How to Develop Taxi App Like Uber: Complete Guide

Taxi rides are among the most popular services in the world. Considering that the global ride-hailing and taxi market is projected to reach $330.80 billion by the end of 2023, it is quite obvious that demand for this industry only keeps growing. England alone had 251,000 licensed private hire vehicles in 2021, showing that there’s still room for income.

Find out how to build a taxi app like Uber and utilize the existing best practices to your advantage. Our complete guide will help you understand the key features required to develop a successful application for Android and iOS.

Uber for taxi booking: how does it work?

71% of respondents answered that they have used Uber’s services in the past 12 months at least once, making it the most popular taxi brand in the UK. This shows that the company completely outpaces the competition, with Bolt being the second option on the list, having only 17% of votes. That is why it is necessary to understand how to start a business like Uber and repeat its success rather than its mistakes. For this, some preliminary research is in place.

Uber’s business model may be divided into 6 steps:

1. Profile creation
2. Ride request
3. Ride confirmation
4. Taking the ride
5. Processing the payment
6. Leaving feedback

Hundreds of technical features are hidden behind this simple form to ensure the service works effectively for both drivers and passengers. If you try to find out how to make a taxi app like Uber, you will notice that such solutions work by the principles of an aggregator. Passengers place their orders in the system and drivers can see all available options on a single screen. This keeps everything in one place, maximizing the app’s efficiency.

How to build a taxi application like Uber?

From a technical standpoint, Uber’s application is divided into three parts:

• An app for passengers;
• An app for drivers;
• An admin panel.

Developing a mobile taxi app like Uber requires all three components included. This will let you preserve an identical business model and keep the processes efficient.

Each application must have a user-friendly interface combined with a standard set of features required to complete basic actions. These will be described below.

Features for passengers

Passengers are interested in getting top-notch service with minimum effort. That is why it is necessary that you develop a mobile taxi app packing these features:

• One-click registration. Using social media credentials for registration is the current standard for a great UX. However, the manual method of entering an email should be left, too. 
• Interactive map to choose the destination. The app should combine GPS and an interactive map to show the user’s location and let them select a destination without knowing the actual address.
• Quote for the fare. An estimate should be provided before a request for a ride is placed. Some applications may even allow users to set a custom rate with a certain maximum fee.
• Ride confirmation. Users must be notified about a driver confirming their trip. This can be done via a push notification and a certain screen in the app.
• Driver tracking. It should be possible to see the driver’s location on the map to ensure the passenger can easily find them and plan the ride in advance.
• Ride history. The ride history should include all possible information like addresses, times, prices, vehicles, and other data.
• Different payment options. Passengers must be able to choose a suitable payment method. This usually includes a bank card, online payment, or payment in cash directly to the driver.
• Leaving feedback. After each ride, passengers must be able to rate the driver and the ride. This will help you build a rating system that promotes adequate and responsible behavior on both sides of the bargain.

These tips will help you build a mobile application like Uber and provide a powerful user experience. You can add extra features like a bonus system or booking, depending on your technical capabilities.

Features for drivers

If you don’t know how to create a taxi app for drivers that is as efficient as Uber, follow our recommendations covering the must-have features. The basics such as “registration” and “profile confirmation” are omitted because they are common knowledge.

• Source requests. Drivers should have access to the request aggregator and see potential passengers based on their locations. The closest ones must be shown first.
• Get notifications. If the driver uses the app, they should be notified about new requests appearing in their area.
• Apply GPS navigation. Drivers must be able to plan a route to their passengers and destinations automatically within the app. 
• Contact passengers. There must be an internal messaging option. Also, the driver should get the passenger’s phone number to contact them in case any circumstances occur.

It is necessary to note that many cab drivers complained on social media that GPS navigation is not efficient enough. The available apps are not accurate enough and do not consider traffic or weather when planning a route. You could use this fact to your advantage by providing a better solution.

Features for the admin panel

An admin panel is required for your technical team to monitor the software and provide support whenever required. A specialized dashboard usually indicates all the information available: vehicles, passengers, load, etc. 

