Taxi App Development: A Comprehensive How-To Guide

You cannot deny the fact that taxi apps have surpassed traditional taxi services. The online taxi booking system has brought significant comfort for people while travelling.

Amidst this transformative shift, a burning question arises: What’s the outlook for new entrants in the taxi app industry?

Our resounding answer: Absolutely! Despite the dominance of established taxi application giants like Uber and Lyft, there’s ample room for fresh innovations in the taxi industry.

And thus, we present this comprehensive guide—a roadmap to taxi app development from inception to fruition.

However, before beginning our ride on the taxi booking app development, let’s first have a glance at what’s going on in the taxi industry.

Taxi Industry Market Statistics – Worldwide

The global taxi industry market is valued at billions of dollars, with projections for continued growth in the coming years. Key drivers include increasing urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and advancements in technology driving the adoption of ride-hailing services.

• In the year 2024, the global taxi market is set to generate a revenue of US$ 153.4 billion.
• The taxi app market size is projected to grow by 238bn by the year 2028.
• One more interesting stat – the number of ridesharing users is estimated to reach 217.6 million users at the end of year 2028.
• Uber holds the largest market share globally, followed by other major players such as Didi Chuxing, Lyft, and Grab

And season it only with just the right strategy you can to succeed with speed. So, let’s turn on the ignition and start our ride.

How Does a Taxi Booking App Work?

Any taxi booking app works on one core principle – connecting riders and drivers. It acts as a bridge and connects people looking for cabs or taxis to those who looking to provide the service. Here is a simple process of a taxi booking app on a normal day:

• The rider opens the app and enters the pickup and drop location
• The taxi booking app receives the demand and looks for all the nearby drivers
• It then sends the ride request to all the potential drivers
• The interested driver accepts the ride and then fulfils it
• In the end, the payment gets made.

However, when it comes to creating a taxi business around it, complexities arrive. Several different features come into the picture to outplay competitors and win the overall market. These features are all meticulously integrated during the taxi app development process

But before we delve into these features, it is important to look at different types of taxi apps that go through taxi booking app development.

Different Types of Taxi Apps

The landscape of taxi apps has exploded far beyond the simple concept of hailing a ride from your phone. And if we look, this is indeed required. Today, you can try offering to diverse needs and lifestyles.

So, if you are looking to go beyond the traditional Uber model, then here’s a glimpse into 15 of the most popular categories that you can explore:

Core Transportation

• Ride-Hailing Apps: These are the most common type of taxi apps and work on connecting passengers with nearby drivers for on-demand rides. A few on-demand taxi apps examples include Uber, Lyft, etc.
• Taxi Booking Apps: Sometimes, a person might need to pre-book a taxi for specific times. This is what these booking apps show. These are ideal for airport transfers or important meetings.
• Carpooling Apps: The rise in global warming and focus on sustainability has called for an environment-friendly solution. This is where carpooling comes in. These apps allow ride-sharing among users traveling in the same direction, promoting sustainability and cost-efficiency.

Know more – Uber vs Lyft

Specialized Services

• Health-focused Apps: Certain taxi booking apps focus on providing services to healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics, etc. Air ambulance is one such example. To know more, read this – Uber for Health
• Luxury Car Service Apps: There is a section of riders who look for access to premium vehicles and professional drivers for a luxurious travel experience. These taxi booking apps cater to this section.
• Airport Transfer Apps: These apps streamline airport transportation by booking taxis or shuttles to and from your destination.
• Ride-Sharing Apps for Kids: Considering the increase in children’s movement, there is a need to offer safe and reliable rides for children with real-time tracking and driver background checks. Uber has already worked on this.

Business and Enterprise

• Corporate Ride Booking Apps: The taxi app development for these apps focuses on businesses. Corporate taxi booking apps allow employees to book rides for work purposes and companies to manage transportation expenses.

Beyond Passengers

• Delivery and Courier Apps: Not just for passengers, delivery apps enable users to request packages, food, or other item delivery, with some taxi companies offering combined services.

Accessibility and Inclusion

• Accessible Transportation Apps: Some people need specially equipped vehicles due to disabilities. For example, wheelchair-accessible taxis.

Niche Markets

• Tourist Transportation Apps: Tourism is growing around the world. To support this growth, there could be taxing booking apps that offer guided tours, sightseeing, and transportation services for visitors to popular destinations.
• Pet-Friendly Taxi Apps: Cater to pet owners by connecting them with drivers who can safely transport their furry companions.

The following types of taxi apps merely scratch the surface. There are apps for on-demand shuttles, long-distance travel, multi-modal transportation (combining taxis with buses, trains, etc.), and even eco-friendly options focusing on electric vehicles.

