Ride-sharing apps are in high demand as well as usage for the past few years. Traffic has increased immensely and parking spaces are very limited. This is one of the biggest reasons for an increase in ride-sharing. Not to forget the comfort of getting picked up from your doorstep and not having to wait on the road to search for the auto or cab is an added benefit. Ride-sharing apps have made the booking process quick, easy, and smooth encouraging more and more users to opt for rides in spite of having their own vehicles. If you are here reading this blog, you might as well be thinking of taxi booking app development and being a part of this profitable industry.
Capitalize on the growing industry but before getting started and investing a pool of money in your idea, make sure to research every bit and piece of about this industry. Do you know the global market of the rising sharing industry is about to rise to 185.1 USD Billion by 2026?
There are already big players in the market and plenty of business owners are looking to develop a clone of these players like Uber clone app development or Ola clone development. It is very essential to conduct competitive market research and see what other ride-sharing app development company are doing to make their app a humungous success. Let’s get started by covering each and every aspect of making a mobile app. Let’s get started first with the features of taxi app development.
Features to Have in a Taxi Booking App Development
The growing demand for on-demand ride-sharing apps is one of the highlighting reasons to get started with the development. Make sure to include all the trending features and add one of the USP features that only your application has.
Customer App Features
1) Account Creation and Profile
Get basic of the users like name, gender, location, preferred travel destinations, and many more. Allow the users to create their profile and add their details for easy usage and saving time to add the same details every time you use the application.
2) Social Media Login
All the trending mobile apps have social media login options. It is easy to login through social media accounts. Users will find logging in like this quite easy.
3) Insert Location
User can add their preferred choice of location into the app. They can add the address and also put a pin on the location on the given map as well.
4) Add Filters
Users can place filters based on the type of vehicle, the number of passengers, gender of the driver for added safety, offers, discounts and deals. Get suggestions based on the filters you set.
5) Get Cost Estimation
Based on the location you have added, the app will give an estimated fare for the ride. This will help you decide whether it is affordable and whether you want to go ahead with the booking or not.
6) Chat and Call
After booking the ride, users get the contact details of the driver. Users can chat with the driver or call him to explain the exact address and help him reach it easier and faster. This will ease communication.
7) Track the Cab
Once you book the cab, you will get the location of the driver. You can track the taxi driver’s location through the app and know how long will it take to reach.
8) Push Notifications
The app also sends timely notifications to the users about discounts, deals, and various offers, and gets ride status as well. This is a pivotal factor in every carpooling application.
9) Hiring for Someone Else
The customer app also allows booking a taxi for someone else from the app. The process is very simple and the same as booking a cab for yourself. The only difference is that you need to add the pick-up address of the friend or the family member, and the drop location.
10) In-app Payment
The users can also make payments in multiple modes through cash or UPI. Users can make payments through the mobile app only without having to carry a wallet or cash. This way payment can be made quickly, easily, and in a more secure way.
11) Ratings and Reviews
Users can share ratings and reviews about the rides and the driver and their experience with other passengers.
Driver App Features
1) Login
The driver has to login into the app to start using the app. The driver can also login through social media platforms which would be an easier and more convenient option.
2) Create a User Profile
The driver has to create a user profile where he can feed his basic details like name, age, driving experience, add his driver’s license, and other details.
3) Accept or Reject the Request
The driver can accept or reject a request from the passenger. If the driver is not willing to go to some areas, they can reject the request. On the contrary, if the driver intends to go to a specific location, he can accept the request.
4) Go Offline
When the driver does not want to take any rides, he can go offline. At this time when the driver is offline, he won’t be getting any ride requests and won’t be visible to the passengers searching for a taxi booking app.
5) Trip Information
Trip information shows all the rides the driver has completed with the pickup and drops off locations as well as the kilometres driven and the amount earned.
6) Inbuilt Navigation
This feature will allow the drivers to check our multiple routes, get a suggestion for the best route, get traffic updates as well, and potential routes to avoid heavy traffic.
7) Push Notifications
The driver gets push notifications about picking up the passengers. This way drivers will not forget about their pickup date or passenger or location.
8) Review and Ratings
Drivers can share ratings and reviews about the passenger, and their behaviour, and assist other drivers to stay away from the bad passenger.
9) Contact Passengers
A taxi booking app development must always have the contact information of the passenger for easy communication to get details of the location from the passenger.
