How to Build a Taxi Booking App like Uber or Lyft and How Much Does an Uber Clone Cost?
The taxi service has changed drastically with the emergence of the Uber app in the market. Nowadays, Uber firmly occupies its niche in the world and brings in billions of dollars in revenue.
If you're thinking about starting a new taxi company or looking to modernize an existing business, creating an Uber-like app can have a positive impact on your business.
The application allows the customer to reserve a car driven by a driver, track its movement towards the specified address, and pay for the service by entering information about their bank card.
What do Uber-like Apps Mean?
Uber-like app development is an awesome alternative if you’re looking for a user-friendly solution that is efficient with basic and advanced features. You can analyze apps like Uber to make an ideal fit for businesses in the demanding market.
Uber and Lyft are taxi booking apps that are designed for ride requests and are made up of two apps in one. The first app is for passengers, the second is for drivers. Also, in Uber, supervisors, can link with an admin panel, and may use an interface to resolve issues and communicate with riders and drivers.
It is important to learn the basic components of the system to build an app resembling Uber or Lyft. Developing a taxi app reservation system as a landing page is an awesome idea. This will help to collect potential users as well as drive inquiries to join the network.
Ivanna
Client Manager
Uber Passenger App Core Features
- Registration and profile editing
- Booking
- Tracking
- Price calculator
- Payments
- Contact and feedback
- Push Notifications
- Personal Profile
- Additional features
- Booking in advanced features
- Share costs
- Rent a scooter, order meals, and more
- Request the favorite driver
- Waitlist
Core Features of the Uber Driver App
- Registration and profile editing
- Bookings
- Push notifications
- Navigation
- Estimated costs
- Earnings tab
- Messaging and calls
- Riders ranking
- Driver support
- Additional features
- Music
- Reward points
Admin Panel for Uber Clone App
The good set of functions in the admin platform for Uber-like apps includes:
- Locations and Fares Management
- Booking Management
- Driver and User Management
- Car Management
- Check Ratings and Reviews
- Review Orders and Payoffs
- Notifications Management
- Discounts Management
- Support
- System Content Management & FAQ
- Integration with Google Analytics
A Step-by-step Guide on How to Make an App for Cab Booking
Step 1. Offer a unique value proposition
To create a strong brand and make your taxi booking app distinctive from competitors, you need to have a unique value proposition. Another feature of a value proposition is to develop your Uber clone taxi app attractive to users. Your value proposition depends on what your competitors offer.
Uber
Uber is the most prominent player in the taxi app market. Uber app for cab booking is available in 67 countries, and 78 cities, with 55 million active monthly users.
Two value propositions of Uber:
- Convenient and Fast Riding
- Affordable Pricing
The first value proposition emphasizes the comfort of using the app, and the second is Uber has reasonable pricing that makes taxi services available to anyone. Uber was the first service that provide prices that depends on the distance.
Lyft
Lyft is the second-largest taxi booking app. Lyft only provides services in the USA (65 cities in 30 states). Two value propositions of Lyft:
- Ride in minutes
- Take a wheel
The first one is for passengers who need a taxi in a short time, and the second proposition value is for drivers who would like to join Lyft’s fleet to earn.
To build a strong brand, don’t copy other taxi service apps. Instead, find ideas that will make your app for taxi service unique, express them, and create a unique value proposition.
Stfalcon has significant experience in developing apps like Uber. For example, BBGO - is a car order service. The value propositions - are "Baby seat", "Transportation of animals" and "Courier" options.
Read the full case study
Step 2. Find your Niche
You can think that there is only one niche in the taxi market. But this is not correct. For example, you can choose a niche of electric car taxis. Nowadays, people are concerned with ecological problems. So, they choose environmentally-friendly transport.
Alternative vehicles, such as motorbikes are another option. It has low competition because it offers an on-demand bike taxi, and it is quite unusual.
- GrabBike, provide on-demand bile services across Thailand and has 5,997,330 reviews in Google Play. GrabBike also provides for users to send packages with bike drivers.
- Rapido service is available in 40 cities across India with more than 2 million app users and more than 10 million rides.
- LimeBike is a motorbike riding service provider in London that provides clients with the fastest and safe route to and from the airport.
You can find on-demand bike taxis in Brazil, Pakistan, China, and the USA. But not many have an app to take a bike. So, if you are from the country mentioned above, you can launch the first bike taxi app and make it prominent.
Step 3. Choose the revenue model
Taxi booking businesses have the potential to earn revenues in various ways.
The best transport mode is taxis that support the transportation of people from one location to another. You can expand this mode for a large number of people’s motions. It can be between the two cities or two locations within a city. Sharing the ride experience with someone will boost the revenue.
The car booking platform has various services. The one who is looking for a convenient way of transportation will pick a simple taxi, on the other hand, those who want a luxury ride will choose a macro cab. That’s why you can offer the same services to different people and different domains assist in earning more revenue.
