How to Build an Uber like App- Tips from Taxi App Developers
3 things you need to know about developing an Uber like App
Taxi service that was once a matter of luxury and occasion, was made affordable and means of a daily commute by ‘Uber’. Uber did not only disrupt the traditional taxi service but also opened avenues for people to carry out their own business. Today, Uber stands at a valuation of more than $70 billion with 50 billion users and 1 million average daily trips and has inspired many more industries to build an app like Uber.
Today, Uber’s on-demand service model is being applied to all industries and their niches to get high ROIs by entrepreneurs and enterprises. The demand for on-demand technology solutions is increasing with every passing day worldwide. One of the most popular technology solutions among aspiring on-demand business’s is an Uber clone taxi dispatch software or uber like app development.
Why is the demand for an uber like app on the rise?
The underlying principle of the Uber on-demand business model is the aggregation of demand and streamlining the supply-side to meet the demand in an efficient way. Most importantly, an Uber clone taxi dispatch software solves the daily commute problem of masses worldwide by providing a safe, reliable, and economical means of transport.
However, the 3 critical things to be kept in mind while planning for a pickup app like uber:
– Planning the Uber clone features
– Possible revenue models
– Cost of developing an Uber-like app
Planning the uber like app features
Start unraveling the features you want in your taxi booking app which will address your business opportunities. The process to build an app like an Uber-perfect taxi dispatch system can be divided into 4 modules:
– Customer App
– Driver App
– Dispatcher Panel
– Admin Dashboard
Each of these modules enables vital functionalities for the stakeholders involved. Some of the popular Uber-like app development features are enlisted below:
Customer App Features:
Book a Ride
Provide native iOS and Android apps with smooth UI/UX designs for customers to book their rides in easy steps. Customers can select pick up and drop location, car type before making the booking via pickup app like uber.
Track a Ride
Enable your customers to track their rides in real-time after they have made the booking. What happens is, after the passenger enters the pickup and drop location, the driver accepts the ride request and approaches to the pickup location with the help of uber like app development.
Multiple Modes of Payment
Customers can choose from multiple modes of payment e.g. credit card, debit card, cash, mobile wallets, etc. When a developer starts the process to build an app like uber, he must think about adding digital payment modes in the app.
Carpool and Sharing
Give your customers an economical and convenient way to travel by enabling carpool and sharing feature in your Uber-like taxi app.
Fare Estimation
Get approximate fare estimates for the customers before they book their ride on the basis of their pickup and drop location. The fare also varies as per the selection of the car category chosen for the ride and other parameters specified by the taxi service owner. This can be done while you follow the process of how to build an app live uber so that flexibility of the fares could be introduced.
Customer Feedback
Provide an interactive rating and feedback mechanism for customers to provide improved taxi services in the future. When you start with the process of how to build an app like Uber, you need to introduce a separate section for the same.
Additional features include schedule rides for later, customer wallets, in-app chat support, track ride history, multi-language support and many more based on today’s dynamic ride-hailing landscape. The features aim at ensuring a hassle-free ride-hailing experience for customers. Explore more features of an Uber-like customer app.
Driver App Features:
Real-Time Ride Requests
Let your drivers receive all ride requests directly on the driver app. Relevant information, for instance, pick-up location, is shared with drivers before they accept the request so that the chances of cancellation are low post-ride acceptance. A robust handyman app like uber can serve the purpose. Click here to know more.
Trip Management
Enable your drivers to start and end rides, receive payments, view daily earnings summary, and avail chat support through the driver app. Make sure that it works similarly to what happens in a handyman app like Uber.
Route Optimization
Simplify navigation so that the driver takes the most efficient route to reach the destination in the shortest possible time. The in-app pickup and drop off locations help the driver navigate effortlessly via pickup app like uber.
Forward Dispatch
Forward dispatch is an advanced feature for the driver app. It allows the drivers to accept the request for another ride while they are still completing their current ride. This will improve ROIs for both drivers and service owners in the uber like app.
Additional features include customer heat maps, custom cancellation windows, driver wallets, in-app chat support, multi-language support, and many more. Above all, the features aim to increase efficiency and ensure a beneficial long-term engagement with the drivers. Explore the advanced features of an Uber-like driver app.
Dispatcher Panel and Admin Dashboard:
While the customer and driver apps are the visible part of the ride-hailing ecosystem, the backbone of the taxi system is the dispatcher panel and admin dashboard. Critical functions such as automated dispatch, dynamic-surge pricing, heat maps, real-time fleet tracking, ride status notifications, promotions and discounts, and advanced data analytics are enabled by the owner’s panels.
The secret sauce to effectively planning the features of the Uber-like mobile app is to strategically integrate them into your own branded unique taxi solution. You can do this by categorizing the features into three stages: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Firstly, you can test the waters with the basic version of the Uber-like app solution. It will consist of the most viable features for the customers, drivers, and admin. Furthermore, you can improve the subsequent versions of the Uber-like app based on the planned features and live market feedback.
Possible revenue models
While many of the to-be Uber-like businesses know that instead of owning the fleet of cars and getting its revenue, Uber earns from the drivers and customers. Similarly, you can also explore the revenue streams for your Uber-like taxi dispatch business. Some of the viable options are:
– Commission from the drivers
– Ride fare from the customers
– Ride fare from different cab categories
– Surge pricing mechanism
– Cancellation charges from the customers
– Combination of multiple streams
Cost of developing an uber like app
Let me walk you through the cost of building an app like Uber. It is fairly obvious for a business owner to focus on the ROI. In order to figure out the expected turnover, you need to know the investment. So we will highlight the influence of several factors that decide the investment required.
Influence of features:
The cost of acquiring the perfect taxi software depends on your business requirements. The cost tends to increase when advanced features such as heat maps, forward dispatch, and the likes are integrated with the taxi solution. Further, customizations specific to a business model are charged higher as compared to taxi apps with basic ride booking features.
Influence of technology:
The coding language of the Uber clone app and the operating system influence the cost of the taxi solution. Some taxi app developers tend to charge higher for iOS apps and for coding the app in trending languages. However, it depends on your target audience, their preference of device, and your add development needs to select the technology. Recently, the trend has been to launch the taxi apps on both platforms- iOS and Android, as there is strong traction on both platforms.
Influence of resources:
Developing an app clone in-house versus outsourcing the Uber-like-app development has different costs and risks associated with it. Therefore, one must compare the cost of app development by keeping in mind the risks, domain expertise, and quality assurance.
As the cost of development of an app like Uber is dependent on a variety of factors, an exact figure cannot be determined. However, the cost for the initial MVP for an app like uber with a clean UI/UX design is upwards of $100K- $300K. Meanwhile, with JugnooTaxi’s taxi dispatch software, the cost of the MVP can be as low as $40K to $80K.
Outsource developers: The smarter way for Building an uber like app
Building an efficient taxi dispatch system requires domain expertise, a team of hard-headed developers, and dedicated management. It is often difficult for entrepreneurs and enterprises to build focus on all the aspects of app development. Hence, they end up with bug-prone taxi-cab booking apps. Meanwhile, the smarter way of making an app like Uber is to outsource the app development to experienced developers. Consequently, entrepreneurs can focus on critical operations without getting distracted by the nuances of app development. JugnooTaxi is a taxi app developer, that offers complete Uber-like taxi solution for aspiring taxi businesses. Get in touch to start your taxi dispatch business today.
