Custom Taxi Booking App Development – A Complete Guide for 2022

Developing an application for taxi booking is an excellent idea for startups, existing businesses, and even enterprises for their workforce mobility and convenience. You might agree on the fact that taxi applications have begun to surpass traditional taxi services. People have started to shift from personally-owned transportation modes toward mobility solutions as a service (MaaS).

As per the stats, almost 35 million more rides have been completed with applications like Uber and Lyft than standard taxis in New York in the year 2017. Apart from that, as per the predictions by Statista, the annual growth of the global ride-hailing service market will reach $126,521 million by 2025.

Since the popularity of taxi booking applications is increasing; we are here with a complete guide on taxi booking app development for you. Give this blog a read to know all the required ins and outs.

What is the Future of the Online Taxi Booking Industry?

Taxi booking app development is a type of business that offers advantages like money and time by creating mobile applications.

With taxi applications, you may interact with two primary interfaces simultaneously: passengers and taxi drivers, who are visible to you on the same phase.

Asian, American, and European nations increasingly rely on taxi booking app development because of the increase in steady income.

Additionally, due to the increase in smartphone use in emerging nations like Vietnam, Malaysia, China, India, and other countries, consumers are increasingly turning to ride-sharing services rather than traditional taxi services for transportation.

Due to this strategy, many taxi firms have been encouraged to extend their operations via mobile apps.

The ease with which online taxi reservations may be made and traffic congestion are the primary reasons for the development of the online taxi industry and a taxi booking app like uber.

Online Taxi Booking Business Model

How does an Online Taxi Booking App Works?

In this era of digitization, the Uber app has become one of the most popular apps with its distinctive business model. It is a two-sided marketplace platform following an aggregator model. Let’s have a look at the following steps that explain the workflow of an online taxing booking app such as Uber.

Install & Sign Up Login

The first and foremost step is to finish the sign-up process with their email addresses or phone number, or existing social media credentials. After signing up, they can do the changes in their profiles as per their choice.

Choose Location & Book a Taxi

Once the initial setup is completed and ensuring given location access, they can send ride requests by specifying the pick-up and drop locations.

Taxi Booking Confirmation

The app will send the ride requests initiated by the passengers to the drivers. If a driver accepts the request, the booking confirmation will be sent to the rider. In case the driver rejects the request, it will be passed on to the nearby driver.

Taxi Tracking Map & Access

After the ride confirmation, the driver will reach the pickup point with the help of a taxi tracking map and riders will take up their rides. The riders can check the way to ensure the drivers are riding to the correct destination point.

Payment Transaction

After reaching the destination, the riders have a choice to make either a cash payment or digital payment. You can allow cashless payments to make transactions simpler and easier.

Driver Feedback & Review

For gaining trust among the passengers, you can facilitate the passengers to leave their opinions regarding the service you are offering. It includes collecting reviews or ratings about the behavior of drivers.

Revenue Sources from Online Taxi Booking App Business

Commission Charges

An owner can set an amount that he wants to charge as commission out of every ride. Therefore, the driver has to pay a fixed amount after he starts working on your platform.

Cancelation/Waiting Fees

Cancellation fees are another great way of generating revenue from customers. There is a decided period in which a customer can cancel a ride. If a customer takes longer than that, then he has to pay a cancellation fee on the next trip.

Surge Pricing

Surge pricing has been a very controversial feature so far. But, you must integrate this feature in your taxing booking application as it changes the fare dynamically by analyzing various factors such as weather, local events, traffic, and demand.

Premium Charges

The owner can also charge a subscription fee from the customers to which you can offer them advanced and premium features access.

The interested customers can pay the subscription charges to enjoy the perks of premium features.

In-app Advertising Charges

You can advertise your Uber business model in the market easily through various channels if you think that the promotional method would be a little costly.

You can also do in-app advertisements and display ads on your app.

How to Develop a Taxi Booking App?

Let’s discuss the development process of taxi booking application step by step:

Step 1 – Learn The Market

It is very essential to learn about the market in which you are about to step.

First of all, you need to select a location for your app within a city or country, and then later you can plan to expand it globally.

You are also required to select an appropriate payment system that works best for your country.

Choosing an appropriate payment system also becomes important because different countries have different and quite famous payment systems.