The future taxi mobile app market holds even more possibilities, with concepts like subscription-based rides, language translation features, and integration with real-time traffic data to optimize routes. From adventure travel to remote work commutes, the world of taxi apps is immense and evolving.

Read More to Know More – On-demand car rental service

Now, you might want to know more about taxi app development like its process feature, cost, process, monetization methods, and more.

Great! But before this, it is important to learn about the vital features to include during the on-demand taxi app development.

Features to Include in Taxi Booking App

Each taxi booking app offers a different set of features that are selected based on the decisions made during the planning phase of the taxi app development. However, there are certain features that make an app called a taxi booking app.

The first thing to be aware of is that a taxi booking app development company develops different apps for three different groups:

• Drivers
• Passengers
• Admin

Different taxi app solutions for taxi business startups, entrepreneurs, traditional taxi service owners, and more.

Here are some basic features that each cab booking App Company must try integrating into their apps:

It is always best to keep your taxi booking app development team and the business management team in the loop to work on these taxi mobile app features.

Now, as your taxi app development company advances in the field, it looks to elevate its game. This means adding advanced features to the taxi booking app.

Here are some advanced features that a company might think of including in the taxi app software.

Know that these on-demand taxi booking app features are not the limit here. The list goes as far as the business mind goes.

Deciding what features to include is a part of the business planning phase. And because a cab booking business mainly lives in the digital realm, it always gets aligned with the taxi app development phases.

Taxi Booking App Development Process [ Step-by-Step Guide ］

Taxi app development can be an exciting venture. However, it requires careful planning and execution. Here’s a breakdown of the key steps involved:

1. Coming With a Unique Value Proposition

As we saw, the taxi app market is although a potential ground, it is competitive as well. To counter this competitiveness, you must come up with a unique value proposition. This will tell your target user base why they must choose you over those already hailing in the industry.

Here are a few examples of how you can offer better features over other taxi apps:

Unique value to riders:

Go beyond the basics of ride-hailing. By providing seamless access to transportation at their fingertips, your taxi app will enhance the travel experience of the riders. You can offer features like:

• Advanced booking options – Let your riders pre-schedule rides with specific vehicle types (luxury cars, eco-friendly vehicles) to avoid last-minute bottlenecks. Or let them add multiple destinations.
• Curated experiences – We all love discounts. Offering these to your riders can give you the initial boost. Partner with local businesses to offer riders discounts or inclusions based on their destination (e.g., restaurant discounts upon reaching a specific area).
• Loyalty programs – Reward frequent riders with points redeemable for free rides, discounts, or priority access to features.

Unique value to drivers:

Here, try to prioritize the driver’s well-being and earnings potential. Offer values such as:

• Transparent payment system – What if the users could see clear upfront pricing for rides and timely pay-outs? Brilliant right?
• Flexible work schedules – A taxi booking app can even allow drivers to choose their working hours and set availability periods.
• Advanced route optimization – Also, if it can integrate features that suggest traffic-optimized routes to minimize travel time and maximize earnings, it’ll be brilliant.

This step in the taxi app development process is all about offering something better to the users. Your taxi booking app development company can guide you better in this regarding the latest technology available in the market and how it could be used.

2. Finding Niche

Finding the niche is a crucial aspect of any business development strategy. It decides what features to offer, what strategies to make, and what revenue model to include.

Here are a few strategies that you might include in this phase:

• Try focusing on a specific demographic. For example, students, CEOs, airport passengers, females, etc.
• Look for regions that have some level of market gap in demand and supply. The best way is to look for regions where traditional taxi services still run pretty well.
• Try offering people specific types of rides such as pet-friendly, female-focused, carpooling, etc.

Always clearly mention your market niche to your taxi booking app development company. It will help them create unique development strategies for concept building, UI/UX designs, app development and more,

3. Choosing Revenue Model

Developing a captivating taxi app is one step in the journey. The real test lies in creating a sustainable revenue stream. Here’s a breakdown of popular monetization models for taxi apps to consider:

These are some of the common business models hovering around in the market. You may have a unique business model fuelled with creativity and market knowledge. Your taxi app development company can help you the best to get uniqueness for your app.

Also, when getting taxi booking app development done, ensure certain areas such as cancellation fees, fines, or any other revenue-generating customized feature.

4. Conduct Market Research

Once you have decided what you want to offer with your taxi mobile application, it is time to do thorough market research. Many companies combine this taxi booking app development step with the previous steps to carve a foolproof business model, while others keep them different.

