Below article will serve as a guide to the app development process of Uber-like, technologies to be used in the two front-end parts (for drivers & passengers); highlighting key features which would enhance user experience and an approximate budget need to develop App like Uber.
In this fast-paced and tech-savvy world, human lives are connected to numerous devices and are continuously searching the medium that can assist them in performing their task in an instant due to extreme paucity of time. Instant gratification is not merely a concept nowadays, but it’s a new form of life.
Amongst all issues, swift mobility in the urban cities is a need of an hour although if one owns a private vehicle still seeks the peace of mind and prefer to commute through cab to get rid of the traffic problems in peak hours. With the growing urban growth rate, the necessity for reliable mobility services has become critical.
There is a huge gap in supply and demand of public transport with decreased resources and increased commuters, and here the vacuum of tech-based services like smart apps are in need as the growth of Smartphone use and mobile Internet has enhanced access among city dwellers.
The exponential rise of Uber/Lyft & Ola like Taxi Booking App services are transmitting a positive signal of mobility revolution. As the saying goes “It is not the destination that matters, but the journey too, what can be more satisfactory than assisting people to reach their destination on time!
Anyone who is associated with a taxi business or any similar on-demand businesses would already know how difficult it is to develop your business without an online app. It won’t be wrong on our part if we say that an Uber/Ola-like taxi app is no less than an elixir to stay alive in the era of cut-throat competition.
Having said that, let us see what these on-demand apps include and which technologies are the best suitable to get started with:
- Passenger App: For the commuter who books a Taxi.
- Driver App: For the Driver who gets the order & takes you to your destination.
Passenger App Features
User Profile/Login page: Offering social media integration for registering or Email or Mobile Number should also be taken into consideration.
Booking interface: A welcome screen to input the travel data for ordering a cab or to book one for later.
Select Car Type: An option for the selection of the car Type like Sedan, SUV… as well as A.C. / Non-A.C. should be provided to the commuter depends on the requirement of founders.
Fare calculator: To maintain the sense of transparency, estimated trip cost should be
calculated before placing an order.
Rating and reviews: Your app must have a rating and review feature on the driver, the trip, and the vehicle for the customer to give honest feedback about your services.
Pickup Location: Leverage, the power of GPS tracking system and Google, maps to find your exact location on the map so that the cab drivers will trace you and arrive at the exact spot where you are present.
Payment Integration: Having a fully compliant in-app integrated payment systems assist the passengers in making the process of payment seamless and convenient. Braintree, Stripe OR PayPal Mobile SDK are Best options for payment.
When accepting card payments, there are certain requirements that companies must comply with it, which are often referred to as PCI requirements in the US.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) uphold all process, warehouse, or transmit credit card material on the secured location.
Push notifications: To keep the user updated such as car make, model, color, the number on the plate and estimated time of arrival.
Live Tracking: Once the ride is booked, the user can update the cab alive on their apps, such as the start time and location, arrival time and location.
Ride History: Details of the previous trips and receipts, also allowing to re-booking the same ride in one click (e.g., work-to-home commute).
Payment: If you plan to launch the app in US/Canada or Europe then go with Stripe (www.stripe.com) Payment Gateway. For countries like India PayUMoney suits as best among others.
Additional Features for Passengers
(To be taken into consideration)
Split the bill: This feature is for sharing the ride costs with friends.
Seeking favorite driver: Some commuters may want to hire their regular or mostly liked driver.
Waitlist: During rush hours, customers can add themselves on a waiting list rather than refreshing the app over and over again in search of a ride.
Free in-app calls: It can be added via VoIP integration, though that may increase the overall taxi app development price.
Note: There are many other features can be incorporated based on the client’s requirement.
Driver App Features
Some of the driver app features will duplicate the passenger’s features, but there are unique features too.
Driver profile: Drivers should be required to provide details like his license number, vehicle registration number, contact details, etc.
Navigation: Navigation suggests the short and the fastest route to the passenger and onwards.
Booking: Driver has 15 seconds for a new booking request to decide whether it should approve or disapprove. Therefore, the app provides data like distance from present location to PICKUP point along with the and also expected distance between the point of pickup and drop to make an informed decision.
Status: Admin, as well as the driver, receive real-time updates on the passenger status after accepting or rejecting the booking, reaching the pickup point, and released the passenger.
Note: We include some extra features based on your requirements.
Additional Features
Analytics Kit: To expand transparency and to advance your commerce steadily you need few analytical tools which are beneficial a lot. Meticulous reports must be generated that can let you know the performance of the drivers and also track the orders, missed orders, assigned orders and also the booking sources.
