and quality assurance service cost. Therefore, you must choose a mobile app development company wisely and after conducting a thorough research.