Now, before you go for the taxi app development, make sure you’ve done your research on these aspects:

• Thorough target-user survey and research to understand their pain points and demands
• Existing taxi competitors to study their strategies and how you can outplay them. Here, SWAP analysis can do wonders
• The taxi industry market size and growth in the region you have planned to target
• Seeing the fit between your taxi app booking type and the market demands

These are just a few facets of market research for developing taxi apps. Based on your business idea and needs, you can go even deeper and further.

5. Design and User Interface (UX and UI)

At this point, the work of your taxi app development company starts. A business idea is all good, but to make it a success, it must be transformed into a smooth and flawless taxi mobile application.

There are two areas that can foretell the success of an app:

• User Experience (UX) – How an app looks
• User Interface (UI) – How an app works

Ensure that your taxi app development company serves you with the best taxi booking app design possible in your given budget. It must be user-friendly and have an intuitive interface that simplifies navigation and booking processes for both riders and drivers. Not only this. But a taxi booking app must be visually appealing as well

6. Choosing the Right Technology Stack

If you are already a web developer and know some basic coding, you might be aware of this. However, if you are not aware of web and app development, then don’t worry! The “technology stack” is basically the toolbox you’ll use to build your app. It includes things like

• Programming languages (like the instructions you give a computer)
• Services for databases (where you store information)
• Payments (to handle money transactions)

Now, this tech stack changes with the change in the platform you are developing the taxi booking app for.

Although your taxi booking app development company will take away your worries, here is a brief overview to give you an idea:

• Payments – Services like Stripe and Braintree can easily handle secure cashless transactions within the app, even allowing for split fares between riders within the taxi app software.
• Data Storage – Think of this as your app’s filing cabinet. Technologies like Hadoop, PostgreSQL, and Riak can securely store your users’ information, trip details, and financial transactions.
• Real-time Features – This is for an advanced taxi app solution. For features like live tracking and route optimization, tools like Kafka and Redis can manage the constant stream of data flowing through your app.
• User Interface – This is what users see and interact with. Here, JavaScript, React, and popular libraries like D3 and Mapbox can help create a user-friendly and visually appealing app. Ensure smoothness at this phase of taxi app development.
• Mobile Apps – There are separate tools that are used for building the iOS app (Objective-C or Swift) and the Android app (Java).
• Monitoring and Management – Just like keeping a well-oiled machine running, tools like Nagios monitor app performance and Puppet helps manage configurations behind the scenes.

Now, although you might not need these all at once in the taxi booking app development process, having these tips can save you errors. To err might be human, but not when it comes to web and app development. It might cost you the whole business idea.

7. Development and Testing

Now, it is time to implement the app’s ideas into a high-quality and functional taxi app. At this point, most work will be handled by the taxi app development company. But don’t sit relaxed. Always stay in the loop with the mobile app development agency to ensure smooth development and outcome.

It is best to consider using agile development methodologies for iterative development, testing, and feedback loops. But the work doesn’t end with development.

Unit testing of the app on various devices and operating systems to ensure functionality and identify bugs. This taxi app development process might save you from initial pitfalls in your strategic run.

8. Deploy, Launch, and Maintain

Once you and your taxi booking app development company are relaxed about the app being flawless and bug-free, it is time to launch it in the relevant app stores.

If you want to see it succeed here, work on these two things:

• ASO – ASO, or App Store Optimization, is crucial because it will make your app searchable in the app stores. Optimize your taxi booking software listing for relevant keywords to improve discoverability in app stores. Skipping this step would mean your app won’t be visible to users upon searching for it.
• Marketing Strategies – Also, develop a comprehensive marketing strategy to reach your target audience and drive app downloads. A few examples include social media campaigns, collaborating with influencers, sponsoring, etc.

Once the app is launched, keep an eye on the feedback and resolve the issues with regular updates. Continuously update your app with bug fixes, new features, and security enhancements. Your taxi app development company will stay in a continuous loop here.

Tip – Actively collect user feedback and iterate on your app based on user needs and market trends.

These were some of the main steps involved in the taxi app development process.

Now, because on-demand taxi app development is a time-consuming process, and because the taxi booking app development cost might be high for many small startups, a solution comes in the name of a white-label app.

What is a White-Label/Ready-made/Off-the-Shelf Taxi Booking Solution?

Simply put, a white-label or ready-made app is a quick solution that comes in the form of cloning. It’s kinda like… a pre-made mix, you see? For example, an Uber clone.

The white-label app contains a prebuilt taxi app template that contains almost all features and designs. It’s cloning the app and then customizing it for specific business needs. The benefits of this type of taxi app clone are many:

• You save lots of time spent in app development from scratch
• You save a major chunk of the cost
• You get better taxi app software that has already been much researched by other big brand such as Uber

All your taxi booking app development company needs to do is add your company’s logo, some unique features, and the brand color schemes. And here you are, ready with a full-fledged functional app.

