How to build an app that can compete against Uber? Ride-hailing App Development Guide

The sheer growth and unremitting success of Uber like taxi apps will always be an example setter for newcomers. What does the increasing user base of ride-hailing apps convey? “Preference for convenience” is what the massive user base of on-demand ride-hailing apps convey. Alright! Move on to the subsequent subsections to know the business models, functionality, tech stack to launch a ride-hailing app exactly like Uber.
What do stats infer about the ride-hailing app industry?
Before we get to the insights into the taxi app development, let us take a pause to know the stats. On-demand ride-hailing services have penetrated into the global market, thereby disrupting the traditional taxi services. Let us look at the future of online ride-hailing services.
- The expected global revenue of the ride-hailing industry in 2021 is $258,354 million.
- By 2025, the above-mentioned revenue will increase at a rate of 11% annually. This will result in a revenue of $392,580 million.
- Statista has given a prediction that in 2021, China will be the leading contributor in terms of revenue.
- Overall, China, the US, India, Brazil, and the UK are the top 5 countries in terms of revenue generation.
Business models in the ride-hailing app industry
Your business model will convey the way you connect with customers and provide services.
- Individual model – Operating independently has its own set of challenges as well as benefits. Simply, if you choose the individual model, then you will provide ride-hailing services directly to your customers. Here, the challenges include hiring drivers, employing taxis, license formalities, insurance, etc. in the case of benefits, you get full ownership of profits.
- Aggregator model – You can bypass the challenges involved in the above model if you choose the aggregation model. How? Basically, your job is to develop a taxi booking app. Then, find out taxi service providers and propose a deal with them to partner with you. Once you ally with them, customers will book taxi services from your app.
Summary on the functioning of a ride-hailing app like Uber
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Registration and inquiry
Users who plan to book a ride through your app will first download and then register their credentials. After that, they will get access to choose the source location and the destination. Along with that, users must pick a taxi type suitable for their ride.
Now, it’s time for inquiry. Immediately after picking a taxi type and entering the location, an estimated charge will be shown. If users think that the estimation shown is feasible, they will confirm the ride. Likewise, users can select different taxi service providers and know their charges.
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Wait for approval
Users will lock a service provider and confirm their bookings. Now, drivers will have to say whether they are accepting the booking or not. In Uber like apps, we know that the app will automatically pass the booking to any one of the closest drivers. Drivers who get the bookings can decide on accepting or rejecting them. Till then, users will have to wait for approval.
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Confirmation
We shall assume that the driver who got the booking has accepted. From now on, users can make use of the location tracker and stay updated about the location of the driver. On the flip side, drivers may not accept bookings at times. If that’s the case, then the app’s algorithm will find out any other driver in the closest location and map the booking to them.
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Ride commencement
Users will continue the tracking process until the driver reaches. Users will take up the ride and keep an eye on the location of movement. For tracking the location while moving, geofencing technology is utilized. Once users meet their destination, the driver will end the ride.
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Payment
Paying before or after the ride is up to the users. Users will select a payment option that is convenient for them at the given time.
Tech stack and features to be implemented
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Social media registration
Integrating Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, and other famous social media apps are needed for enabling social media registration. If users choose to register with their social media credentials, then they can swiftly sign-up.
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Geolocation
In the above section, we saw the usage of the geolocation feature for location tracking. Google maps for Android and Apple Maps for iOS are used for building the geolocation feature for your taxi business.
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Payment gateway
This feature needs your attention! The availability of disparate payment gateways is quite essential. Here is a stack of payment gateways, to your knowledge. Braintree, PayPal, Stripe, GPay, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, and debit/credit cards.
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Push notifications
For implementing push notifications in Android, Google Firebase cloud messaging is used. Likewise, for implementing push notifications in iOS, Apple push is employed. From the list of essential features, push notifications can’t be omitted since it has a chief role to play. Be it informing ride updates to users or keeping them engaged with your business, push notifications are strongly recommended.
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Route optimization
A punctual service will satisfy your customers and also help you in retaining your customers. There are many factors that refrain drivers from being punctual. They are traffic-laden roads, confusing routes, and of course, climatic conditions. The route optimizer feature, which is built with telematics technology, will be able to find out the most optimized route.
Quickly, the route optimizer’s algorithm scans the location information provided by the driver. Next, the range of possible routes from the mentioned source to the destination is examined. The resulting route will be the shortest one.
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Feedback
Know whether your business has been meeting your customers’ expectations by collecting responses. Constantly evaluating the feedback you receive from customers and sorting them out will keep them retained.
Finishing thoughts
The spiking rate of reliance of people on ride-hailing services in itself proves the scope for on-demand ride-hailing businesses. Agree? A multi-featured and technically high-standard taxi app must be developed. Uber clone is one such high-standard taxi booking app solution that is built for immediate launch. Don’t miss the opportunity of stepping into the ever-lucrative on-demand ride-hailing industry. Step in right away with the Uber clone!