A complete guide on Taxi App development-2022

Taxi service apps have replaced the old ride-hailing services, and they are going to stay for a while. Today no one likes to stand on the street to wait for a taxi to pass by. With mobile apps, the hailing taxi has become easier. However, the business has got tough competition, and having an application is not sufficient to beat the competitors. You already have to contend with Uber, which has millions of users and generates billions of revenues from it.

To make your taxi booking business successful, you need to offer your customers the reasons to choose you over your competitors. This means that your business needs a unique value proposition.

Another thing that will determine your success in the taxi booking business is a reputed tech partner. Hire an app development company that has great experience in taxi booking app development and technologies associated with it.

Here is the step-by-step guide on the development of a cab booking app:

1. Offer a value proposition that is unique – The app should be able to offer unique values to both passengers and drivers.
2. Know your niche – You need to identify your niche in the market of taxi booking app, having low competition.
3. Pick a revenue model – You should determine whether you will earn revenue by charging commissions or by paid promotions.
4. Turn your vision into reality – You need to find out what you need in your app and discuss it with the taxi app development team.
5. Technical documentation for taxi booking app development – The development team will suggest the user stories and suggest the architecture for the app.

How can you develop a taxi booking app?

We all know that the ride-sharing business has many competitors. Uber is one of the largest companies in the sector. However, your business can also become as successful as Uber, even in such a competitive industry. Here is how:

a. Offer a unique value proposition – In order to make your taxi booking app distinguish from your competitors, you need a persuasive value proposition. Besides, you also need to make your app attractive for drivers and passengers.

Uber is available in over 65 countries and 75 cities which accounts for over 55 million monthly users. Uber has two unique value propositions: –

1. It offers trouble-free fast riding
2. It is affordable

The first unique value proposition focuses on the ease of the app usage, and the second showcases that Uber has an affordable pricing policy so that everyone can enjoy the taxi services. Uber became the first taxi service charging rides on the basis of distance.

In short, you should try to build your brand and not copy from the other taxi service apps. Instead, find what makes your taxi service business unique.

b. Know your niche – You might feel that there is only one niche in the taxi booking industry. But if you will look closely, you will find that it is not true. You can pick electric cars to make your taxi booking business stand out.

Today, people are more bothered about the environment than they were in the past. So, they may prefer an ecological-friendly modes of transportation. In New Zealand, there is a Green Cabs Taxis which uses electric vehicles and add a donation for tree plantations for each fare.

Another niche is in alternative vehicles like motorbikes. The best example is Rapido which offers bike taxi services in India in over 35 cities across India. Today, the app has more than two million app users. There are many on-demand bike businesses in countries like Brazil, the USA, and Brazil, but if you belong to a country where a bike taxi app is not available, you have an opportunity to launch your first bike app.

Expansion in other countries

You shouldn’t limit your business to one country’s boundary. There are many countries where Uber isn’t working or is banned for some unknown reason, like Hungary, Canada, Denmark, Thailand, etc. In such countries, you can have the perfect opportunity to launch your business.

How to monetize the taxi-booking apps?

To make money from a taxi booking app, you need to consider the following methods:

1. Commission from passengers – To earn revenue, you can charge commissions between 25% to 30% of the ride cost.
2. Service fee – You can charge riders the additional service fee for service, security, and payment processing apart from a flat booking rate.
3. Cancellation charges – You can penalize the passengers in case they cancel a ride and get money from them.
4. Third-party promotions- You can generate revenue from collaboration with popular brands like Uber. Uber gets brands interact with users, promotion fees, and they get benefits and gifts from branded marketing campaigns.
5. Ads – You can charge a cost per impression or cost per click for running an ad in your app.

c. Turn your vision into reality – The main aim of developing a mobile app is to solve the specific problem of the users. So, before starting the development process for your taxi app, you should know which is your audience and what issues they have that your app can solve. This will be your project vision.

d. Technical documentation – You should have technical documentation which tells developers about the system that they are going to build. Documentation helps developers to find what a project should and shouldn’t have. Documentation includes user stories and use cases and talks about business and functional requirements. In the end, you will get the technical documentation of the project with a prototype of the app.

e. Develop MVP for a taxi app – A minimum variable project is the first version of the app, which includes important functionality which is enough for the users to install it and rate it. Once the technical documentation is ready, app developers in India prioritize the functionality for the app’s MVP. MVP enables the startups to launch their taxi apps and add other features later without having to spend any extra money.

An app like Uber should have three important parts – driver app, passenger app, and web-based panel to handle both the users, rides, and payments.

 Features for passengers

1. Login and signup – It allows the users to sign up in the app using the phone number and the verification sent on their contact number. The other sections include names and contact details.
2. Passenger profile – It allows the passengers to change their information and login password.
3. Payment modes – It offers various modes of payment like credit or cash so that a passenger can choose his preferred payment method.
4. User location – The app can identify the location of the passenger using Google map API integration.
5. Taxi request – It allows the passenger to request a taxi and set the destination. Passengers can view the cost of the rides and the time duration to reach their destination.
6. Matching – The app matches the passenger with the drivers.
7. Online payment – It enables the passenger to pay for their trip using credit, debit card, or UPI.
8. Push notifications – The app allows the push notification to the passenger to inform them when a driver has accepted their request or when the driver has canceled the request.

Features for drivers

1. Login/signup – It enables the drivers to log in using their contact numbers. The driver is expected to give car registration details and verify their account details.
2. Driver profile – It allows the driver to add his personal information, including his contact number, name, and car details.
3. Geolocation – It allows the driver to navigate the location of the passenger using Google map API.
4. Rides – This shows the list of requests and their detailed information.
5. Trip confirmation – It allows the trip confirmation, waiting for the passenger confirmation, and request cancellation.
6. Trip – It includes the information about the approval of the ride by the passenger and the time when the ride started and ended.

Web-based panel

1. Login – It allows the admin to register and set up the profile.
2. Admin roles – It enables the different types of access to the platform.
3. Drivers – It enables adding, deleting, and editing the list of drivers along with their information.
4. Passengers – It allows adding, editing, and deleting the list of passengers along with their information.
5. Cars – Admin can edit the details of the car through the app.
6. Rates – It allows the viewing of the driver rating.
7. Rides – It allows the admin to view the ride details.
8. Payments – It shows the transaction information like bank account and the total rides.

Though the taxi booking business is competitive, with a unique value proposition, great project vision, and reputed app development company, you can make it work. However, you need to be cautious of the potential pitfalls that can happen during app development. Your taxi app business should comply with the local regulations. If you are considering getting into the business, getting guidance from the local transportation authority is a must.