These factors put a great influence on the complexity of the final product and testing process.

Step 2 – Develop A Business Model

This is a very important step in the development process of the taxi booking app.

At this step, you have a decision to make whether you will be a company that hires drivers and pays their salary or wants an Uber-like business.

The selection of monetization ways has a huge effect on the complete development process. You can choose to design an app that will take money from drivers they get from rides as the common taxi orders base.

Therefore, passengers pay directly to the drivers, and you get a fee.

Step 3 – Technical Specification & Requirements

This step of the taxi booking app development process includes creating a detailed technical specification with a whole list of requirements.

It gives complete clarity about the architecture and functionalities of the application that is to be developed.

This step can be handled by a team or by an outsourcing company.

They use technical language to help stakeholders easily understand what you’re going to build.

The technical specification helps you with cost estimation as well.

Step 4 – Choose the Best Development Model

Choosing the best development model for your app is another very important step in the development process.

The development model helps you to determine the cost and time that you will require to build the application.

You should have a clear understanding of what team members are required by you to successfully complete the development process.

The app development process usually includes developers, UX UI designers, and the QA team.

If you choose to create a team by yourself, then it is a very expensive option.

You should simply hire an entire team or a company that is available at a low cost and guarantees a higher success rate.

Step 5 – UX/UI Design

Once you have selected the development team for your taxi booking application, the next step is handled by the UX UI design team.

This is to be done before the development.

Designers will give you different kinds of prototypes that include wireframes and mock-ups to help you visualize what their final application would look like.

Hence at this step, you need to discuss with your UX UI team your needs and plans for the app design.

Step 6 – Backend Development

The backend development step is done to integrate the functionalities of the mobile app with the database.

During this stage, developers package your application with the server and middleware.

Selection of technology stack is also done by your development team and it can be Java, Python, Go, and swift.

These are the most prominent languages used to create the backend of the application, and they depend on the platform your platform will work for.

Step 7 – Testing by QA team

Once you have completed all the steps, now you can deliver your app to the QA team for complex testing.

Quality analysts check the functionality, efficiency, usability, and effectiveness of the final product.

Step 8 – Launch

After being successfully tested and verified by the QA team in terms of all vital requirements for your application and the user experience it provides, your taxi booking app is finally ready to get launched.

The application should be agreed upon by the store you choose, as some problems may occur at this stage too.

This is why it is always easier to ask a third-party app to take care of distribution on platforms like App Store or Google Play.

Features of Taxi Booking App Development

You have to design two apps, one for customers or passengers and the other for the driver when you develop a taxi booking app.

Also, an admin panel is required to be designed for the cab rental owner for managing all the taxi booking operations.

Let’s have a closer look at the must-have features:

1. Enter Drop Location

Entering drop location is a very essential feature so that the cab booking app will get to know about the passenger’s destination.

With your ‘where to’ location, the taxi booking app will show you the estimated time and cost of your next ride.

Once you enter the correct ‘where to’ location, the app will ask to confirm the ride for finding the nearest driver.

And the drop location is later followed by the live GPS tracking in-app feature for both driver and the passenger.

2. Schedule a Ride

Scheduling a ride is one of the very essential features of any taxi booking app.

It enables the passenger to book their rides well in advance which makes them feel more secure about their cab timings.

It also allows managing your timings for the next meeting.

3. Choose Vehicle/Ride Type

Here comes another important feature that should be integrated with a taxi booking app.

The choose a vehicle and choose ride type’ feature enables the passenger to choose their vehicle at their convenience.

For example, Uber provides a ride type to choose from. The premium ride type comes with a luxurious car and a good interior in comparison to the Uber Go ride type.

And similarly, Ola enables the passengers to choose from the available list of vehicles as per their requirements.

4. Confirm/Cancel Ride

The next essential feature is to integrate the ‘Confirm and Cancel ride’ feature in a taxi book app.

After selecting the drop location, the passenger has to confirm the ride by clicking on the confirm ride button.

And, in case there are any changes in their plans then they can cancel the ride by giving a suitable reason.

Uber charges a fixed fee for canceling the ride after a particular time.

5. Live GPS Tracking

‘Live GPS tracking’ feature helps the driver in reaching the correct location.