In this model, the price is not fixed. It changes by demand, traffic, and supply.
The price varies per mile depending on the number of cab drivers available and the requests from passengers who are looking for a ride.
Step 4. Develop a cab booking app technical documentation
The requirements for the business model, app features, and platforms are documented in this step.
Documentation helps to build a blueprint and a reference, any time you get issues during the app development process. Defining the scope, timeline, and milestones at this stage is very useful. We develop technical documentation during the Discovery phase. The Discovery phase helps developers to define what your project should and shouldn't be.
Step 5. Develop your Uber-like app’s MVP
Riding apps like Uber at its core should allow users to book rides and make cashless payments. The whole system should provide real-time interactions between the server and the application and process payments automatically after the trip is completed.
Other than that, an economically viable product must have a refund and driver evaluation.
Let's take a look at the important features of MVP and how to create them:
- The first feature is real-time tracking and alerts. Its creation requires code optimization to improve network performance, socket programming, and communication with various Google Maps APIs.
- The application should allow users to register from a smartphone. User account details should be stored in a separate database with proper security settings.
- To hail a taxi, the app uses Google Maps to allow the user to select a location on the map. When the user confirms the request, an alert is sent to the nearest driver. Distance and expected time of arrival can be easily retrieved using the Google Map API.
- When booking a trip, you need to send a push notification. GCM is free, native for mobile platforms, and stable, easy to integrate. At Stfalcon, we use it when working with mobile applications, because it works well in the context of the application life cycle.
- Sending notifications also requires an SSL connection, which can be the hardest part.
- We directly integrate the payment system, which is selected from the region of the target users.
To bill a trip, the app can use motion tracking.
In short, your first MVP product should allow users to request a service (a trip), send push notifications, process real-time payments, and use the Google Maps API to determine locations. All this needs to be done on a scalable and reliable backend.
How Much does it Cost to Build an App Like Uber?
Mobile app development is a niche that is difficult to assess. The development cost includes the specification, graphical mockups, application prototype, implementation of all components, internal tests, acceptance tests, and application implementation support. Building an app comparable to Uber could easily exceed the total cost of $80,000 depending on the hourly rate (average price estimate).
Cost Determining Factors For Uber-like Apps
The general timeline for developing uber like apps of developers at Stfalcon.
Creating the taxi app from analyzing requirements to publishing applications in the markets takes 1000-1500 hours (backed, mobile, design, testing, PM). Uber like app development cost depends on the complexity, solutions stack, third-party services integrated, and other tech moments. To create an MVP, on average, mobile dev spends 300 hours on an app.
This section addresses some of the most common questions people have when they plan to create a taxi app.
FAQs
What capabilities are available for dispatch and fleet management?
Modern taxi software like Uber and Lyft clone apps offer powerful dispatch and fleet management features. These include: real-time GPS tracking of vehicles; automated ride assignment based on proximity and availability; driver performance monitoring; tools for managing vehicle maintenance schedules. Advanced analytics provide insights into demand patterns. It allows you to adapt your fleet size and positioning.
What are the advantages of using such software over traditional taxi services?
Adopting a Lyft clone app offers several advantages over traditional taxi services. First, it provides a user-friendly experience for customers. They enjoy the convenience of booking rides through their smartphones. Taxi booking software free versions provide users with transparent pricing and estimated arrival times. It offers better transparency with upfront pricing and the ability to rate drivers and rides. Drivers benefit from automated dispatch and cashless payments. As a business, you can optimize routes, reduce wait times, and improve service quality. Moreover, it opens up new revenue streams and business models, such as ride-sharing and on-demand services. By opting to create an app like Uber, you can compete effectively in today's market and attract a wider customer base.
How are support and software updates handled?
Reliable support and regular software updates are crucial when you build a taxi app. Reputable providers of a Lyft clone app solutions offer ongoing technical support. They have dedicated customer support channels in place. These include email, phone, or live chat to address any issues or inquiries from users. It ensures smooth operations and quick resolution of any issues. They also deliver periodic software updates to fix bugs, enhance security, and introduce new features. These updates keep your app running optimally and help you stay competitive.
How can Stfalcon Help You to Build an App for Cab booking?
At Stfalcon we have experience in developing solutions for the transport industry, particularly taxis. We are experts in developing Android and iOS apps and will be happy to create an app for your company. Please, check out our portfolio, and contact us to discuss your idea!
Final Thoughts
The simpler, and clearer the application interface, the more orders and the faster the service is provided. The passenger should easily and quickly find out how to order a car on any screen. To create an uber like app that is convenient and does not lose the audience, it is necessary to follow the design requirements of the Android and iOS operating systems. A taxi mobile application is a complex client-server program, and we can help you to implement your idea into reality. A free consultation is available.