But, there might be cases where a taxi app software might need fresh development. What it might cost?

How Much Does it Cost to Build a Taxi App?

The cost of building an Uber-like taxi app can vary based on several factors such as

• The type of app
• Its complexity
• The features included
• The app platform (Android, iOS, Windows, etc.)
• The geographical location of the developers

And much more.

The development cost of taxi app development can range between $10,000 and $170,000 for one platform (iOS or Android) and may go above this range depending on the specific project requirements.

On average, a basic taxi booking application with essential features may cost around $40,000 to $50,000. And the development time for such an app? Anywhere between 3 and 4 months with a team of six professionals and approximately 1200-1500 hours of work.

Trends In Taxi Applications Development

Globalization and the pace of technology have left nothing without their impact. And so is the taxi app development market. It is constantly evolving. Not harnessing the potential around might push you to the back foot in the market.

Here’s a peek at some of the hottest trends shaping the future of taxi apps:

AI and ML

Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning are already around. Now, it all comes down to blending their potential in the on-demand taxi development. How?

• Use AI to predict user behavior
• Predict traffic times, blockades, etc. using past data and real-time happenings
• Know peak hours

And the list goes on. This way you can adjust the prices for your rider and provide a better user experience.

Electric Vehicles and Sustainability

Times are changing and so are the concerns regarding the falling climate. Numerous companies are now aligning with the law by being sustainable and eco-friendly. As a taxi booking app company, you might want to offer electric vehicles for eco-conscious riders demanding greener transportation solutions

You may also integrate a feature of EVs in the fleet during taxi app development. This way, riders will have plenty of options to book from.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Now, most digital devices are gradually connecting to the internet. This means tons of data that can be used and managed in a better way. Now, IoT in taxi booking software can work in several ways.

Here is a simple example – collaborate with Spotify and let your riders sync their playlists with the cabs. Isn’t this super cool?

• Safer rides – By monitoring driver’s and rider’s behavior in real-time
• Faster trips – By using traffic data in real-time
• Smoother experience – By integrating entertainment services with the cabs

All this adds to security and a better experience.

Blockchain Blending

taxi booking apps have their perks, but there’s always room for improvement. Blockchain, a super secure tech, can shake hands with the taxi app during the taxi booking app development. It can offer more such as:

• Creating a secure system by eliminating the middleman
• Ensuring transparent transactions
• And paying faster to drivers

Still confused? Here is how it might work:

• The user uses the taxi booking app to find a driver and the blockchain securely connects the user.
• The user pays with a digital currency stored safely within the app.
• The completed trip is documented on the blockchain with proper transparency for both rider and driver.

Why Choose aPurple for your Taxi App Development?

Building a taxi app is a marathon, not a sprint. And here, aPurple can be your guide as well as your partner as an experienced taxi app development company. It will not only anticipate roadblocks but will offer exceptional taxi app development. Here is why –

• Experienced Team – Our team of experts understands the nuances of the industry and user needs and has a proven track record of crafting successful taxi apps.
• Agile Development – We use agile methodologies to deliver your app in phases. This way, you get constant feedback and can focus on your evolving goals.
• Scalable Solutions – Worry about how your taxi app will handle the increased traffic? Don’t! Our solutions are built to grow with your business and accommodate future features and increased user traffic.
• Cost-Effective Options – We understand that different companies hold different budgets. This is why we offer flexible development plans, including white-label solutions, to fit your budget and timeline.

So, if you are looking to make an app like Uber? aPurple can provide you with the required boost and expertise. Let’s turn your taxi app vision into reality. Contact us today for a free consultation.

The Bottom Line

The taxi app market is booming with still more room for new players. However, as there is competition, new companies must look to offer some unique value proposition. By following these steps and considering the latest trends, you can develop a successful taxi booking app. How?

By defining your niche, choosing features, building the app or hiring the best taxi app development company, testing rigorously, and launching with a marketing strategy.

Find it tough? Partnering with an experienced taxi app development company like aPurple can help you feel at ease. aPurple can streamline the process and increase your chances of success. Whether you’re looking to build an Uber app clone or something more specialized, the future of taxi apps is bright.

So, turn on the ignition and get started on your ride to app development success!

Author

Mahil Jasani

Mahil Jasani is an enthusiastic web and mobile app development expert who always loves to enlighten readers about his experiences and the ever-evolving technologies in today's world. He has a decade of experience helping startups and enterprises with custom digital solutions to drive better ROI results across different industries.