Master InfotechToday, Uber has a whopping 93 million active users with 3.5 million drivers.
Do you also want to create the next billion $$$ taxi-booking and ride-sharing app like Uber to bring your business to the global limelight?
It’s possible.
However, knowing app development technology isn’t sufficient to build a pick-up taxi app. So, before hiring experts for App Development Services or getting into the development process yourself, you must understand the global taxi booking and rideshare market.
In this day and age, metropolitan cities are flooded with traffic and lack parking lots. That’s why most people prefer to book a pick-up taxi instead of taking their car on the road.
This scenario has encouraged many transportation companies and even entrepreneurs to build an Uber-like app. However, creating this kind of app is not a piece of cake. You must know how an Uber-like app works, how much it costs, what necessary features it should have, etc.
This blog will zoom in on the vital aspects and things to consider when developing your mobile app like Uber. Master Infotech is a leading app development company that can help you launch your Uber, Ola-like mobile app in the local and worldwide markets. Call us now.
Some basic passenger-oriented features your Uber-like app should have:
To make the taxi booking experience smooth and convenient for customers, include these features in your application:
Registration – New users need to create an account (sign-up) to avail of taxi booking services. They can use email, Facebook account, or phone number to complete the registration process.
Cab booking – The app should allow users to enter their drop-off location and pick-up address and view the selection of available cars.
Driver tracking – An in-app map to track the location of the driver.
Fare calculator – With a fare calculator, riders can check the cost of the ride before booking. Implementing this feature is tough. Make sure you take assistance from an expert app development services provider to carry it out.
Payment – Incorporate virtual or contactless payment methods, such as PayPal, UPI, credit/debit cards, etc.
Push notifications – The app must send notifications or SMS about taxi booking status, arrival time, etc., to riders. Besides, the push notifications feature is vital in promoting deals and discounts.
Messaging – Sometimes, notifications don’t deliver to the customers. In such cases, in-app messaging serves as quite helpful.
Rating & reviewing the driver – Rate and review the driver according to the type of service they have provided. Include good remarks or complaints or anything you think is suitable.
Travel history – Complete record of previous rides – location, payment, name of the service provider, and more.
Customer support – Provide 24/7 customer support whenever the rider faces any inconvenience or issue.
Some other add-on features you can ask your app development company to include:
Ride cancellation – Allow users to cancel the ride within a certain time.
Split payment – Allow multiple riders to share a single cab and split the amount amongst themselves.
Pre-booking – Allow users to book their cabs by mentioning the departure time.
Voice recognition – Support voice command feature while cab booking.
Book for others – Allow customers to book cabs for others by mentioning the time and pick-up address.
Real-time map – Incorporating a real-time map within the map allows customers to check all the available drivers before booking.
Some basic driver-oriented features your Uber-like app should have
While developing an app like Uber, ensure to add features for the driver’s side of the app.
Chauffeur’s status & profile – Your app needs an interface where you can verify and store the driver’s personal details. It includes the employee’s full name, address, licence & car insurance, and other vital documents. Incorporating profile status reveals if the driver is available for pick-up.
Trip alert – Whenever a rider books a trip, this feature will send an alert to the driver. The trip alert will also enable the driver if they want to accept or reject the request depending on the passenger’s location.
Navigation – Incorporating Google Maps helps drivers find the fastest route to the destination with less traffic.
Driver delivery stat – This feature helps riders to see how many successful trips a driver has made so far.
Create an admin panel to monitor every service
Ensure that your mobile app development company builds an all-inclusive admin panel that controls and handles interaction between a service receiver and service provider. Take a look at some of these functionalities your Uber-like application must have:
- Booking management
- User and driver management
- User and Driver Support
- Google Analytics Integration
- Notifications management
- Reviewing driver’s payoffs and orders
- Fare and location management
- Vehicular management
- Discounts and promotions management
- Ratings, Reviews, and Feedback
- FAQ and System Content Management
What technologies & features do you need in your Uber-like app?
Learning to build an Uber-like mobile app goes way beyond understanding the features and technologies – make sure you execute them as well.
You need a professional Android app developer or IOS App Developer with years of expertise to bring your application idea to reality. So, without further ado, let’s list down the features and functionalities of your cab booking platform.
Geo-location
Geo-location is a crucial feature needed for taxi pick-up apps. Therefore, your application must have the following mapping and navigation technologies:
- Ensure your iOS or Android app developer uses the Core Location framework to detect your device’s exact location.
- Map services are implemented to make the driver’s navigation easy – MapKit for iOS devices and Google Maps API for iOS and Android devices.
- You can also buy map services from various mapping software companies.
Push notifications & SMS
Once you have booked the taxi, Uber notifies you in several instances.
- Your ride request has been accepted by the driver
- Your driver has reached the pick-up location
- Your ride has been cancelled
Push notifications and SMS services keep the riders and drivers in sync.
Android users get notified through Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) and iOS users through Apple Push Notification Service. Your app also needs a telecommunication provider to send SMS like Uber’s Twilio telecommunication.
However, please note that push notifications don’t get delivered if the user is offline or unavailable. Thus, integrating in-app messages or chatbox technology into your app is more reliable.
Payment Integration
Your taxi pick-up app needs to have online Payment Gateways to prevent human errors or mistakes. For example, Uber, Lyft, and Ola allow fare payment through debit/credit cards and wallets.
However, to be permitted for Payment Gateway Integration, you need a license from the government, adhere to specific policies, and fulfill certain requirements to protect customers’ sensitive data.
For instance, Uber collaborated with Braintree and Lyft partnered with Stripe for Payment Gateway Integration. Every country has different policies regarding Payment Gateway. So, make sure you check them before proceeding with it.
Pro-tip: You need a professional mobile app development company by your side to pull off a powerful Uber-like app with certified payment methods. Many inexperienced iOS/Android app developers claim to build a great app but don’t meet the expectations.
Closing thoughts
Over the years, Uber has been the most successful car booking and ride-sharing app because when this concept was kicked off, no other company had anything like that at such a massive scale. However, the scenario has been altered. Now, many such apps are available, making the competition even harder. You need to be extra innovative with your ideas to create an enormous impact worldwide.
This is only possible if your app Android/iOS app developer provides exceptional app development services and goes the extra mile for you.
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