Communication Channel: In-App notifications and push notifications to send important information or change in policies or various deals and offers from your company to the customers.
Booking History: Your app must allow passengers and drivers to see the history of bookings done and received respectively. Customers often need to keep track of the various journeys they have undertaken, and the drivers can also use this feature to maintain a track of journeys as reference information that makes the business quite transparent.
Workforce reduction: From having a fleet of cabs and cab drivers, you can transform your taxi business as drivers can subscribe to your company’s services and you have a fleet of cabs without directly owning them. It will eliminate your maintenance costs and reduce your operational costs too and also reduce your liabilities significantly.
Quick marketing: You can advertise various discounts, offers, and schemes that your traditional business offer to the user and he/she should receive all offers, discounts, and schemes on the app itself. A traditional taxi business can leverage the digital platform and promote one’s services efficiently.
General and Technological Requirement of an app like Uber
If you want to cut down the cost and need to create a simple taxi app like Uber, you’ll have to choose just one platform and that even depends on the region of your functionality.
When you are going to launch the taxi booking application in the US or Canada, our advice is to go to rely on iOS platform. It is because most people are using Apple gadgets in the USA and adjoining regions. However, when you are targeting European & Asian continents, then the majority of the app users are Android-based. In the case of iOS platform, your target is Apple App Store while for Android, it is Google Play Store.
Introduced by Google in 2007, Android was the most popular Smartphone operating system in the world.as per the estimations in 2009, nearly 6.8 million Android Smartphone devices sold. Similarly, in 2015, the figure went up to 1.16 billion. Thus, today Android has a lion share with 85 percent of all Smartphone sales across the globe.
Being a Mobile Application Architect at Perception System, I would like to share my experiences along with some useful recommendations on the selection of Android app development technology stack.
Backend Web Development: A great app will require more than one backend languages to take care of business logic and delivering value. It is better to design the backend in Node.JS that takes care of all API endpoints & Go/Python/Java can be used to handle the heavy duty background jobs. Such as scheduling the rides, sending batch payment to drivers over a scheduled period.
Mobile Front-End: There are a variety of choices to design a mobile app that depends on performance, merits, and demerits of Technology and Project Requirement. On-demand apps can have a mobile architecture on following platforms:
- A Native iOS app development should in Swift 4
- A Native Android app development should in Android SDK
- And if you want cross platform then go with React-Native for iOS and Android or Xamarin.
Databases: You can select one of the standard relational database or NoSQL depends on Architect designer. MYSQL or PostgreSQL or Mongo DB
Web Server: Nginx, Node
- Server Infrastructure: Enable the heavy duty Instances on Google Cloud.
Other Services Needed
- Google Maps or Here Maps: The choice depends on application designer and founders. Some map APIs have good scenery that leads the designer to display eye-catching map interface.
- Google Location Services: This API should be used to pin down the user’s location.
- Socket.io to beep up cars movement.
- Google Maps Android API should be used to build routes, directions, and navigation.
- Twilio.com can be used for sending text messages to user’s devices.
- Data Analysis with Mixpanel.com
- Optimal Database Structures
Note: Efficient & Scalable Architecture should be designed for backend before creating the mobile app.
- API (Web Services): The necessary APIs should be created to interact with the Mobile app. Below points should be taken care while API development:
- Universality
- Security
- Scalability
- Content Management to deliver users changeable content that includes company policy, terms & conditions, rate calculator.
Is there any ready to use the script?
Yes, there are but in case if you want to fun business in several cities and countries then above technology stack is to scale-up and to have a long-term plan to route. The ready-made scripts use applied to Uber-like app and above technical information discussed are for the On-demand Applications that can connect to several hundreds of thousands of users.
Projected Estimation of Development
A Simple taxi booking app can take around 1500 To 2500 Hours of Efforts while a Rich & Sophisticated Uber-like solution can take around 4500 To 6000 Hours of Efforts.
Get in touch to find out how Perception System Business Developer can assist you in bringing your idea to a solid app reality so that you can move to market with vigor and confidence.
Our full attention is to understand your requirements in detail, and based on that we are providing you technology solutions by keeping your target audience and market in mind. We do understand that every project is an on-going engagement that requires technical, financial and emotional commitment on hand.
We would be glad to provide an accurate project estimate based on client’s specifications and a detailed product development roadmap. Take a tour of our Mobile Portfolio, and you will have an idea of the Time Estimation and Cost, which may vary depending on the final scope of work.