In-app map integration tracks the drop location which enables the passenger and driver to check the map and follow it for reaching their destination by taking the safest route.

It is one of the great route trackings and guiding features that you should integrate into your taxi booking app.

6. Share a Review

This is a very important feature to check the performance of your application.

Review and ratings are great ways for helping the driver to get their deserved rating and feedback from the passengers.

The same goes for the passengers. There is a whole history of ride-sharing that lets the drivers and the customers know each other via in-app ratings and feedback.

Advance Features Taxi Booking App

The advanced features for taxi booking apps that you can add to your application to travel that extra mile of perfection.

Book now, Ride later

This feature lets you reach on time for important events and appointments. Also, it allows you to book your rides 30 days prior. The passengers can attend their functions, interviews, and meetings right on time with this feature.

Adding this advanced feature to your taxi booking application can attract more users.

Mobile Wallet

A mobile wallet is an amazing feature that gives a big relief with payment after a ride.

You are saved with struggles like having no change or adding credit/debit card details every time after a ride.

Uber supports mobile wallets in which you need to add funds once and then your ride charges are deducted after each ride and you can have a hassle-free ride without worrying about paying after the ride.

Panic Button

In case of any emergency or situation of distress, there is a panic button that acts as a savior and should be in the list of advanced features for taxi booking apps for your app too, in order to assure your users about their safety from our side.

This button works as follows, a help button leads us to the SOS or emergency window, which shows the option to call the police or withdraw the emergency drill.

Promo codes & Referral Rewards

This feature is inevitable in the advanced features of taxi booking apps as it can become a source for retaining more customers.

You can offer some additional services by adding a site credit for referring to new users, also discount or promo codes for getting a reward.

Favorite Location

Users get the liberty to add their favorite location to visit there and avoid entering details every time. This lets the passenger quickly book rides when they are getting late.

Split Fare

This is one of the best features to integrate into your taxi booking app as it helps you to select fellow riders by adding contacts from your phone and then the fare will be split based on their drop-off location or in other cases equally distributed among the riders.

Book for others

This will be so convenient for the users to book the rides for their loved ones.

Uber has integrated this feature in their app and all you have to do is just book a cab, add a contact number, pick up location, drop off location and you are good to go.

Tipping Option

This feature enables drivers to accept tips from the riders through the app and you have the liberty to pay the desired amount.

This feature can definitely hold more and more drivers to be engaged with the application.

24 hours phone support

This feature becomes the necessity of any application in order to ensure the user trusts your services.

They need assurance before opting for any service and to maintain that you can add this feature in your taxi booking app to solve their problems at any time.

Destination Filters

This is one of the interesting features among all as it enables the user to enter their destinations so only those rides are matched for those drives. This makes it convenient for drivers to accept rides at their convenience.

Earnings for long pick-up time/wait times

This feature can be integrated to deal with the problems such as long pick-up times or cancellation amidst long pick-up. By adding such a feature you can tackle such issues and enable the driver to earn more.

5 Best Examples of Taxi Booking Apps

Let’s have a look at the best taxi booking apps and their unique features.

Uber

This was launched back in 2009 by Garrett Camp. Uber is available in around 630 cities and continues to expand to new locations. In 2019, Uber purchased Careem, a taxi booking app operating in the Middle East, for $3.1 billion.

The service provided by Uber has a range of categories to suit every user’s requirements and budget. These include UberPool, UberX, UberGo, UberBlack, and more. Uber has evolved a lot in the past few years.

Uber technologies have raised more than $22 billion in funds for its taxi booking app development.

Lyft

The Lyft app was launched in 2012. Earlier it was operating under the name Zimride, which is a ridesharing service for long distances that connects drivers and passengers via Facebook.

The Lyft taxi booking app is considered a competitor of Uber with its presence in 200+ cities in the US market. The unique feature about Lyft is its rating system and the fact that they only keep drivers with the best ratings.

Also, the Lyft taxi application has liability insurance of $1 million. Apart from that, Lyft is considered to be cheaper than Uber; you can expect to pay around $12, compared to $16 for Uber.

Gett

Gett taxi booking app operates in 100+ cities in the US and Europe. The benefits of the Gett app are the ability to book your ride two weeks in advance and the provision of 24*7 passenger support.