10) Receive Payment
The driver must be able to receive payment from the mobile app only. It would be convenient and hassle-free for both drivers and passengers.
Process of Developing A Taxi Booking Application
The development of on-demand apps is revolutionizing the mobile app industry which has skyrocketed the need for a reliable mobile app development company to execute your perfect idea into an amazing app.
1) Research
The first step of making an app is research. Conduct proper research about features to include, including the cost of developing an app, conducting a market survey, and many other things. Though, the ride-sharing app development market has huge potential but conducting a market survey is essential, to know the pros and cons of this market and see what top-ranking taxi booking mobile app developers are doing. Also, determine the target audience and determine the niche of your idea.
2) Decide Unique Selling Point
Unless and until your mobile app has a unique feature to make your app stand out among the pool of other developers, your app does not join the league of top mobile apps on the app stores. Give users something that they cannot refrain from using and something which no other player on the market is providing to the users. Lure them to use your application and keep using them for your app engagement.
3) Design the App
Creative and interactive design is highly essential for an app to succeed. At the same time, the mobile app design needs to be user-friendly. A user can easily understand how the app function without having to put a lot of thought into it. A no-brainer can also understand the design and flow of the app. Add amazing elements to attract the users at first and then keep them engaged.
4) Pick Your Development Approach
- Native App Development
Native app development means developing two separate apps for two different operating systems. This means that if you want to work your app on multiple platforms and devices, two different apps have to be developed. For Android, programming languages like Java and Kotlin are used. For iOS app development, you need to use Objective C and Swift.
- Cross-Platform App Development
With cross-platform app development, just a single code base works for multiple platforms. So, no need to develop two different apps for two different platforms like iOS and Android app development. This will cut down the development cost, also needs fewer resources to work on the project, and cut also cuts the development time of the project.
- Hybrid App Development
The hybrid app works on multiple platforms. This app is created using web technologies like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript. The app performance is similar to the native platform but not better than cross-platform. Ionic and Apache Cordova are the top frameworks used for developing hybrid apps.
5) Create an MVP
MVP stands for a minimum viable product. This means an app only has those features which are absolutely necessary for the app to get developed and function. This way if the app doesn’t succeed you wouldn’t have invested a lot of money. In fact, it is testing for the app in the open market. To see if it is working well or not and then make a higher investment.
6) Testing and Launching the App
Testing the app is important to avoid launching a buggy and crashy application on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Make your app undergo testing and solve all the existing bugs. Also, optimize your app and follow all the app store guidelines, create a proper description for the application, and use proper keywords as well.
7) Post Launch Marketing
Launching the app in the app store is not the end of the struggle. You need to conduct multiple post-launch marketing tactics to promote your application. Post-launch marketing will make people know that your app is out and live. This will increase the number of downloads and visibility your app receives.
8) Maintenance and Support
Any mobile app that is live in the app store needs timely and regular maintenance. New features must be added to the app and updated from time to time to keep the user’s attention on your app and not let them shift their attention to other apps.
Cost of Ride-Shar0ing Application Development
The cost of developing a mobile app depends on various factors. There is no definite figure as it changes based on the customization of the application.
1) Features and Functionality
The cost of making an app depends on the number of features chosen for the app. If the features are too many, the cost would be high. On the contrary, if you develop an MVP the cost would be much lower. So, the choice of features plays a huge part in determining the cost of mobile app development.
2) Complexity of the App
If the app is highly complicated, the developer’s cost would surge. If the app development is simple and uncomplicated, the cost would be lower.
3) Experience of the Developers
A fresher-level developer will not charge too much for the development. However, an expert and skilled developer with ample experience working on multiple projects will be charging higher for the project. So, the cost is also affected by the experience a developer possesses.
4) Mobile App Developers You Hire
One of the factors affecting the cost of developing an app is the type and number of mobile app developers you hire. If your project needs more developers to work on the project, the overall cost would be high. If the team of developers has fewer developers, the cost will be lowered.
5) Time to Develop the App
If the time to develop an app is more, the cost would be really high. Also, if the app can be developed in a short span of time, the development cost is low.
Wrapping Up
So, you know all the basics about developing a taxi booking app. The market is in demand and profitable which makes it the perfect to get started and start earning. Follow every step properly and launch a perfect app with plenty of users.
can develop a ride-booking app by integrating all these features. Now, don’t waste a single moment and consult a top taxi.