There are companies that are started almost every day, and there are companies that find financial success, but very rarely do we find companies that eventually become a habit and a cultural phenomenon. One such company that was founded in 2009 was the ride-hailing company called Uber. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Uber revolutionized the way we look at taxis and transportation in general.
No longer can you visualize calling a taxi by waving a hand at a random taxi that passes on the street. The very mention of the term ‘taxi’ immediately conjures up memories of us taking out a mobile phone, launching an app, and finding a cab only to have the cab reach our location to pick us up.
Today, almost every cab app in every corner of the world is a replica of Uber at least at a skeletal level.
The ride-hailing market
There has been a steady growth in the ride-hailing market in the world over. The increase in smartphone penetration, the access to the Internet, the growing familiarity with technology, and the general expectations of comfort have been instrumental in catalyzing this growth. The market was worth about 1 billion users and $183.6 million in 2019. Although 2020 was not the year businesses expected because of the Pandemic crisis, the industry is expected to grow bigger and better after the crisis is over.
The Pandemic crisis is expected to passively fuel the growth of ride-hailing applications and the market. The need for people to opt for safer transport options while avoiding public transport, the focus on comfort and safety over the economy, and the general concern for minimizing environmental impact and social distancing will contribute to the growth. It is expected that the taxi industry will register a market value of over $318.7 million by 2023, growing at a staggering annual growth rate of 14.8%.
A magnanimous opportunity awaiting you
While Uber has established a global presence spanning over 60 countries and over 700 cities, there are a lot of gaps and untapped territories that imply that there is a market quite wide and open to accommodate new players. Now would be a proper time for an entrepreneur to explore the business of an Uber alternative app.
Instead of building an app like Uber from scratch, they can go for a white-label taxi app. The Uber clone script is quite easy to customize and it can be garnished with features that represent a particular brand although the skeletal structure would remain the same. An Uber clone software also saves a lot in terms of both time and money.
The way an Uber clone app works
Even if you were to go for an Uber clone, it is, as a business owner, important to understand the way in which it works and the relevance of the features from that particular perspective.
There are three distinct applications that form the taxi booking ecosystem: the user app, the driver app, and the administrator panel. The user opens the app and registers for the services. They can register using social credentials like Google or Facebook. They can also consider using the classic email or phone number registration. The registration immediately creates a profile for the user that will not only keep a record of all the rides ever taken but also information on the usual pick up and drop locations, and the payment options.
The user can either manually input the location and use the map market to specify the exact location. Alternatively, the GPS can come into the picture which again precisely pinpoints the location of the user. For a specific ride, in addition to the pick-up appointment, the user can also input the destination. Based on the distance of the destination from the point of commencement of the journey, the traffic, and the demand, the fare to be paid for the ride is calculated even before the right starts. This makes the entire cab booking process transparent and reliable. This is one of the biggest advantages that Uber or any Uber alternative app is expected to bring to the market. This type of dynamic pricing based on multiple parameters that influence the cost is called surge pricing.
Using this GPS signal, the drivers in the vicinity are alerted based on the parameters chosen by the user as a notification from the dedicated driver app. There are multiple parameters including the type of car chosen by the user, the comfort of the driver, the home location of the driver if it is a ride during the close of day, and a few others.
Once the driver accepts the request, they are provided with the location of the user who requested. The driver also has a facility to contact the user over the phone or chat. Using either the GPS or the instruction from the user, The driver can reach the precise location of the user and pick them up. The same GPS also comes into play in helping the driver precisely reach the destination even if they are unfamiliar with the location.
Certain features like SOS and alerting the social circles of the user on their whereabouts can be included as a part of the user app. The destination is reached and the driver can close the ride. In most cases, the charge to be paid by the user is the one that was initially shown upon choosing the destination. However, in rare cases, if the entire ride included a few additional stops or took a long convoluted route, the charge might vary.
The payment for the trip is usually made using digital payment instruments. For this purpose, your app should be integrated with a versatile payment gateway that can take payments from multiple payment instruments like credit cards, debit cards, Internet banking, and even wallets. Most drivers look at the revenue from driving these taxis as an additional source of income, and sometimes even the source of their livelihood. Therefore, the earnings, after deducting the commission, should be credited to the bank accounts of the drivers without any delay.
Based on the experience of the ride, the user can rate the driver. On the flip side, the driver can also rate the user based on their behavior and courteousness. This review and rating system ensures that the entire taxi booking ecosystem remains democratic, mandating good behavior from both parties.
The must-have features for a taxi-hailing app
It is evident from the way in which a taxi booking app works that they need to have a few features in place. Some of them have already been discussed. The importance of the GPS, the payment processing systems and the review and rating systems are quite evident.
Beyond the process, some features that need to be taken care of are the user interface and the backend. The user interface should make it easy for any kind of user to book a cab without any hassle and should be able to do so in less than three steps. The backend should be robust and fast, so the cab booking is made without any delay and the connection with the nearest available cab is established in the most efficient fashion.
To wrap it up, it can be said that a taxi booking app like Uber is a grand culmination of an impeccable, intuitive, and interactive user interface, a robust backend, GPS, and business.
Conclusion
We have already discussed the gap that lives in the market, especially after the pandemic. Now would be the right time for any entrepreneurs to start their own taxi booking business. The Pandemic time will give enough room for you to test the features and the market, and perfect the product.
At a time when the time to market is of crucial importance, you do not have to rely on the traditional process of building the app from scratch. While it takes time and it’s obvious, it might also result in a product that might have bugs that interfere with the expected basic function. Alternatively, you can go for an Uber Clone. An Uber Clone script is easy to customize, and it can be garnished with the features of your choice both on the skin and under the hood. When you take into consideration, the Uber Clone price, it might be on the higher side when you think of the initial expenses, but if you were to consider the fact that you will be able to hit the market faster and you will not spend a lot of time and money in testing the product, it adds up to profit.
All you need to do is get in touch with a company that specializes in the development and customization of a white label taxi app like Uber. The Uber Clone Software Development Company will take care to understand your business requirements and deliver you the perfect product that will set the wheels rolling for your brand and profitability!