The Gett app does not have surge pricing and only charges a 10% commission fee for each ride. It is known that Volkswagen Group invested $300 million to launch the service in the European market.

Lecab

LeCab is a private transportation service offering cab services with flexible booking options via a

mobile app and the web. Today, LeCab has more than 1 million users, 7,000 corporate clients, more than 13,000 drivers, and a presence in 24 cities in France. They offer you the best experience on the market with the top drivers at the best price.

Grab

Grab is a popular and loved taxi booking app operating in Southeast Asia, specifically in countries like Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

This taxi mobile app provides a wide range of ride options and payment possibilities (a card, cash, Grab credits).

The passenger can choose from GrabTaxi, GrabShare, GrabHitch, GrabBike, or GrabFamily as their mobility service. On average, the user can expect to pay $5 per ride.

Technology Stacks for Taxi Booking App

If we talk about online taxi booking apps, the technological requirements can be broken down into the following key components:

• The Backend
• App Development for Android/IOS
• App Design

Backend of a Taxi Booking Mobile App

The backend is the backbone of an application. A backbone is responsible for the functions of an application and binds them with their respective output.

This is the first and foremost stage in a taxi booking app development process.

JavaScript and Python are the most popular languages for linking the app to the right interface.

Afterward, you need to select a database to store the app’s data securely.

MySql, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, and Redis are most widely used for this purpose. Backend development can be time-consuming and usually requires a lot of resources.

Taxi Booking App Development for iOS/Android Platforms

Most of the times businesses planning to develop a mobile app get confused while selecting the right mobile app development platform.

Android and iOS are clearly the most dominant platforms, so the choice comes down to these two fabulous options.

Businesses can develop apps for both platforms to avoid the dilemma and this way they won’t miss out on either user base.

The backend interface for both apps is the same. Only the tools used in the development and the choice of framework is different.

Android App

iOS App

App Designing

The success of your application also relies on the design of your app. It mainly consists of graphics designing, user interface, and user experience designing followed by some SEO guidelines.

There are a whole host of design tools such as DreamWeaver, Photoshop, and Panic Coda that can be used in designing the layout of your app.

Factors Affecting Cost to Develop a taxi booking app like uber

There are various factors apart from features that are responsible for deciding the overall cost of developing an app like Uber. Let’s have a closer look at them:

Company Type

Your company type is a significant facet. Are you a startup? Do you wish to build the app alongside your business? Basically, startups may face a tight budget scenario in comparison to a business that’s well-established.

App Platform

Before developing an app, you must decide about the app platform. That means whether you want to develop an app for Android or iOS or both. Doing some market research can make your work easier to take a final call.

Type of the App

Another important decision to make here is the technology front. You may choose to develop a native app that’s somehow more reasonable than a hybrid one.

If you are not sure, you can always consult an expert mobile app development service provider. Experts can simplify your work and help you in the right decision-making.

Tech Stack for Uber App & Development Team

The app development company that you would hire will use different programming depending on your needs. For developing an app like Uber, the tech team should have expertise in the following programming languages or tools:

And your app development team must include the following experts:

• Project Manager
• Business Analyst
• Android / iOS engineer
• UI/UX designer
• Back-end developer
• QA engineer

The total cost of app development may vary depending on the size of the team and their experience.

How much does it cost to build an app like Uber?

The overall cost for taxi booking app development may vary depending on several factors as mentioned above. It is quite challenging to estimate the total app development cost.

On average, the cost to build an app like Uber may lie somewhere between $67,000 and $150,000. You can also use our app cost calculator to estimate the exact cost of app development like Uber.

In Conclusion

Now we clearly know that the craze for the taxi booking business is growing at a faster pace.

In this revolutionized world, it has become quite essential for taxi companies to develop an app like Uber. This could be more profitable for their companies.

To make your app successful, one must strategize properly and form a strong base of customers initially. No business achieves profit in the initial days; it takes a lot of effort and courage.

Technology is playing a huge role in every field, therefore, this is the right time to build your own taxi booking app for your business.

To accomplish that, you must find reliable taxi app developers and a software development company who can craft your idea of having your own taxi booking app into reality.

Being one of the leading app development companies, we are more than happy to help you. Contact us, today!

FAQs of Taxi Booking App Development