• Dashboard. A dashboard must briefly include the most critical data. These could be numbers like current drivers, online passengers, and others.
• Driver management. You must be able to control a driver’s profile and manage their activities. For example, if someone gets negative feedback, you might want to apply preventive measures to avoid similar situations.
• Analytical reports. Analytics should provide any type of data with all details upon request. This could be, for example, an income sheet with specifications like areas, cities, drivers, and other data.
• Advanced search. You should be able to find any driver, vehicle, passenger, or other information with a simple search query. All data must be at the admin’s fingertips.
• Heat maps. Identifying the areas with the highest demand is much easier with heatmaps. They can be outlined based on the number of orders or numbers of active users from certain locations.

You can include any features you want into the admin panel as long as they benefit toward practical usage. Administrators should be able to be in a certain “god-mode” with the panel, being able to change and find any information requir

7 steps to create a taxi app like Uber

If you are acquainted with the software development lifecycle, you already know how to create a taxi app like Uber. The process is very similar to most applications. However, the ideas are always different.

1. Analysis

The first step of any project is a preliminary analysis. You must understand your target market inside-out to succeed. Uber started by launching in a single city, San Francisco, after researching the area’s demands and possibilities. 

2. Planning

After gathering all required data for your project, you must plan the development workflow. This should include development milestones, tech stack, MVP features, potential goals, and other information that can help you see your product years in advance.

3. Design

Most companies start by developing their application’s design and implementing it in a prototype. This helps you see your software’s visual and navigational parts and add the required functionality to the “design carcass.”

4. Development

The developers use the prototype to build an MVP. After checking whether it is good enough for the market, they create the full version of the software, utilizing maximum potential from the chosen technologies.

5. Testing

The testing process includes multiple tests to ensure that the app’s functionality runs as intended and there are no security issues. Taxi apps work with confidential data and payments, so advanced cybersecurity is a must.

6. Implementation

Launching the app requires publication in the Google Play and App Store. You can also host a web version of the software available via a browser to improve accessibility and user experience.

7. Maintenance

Finally, you can keep updating the software after its release. Remember that bugs must be fixed as fast as possible to reduce their negative effects. Taxi giants like Uber and Lyft have set high standards in the industry, and your task is to outsmart them.

You should not forget about additional expenses for marketing and advertising. Even the greatest solutions require promotion, which may appear to be more difficult than creating an application from scratch. 

What technologies do you need to develop a taxi app like Uber?

Now that you know how to develop a taxi app like Uber in terms of the underlying processes, let’s check out the technology stack for this task. The stack usually differs depending on the chosen platforms and initial requirements. 

If we look at a real-world example, Uber is based on a massive combination of technologies of all kinds:

• PostgreSQL, Riak, Cassandra;
• Kafka, Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana;
• Python, Node.js, Go, Java.

These are only some of the technologies described in Uber Engineering’s blog. If you aim to make a mobile taxi app like Uber, then you should research their approaches in detail. Their open API may be useful for your project as well.

Costs to develop a mobile taxi app like Uber

Considering the work required to create a similar solution, the cost to develop a mobile taxi app like Uber ranges between $60,000 to $150,000 depending on multiple factors. These are:

• The number and complexity of features;
• The preferred tech stack;
• Development team rates;
• Desired deadlines;
• The location of your development team.

Feature	Time	Price
UI/UX design	Up to 5 weeks	$6,000+
Ride scheduling	Up to 6 weeks	$8,000+
Map integration	Up to 2 weeks	$2,000+
Notifications	Up to 4 weeks	$4,000+
Fare splitting	Up to 6 weeks	$6,000+
User location detection	Up to 2 weeks	$2,000+
Driver destination routing	Up to 3 weeks	$3,000+

One of the major determiners of the final price is the country from which your development team works. For example, mobile developers in the US and Canada charge between $85–$150 per hour. In Ukraine, the rates are two times lower, and you still get a high-quality solution for the same price.

Consider Weelorum your trusted partner in developing your mobile app

At Weelorum, we know how to develop a mobile taxi app that provides a top-level user experience for both drivers and passengers. Our engineers have the expertise to leverage cutting-edge technology and avoid the mistakes made by the current market leaders.

With over 30 completed projects and an average rating of 5/5, we shall help you become the next market leader. All it takes is a great idea, a powerful team of developers, and some magic. You will get a good-looking application that is fast, reliable, and secure.

Final thoughts

Now that you know how to make an app like Uber across all aspects, it is time to apply your knowledge and conquer the industry. Ride-hailing software has many areas for development, and you can be the one to turn the flaws of others to your advantage.

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