How to Make a Taxi Booking App Like UBER?

Have been Uberized? Can you enhance the quality of your current service and make it on-demand. Then you can become the next Uber. How to make an app like Uber? We come across this question always when we think of an app development for building apps like Uber. Uber has disrupted the service market on a large scale and made the on-demand services according to the new trend. Taxi business owners were the unsatisfied crowd since their operational model was seriously challenged. Those who didn’t feel great about adapting the new technologies started the global anti-Uber campaign.

Yet smart people came forward asking the right questions-how to create an app like Uber? 

The first things you need to know about this is that you have to build two slightly different apps one for the passengers and the other for the drivers which will be connected to your admin portal.

Then to kick-start Uber, its co-founders had to attract both drivers and riders simultaneously. They had a brilliant go-to-market strategy. But you can’t repeat them, you need to create a different story, else your taxi dispatch software may go unnoticed.

An app like Uber, even in its most basic form should allow users to request rides and make cashless payments. The entire ecosystem should provide real-time interaction between the app and the server and process the payment automatically once the ride is completed.

How Uber works? The technology stack.

 Let’s check out briefly how Uber works. The first thing you need to do is to let Uber know that you need a ride. Then Uber will ask you where you are. The Uber will find a nearby driver and tells you when the driver will arrive and pick you.  After the ride is over, you can rate the ride and the cost of the ride is automatically charged to your credit card.

Now let’s see on what technologies does Uber rely?

Geolocation

Its co-founders have called Uber a location-based startup from day one. For this, the specifics of iOS and Android geolocation features should be understood. Now it is a bit easier to get the locations features than the earlier times since the technologies have progressed.  The cab dispatch apps depend upon the following geolocation and mapping features:

1.    Identifying a device’s location

The iOS app for Uber utilizes the Core Location framework to find the passenger’s device. This framework provides classes and protocols to schedule and configure location delivery and send location events to the server. This also lets Uber define geographic regions and monitor the device’s movement as it crosses variously defined boundaries.

 Geolocation for the Android version of the Uber was implemented using Google’s location APIs. Prior to implementing location-based features, they can effectively manage subsequent location technology along with meeting various development requirements.

2.    Providing driving directions

To display point-to-point directions on the map within the app, developers of the Uber app for iOS used Map Kit. Once the app is registered as a routing app it will help in making directions accessible to the Maps app and all other mapping software on a user’s device.

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How to build an uber-like taxi app & How does it benefit the customers in USA

3.    Integrating with mapping software

Uber didn’t go just with the with maps and do what any location-based service could do-instead they implemented google maps for both versions of their app- Android and iPhone. Now, Google maps offer integration with Uber. However, google map is not the only service that Uber uses. Uber buys mapping technology companies to solve their logistic issues. 

Geolocation is the most imperative technology behind Uber in its technology stack, however, you should be equipped with various other functionalities as well if you need to build an app like Uber. However, you will have to use some other functionalities as well if you want to know how to build an app like Uber.

Push Notification and SMS

Once you order a ride, Uber sends a couple of notifications, while the drivers accept the request and while the driver is less than a minute away. They also notify when the ride has been cancelled for some reason. These messages can be received as SMS or push notifications. You might have heard of Uber’s surge pricing which was vigorously criticized. With this, a premium is charged for a ride and Uber argues, it gets more drivers and it reduces the demand from potential passengers. This business model however created confusions since the passengers did not always know when the surge price ended. But today, Uber users are notified when the price multiplier is turned off. The Twilio telecommunications provider powers Uber text messages. To implement push notification in the iOS app Uber must have used Apple push notification service and Android, Google cloud messaging.

Payment integration

In Uber’s cashless system, you can pay via credit, debit or use promo code. This avoids the human-to-human transactions including tips. While accepting card payment there are certain requirements that companies must comply with called the PCI (Payment Card Industry) requirements.

Uber chose to partner with Braintree in the pioneers in the mobile payment market. Stripe also provides payment services to Lyft and other on-demand startups like Instacart and Postmates.

Uber also utilizes PayPal’s Card.io service for credit card scanning on iOS. Card.io enables you to input credit card information by basically holding the card before the mobile camera. With Android, you have to manually enter the credit card data to your Uber account.
In addition, Uber is integrated with PayPal’s system, which means customers can pay directly for the taxi ride with their PayPal account. Splitting your fare amongst your friends is also directly possible in the app.

How much does Uber earn?

Since we are talking about how to build an Uber or an app like Uber, now we should think of how much money this business earns.  It might probably be heard that Uber had gone through a lot of trouble in becoming profitable in the US, and the company started to earn profit only this year.  Uber takes a 25 percent commission on every ride but the amount it earns a profit is only 0.19$ per ride on an average. The rest goes to interest, taxes, and equity-based compensation for the employees.

A significant percentage of revenue earned by Uber goes to anti-fraud efforts, credit card processing, customer support services, software development and maintenance, and marketing. Although the $ 66 billion valuations of Uber gives the impression that the company is a huge moneybag, it does not actually gain much profit out of it.

How much does it cost to build Uber?

By now, it should be clear that the cost of making an app depends on numerous factors. When you develop an app like Uber, you would need to pay for the following services:

• Uber database design
•  iOS app development
• Android app development
• Uber Backend architecture development 
• Web development
• Project management
• Quality Assurance

The time it takes to build a taxi-hailing app, which includes an app for a drive and an app for the passenger is somewhere near 5000 hours and the cost varies from $20 per hour to $150 per hour.

With a modular approach, we at Mindster are able to reduce the cost and time involved by around 30%. In addition, our engineering team is able to bring a huge cost arbitrage along with ensuring smoothness.

Want to create an app like Uber?

So if you are a smart taxi business owner and you want to stay relevant in this rapidly changing market, look no further. You can get everything in your own app. We are a mobile app development company that can develop an app similar to Uber, which can be customized to your taste. Make a move, contact us now.