Uber, the popular ride-hailing app was founded in San Francisco in 2009 by University of California dropout Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp. Since its launch, the ride-sharing app has become more of a cultural phenomenon. You can avail the services of Uber in over 70 countries and over 416 cities all over the world. However, there are other ride-sharing/cab booking apps like Ola, Grab, Gett, Hailo, Easy Taxi, Yandex.Taxi, Bolt, Lyft, Didi, Curb and many more have gained popularity in different parts of the world.
Table Of Contents
- A QUICK GLANCE OF TAXI INDUSTRY
- UBER BUSINESS MODEL: HOW IT WORKS?
- TECHNOLOGIES USED IN UBER LIKE APP
- GEOLOCATION API
- PAYMENT
- COMMUNICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS
- UI/UX DESIGN
- RIDE COST ESTIMATION
- TIME ESTIMATION TO BUILD UBER LIKE APP
According to Statistica, in 2019, there are 996.7 million users of Ride-Hailing service worldwide. The revenue in the Ride-Hailing segment amounts to US$183,677million in 2019, which signifies that the demand for new e-hailing apps like Uber is high. There’s much potential to fulfil the demand-supply gap. So if you plan to launch your Uber-like app, make it quick. Your enterprise taxi app can become the next Uber-like app.
A QUICK GLANCE OF TAXI INDUSTRY
1. Reduced taxi fare and ease of booking through mobile apps are the major factors that have driven the online booking segment. It has captured a significant share of more than 40% of the taxi market in 2017, globally.
2. The revenue of the taxi market is expected to register an annual growth rate (CAGR 2019-2023) of 14.8%, resulting in a market volume of US$318,765m by 2023.
3. Top Five countries in terms of revenue are China, United States, India, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
UBER BUSINESS MODEL: HOW IT WORKS?
TECHNOLOGIES USED IN UBER LIKE APP
Usually, two mobile applications come with a Taxi Booking app, like Uber. Passenger App which the users may use for booking and tracking cabs and the Driver App, which the drivers can use for accepting or rejecting the requests for mobile booking. Additionally, you can have the admin app. Using the admin app/web dashboard, the admin can keep track of drivers as well as the riders. Also, he/she can control the fare.
For the sake of readers, we have summarized the technologies used in the development of an Uber-like app.
You can have as many features to build your uber app as you want from basic to intermediate to advanced. It all depends on your budget and ultimate objective to serve your customers.
We have outlined some basic functionalities which are essential for the on-demand taxi booking app.
Hire Planning to Build an App Like Uber in Android & IOS ? Taxi App Development Guide
GEOLOCATION API
Geolocation is an essential feature when considering developing an app like Uber. When you pin the point on the map where you want the car to pick you up – it’s Geolocation API at the backend. When you track the real-time car movement – it’s Geolocation API. When the driver follows GPS directions – it’s geolocation.
Some of the popular Geolocation API services include Google Maps, OpenLayers, HERE, Mapbox, TOMTOM, MapFit, Jawgmaps, and many more. These APIs power routes and directions.
Geolocation API is a must-have tool that has to be used in your tech stack to make an app like Uber.
PAYMENT
It’s the next essential feature to think about when you come up with your strategy of creating an app like Uber. Modern technologies enable straightforward financial transactions between all parties concerned, and it’s a benefit for both customers and drivers.
Another option is to rely on payment gateway providers that ensure fully supported PCI compliance solutions, like Braintree. If you select the gateway provider for the Uber-like app, you can draw your attention to the following criteria:
A payment gateway should be created, especially for mobile devices, since many providers use the web view approach.
The service should be easy-to-use and ensure quick user data extraction.
These requirements are met by the PayPal group, particularly by Braintree payment gateway provider. So Uber uses Braintree for processing their credit card transactions.
COMMUNICATIONS NOTIFICATIONS
Communication and notifications are basic features that should be considered to make an app like Uber. Uber users can communicate (call or text) their drivers within the app.
An essential part of communication with customers lies in keeping them informed. SMS, email, or push notifications can help with it and notify users about important events like order confirmation or car arrival.
The following tools can be used to build an Uber app with flexible notifications:
1. Apple Push Notification Service (APN) when you make an Uber-like app for Apple devices.
2. Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) when going to build the app for Android-powered devices.
SMS notifications demand an additional step to be integrated into the app. You have to contact the telecommunication service provider to grant you such a possibility. For example, Uber prefers working with Twilio, but there are more options like Plivo or Nexmo.
“Remember: The more functionality you add in the app, the more time a developer needs to create it, and the more money they will charge”
UI/UX DESIGN
Ridesharing services are client-oriented, and they have to come with beautiful and easy-to-use UI/UX. Correspondingly, the Uber-like app development cost should involve design expenses. While many things can be described, what makes a good design, we would summarize this description to two words — simplicity and clarity. Stick to these two simple principles to create an outstanding design.
RIDE COST ESTIMATION
It’s also an essential feature that shows customers an approximate cost of the ride before they book it. To create your own Uber app with this feature, you should develop an algorithm estimating the price based on the user’s pickup and drop location.
If you decided to follow Uber’s model and provide customers with diverse types of cars they can choose from, then you should also consider there are different fares for each category.
TIME ESTIMATION TO BUILD UBER-LIKE APP
Here’s a brief time estimation to build an Uber-like app in Native platforms. The development time may vary depending on the features you want to add to your app.
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