In recent years, we have seen how the transportation ecosystem transformed itself, thanks to the on-demand revolution. It all started with Uber when
In recent years, we have seen how the transportation ecosystem transformed itself, thanks to the on-demand revolution. It all started with Uber when they introduced a simple application a decade ago. Today, on-demand transportation applications stand tall in terms of achievements and even taller in terms of projection.
Increasing scope for on-demand ride-hailing
According to the statista the rides booked by ride-hailing apps outnumbered the number of bookings on the trading service market. It is predicted that it will be worth more than $126 billion by 2025. It is not a thing of wonder that app based taxi bookings beat traditional taxi bookings by a whopping 35 million rides.
Popular ride-hailing apps which achieved success with right strategies
We have seen local players spring up and challenge the supremacy of Uber in a few geographies. Didi Chuxing has showed its power in China, and it was so intense that Uber had to pull out of Chinese operations. In Singapore, Grab has been so powerful that it forced Uber to buy shares in the company and let go of the operations in the city-state. India, it goes without question that Ola stand shoulder to shoulder with Uber in both profit and business volume. Even in the United States, there are players like Lyft who have been giving quite a steady competition to Uber.
All these facts only imply that although it might seem like Uber is dominating the market, there is also a lavish room for new players to not only enter but even thrive and succeed in the world of ride hailing services. It is not a thing of wonder that a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs would like to create their own business out of a ride hailing app.
Creating a ride hailing application involves quite a cumbersome process. On paper, the process looks simple but there are a lot of aspects to be figured out before you embark on developing your app like Uber. We have detailed below, all the aspects that need to be taken into consideration when creating your Uber-like app.
How do things work?
It all seems quite simple, doesn’t it? All we need to do is launch the application on the mobile phone, choose the cab and the pick up point, and the cab arrives at our doorstep! However simple it may sound, there is a complex procedure that happens under the hood to make the cab available for you.
The entire credit of the growth of on-demand services has to be given to GPS and mapping systems available on mobile these days. With this combination, it is possible to precisely locate a user and navigate to that particular location. Therefore, it is possible to address the needs of a customer at a place that they want. The visual barriers that would have resulted in a disconnect between the service provider and the customer have been completely eliminated.
Let us look at every step involved in booking a cab in great detail and the technology that goes behind affecting the apparently simple process.
- The app is downloaded from the application market for the ecosystems, ie. The App Store for iOS and the Play Store for Android. As soon as the user downloads the app, they are prompted to create a profile that will store their personal information, including but not limited to the payment details, the most frequent pickup and drop locations, and the history of the rides they have taken. These details are stored on a high-performance database like Mongo DB.
- As soon as the user opens the app, the mapping interface gives details on their location and the location of cabs in the vicinity of the user. All this data is enabled by a combination of GPS and mapping services. Google Maps and the Apple MapKit make this possible.
- When a request for a ride is raised from the passenger app, the request is sent to the drivers nearby. The match between the passenger and the driver is done by a set of complex algorithms usually programmed in Python.
- Once the driver accepts the request, the passenger is notified about the progress through push notifications. These notifications are sent by using Firebase for Android and push notifications for Apple.
- Just like the location assistance provided earlier, the mapping technologies and the navigation services come to the forefront in helping the driver navigate to the user’s destination in the shortest possible route and the quickest possible time. Apple Maps and Google Maps are usually used in this regard.
- Once the ride is completed, the user can make a payment by using digital payment instruments or by cash. These digital payments are affected by payment service providers like BrainTree and PayPal.
- What makes these cab services democratic is the review and rating system. The rating system works both ways. The passengers can read the drivers based on the behavior and the drivers can do the same as well. The cumulative rating determines the credibility of both the passenger and the drivers. This possibly ensures a mutually good behavior as well.
The Essential Features
A taxi booking application depends on three entities to work in tandem with each other. They are the passenger, the driver, and the administrator. Each entity is given a different application.
- The passenger application should help the passengers book their cabs without any hassle. They should be provided with the flexibility in using different payment options and in choosing the cabs of their choice. To address the safety concerns, a panic button can be provided as an additional feature. Above everything, they should be given an option to review and rate the driver and the ride.
- The driver application should give the driver the flexibility to accept or reject rates based on their convenience. Also, the driver should be able to turn their earnings into cash quickly . The review and rating system for the drivers to rate the passengers ensures that the ecosystem stays democratic.
- The administrator acts as the overseeing authority of the entire app. They should be able to view the earnings and the cost per kilometer. They should also have the power to suspend or delete users or drivers based on their behavior. All the vital information about the app should be available over an intuitive dashboard.
Building an App like Uber
Without question, Uber has become the benchmark for any ride hailing application. Creating an app for taxi booking mandates that it needs to have all the essential features in place. Building the app from scratch would mean that a lot of time and money would be spent on re-creating something that already exists. Using Uber clone apps might result in quicker turnaround time, especially at an instance when time is of vital importance when it comes to conquering the market.
Author Bio
Jennifer is a marketer and business research specialist at Appdupe. She helps entrepreneurs to find the right solutions for their apps and online visibility. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur who would like to create an app like Uber, you can get in touch with Appdupe. They will gather your requirements and customize the app according to your requirements, so you are all set to book your ride of success in the ride hailing market!
Stay Connect with Get News 360 & Follow our Tech Blog, We cover all tech topics, Sharing content regular basic, I also accept Technology news via blogger & Tech company, so If you want to publish your technology content than checkout our write for us technology guidelines.
