In 2022, the Global Taxi App Market reached a valuation of US$221.1 Billion. This number is expected to increase at a growth rate of CAGR of 4.93%. Forecasting the valuation of the Global taxi Market, IMARC Group said in a report that they expect the market to hit US$ 298.3 Billion by 2028.
The increasing demand for online taxi booking apps and the rising use of the Internet and Smartphones are some of the key reasons for such a great market valuation of taxi apps. Besides the advancing technology, people are also shifting to using taxi apps because of fierce traffic problems, rising fuel costs, and fewer parking spaces.
All of these reasons point in one direction – the taxi-on-call business has a bright future.
However, how a taxi app works and what it offers greatly depend on the demographics. Usually, the application is for people who use smartphones and are ready to pay for high-end services. It means that the application must be designed for a wider population, ranging from teens to adults, and the elderly.
Simply put, when designing the taxi app, one should make sure that it is easy to use, user-friendly, and has an interactive interface.
Popular Taxi Apps in 2023
Here is a list of the world’s most popular taxi on-demand applications. The list also includes the reasons why they are the most popular.
So, dive into the details to collect some inspiration for your own taxi app development project.
| APPS | FEATURES |
 UBER | Riders can share their trip details with friends and family. Uber cabs offer the option to Split Fares between friends. Allows riders to add multiple destinations. Riders can schedule their rides. |
 LYFT | Set up the pickup location after selecting the desired Lyft service. An up-front Lyft taxi price estimate is displayed after selecting the destination. Riders can get free rides by referring the app to a new user. Riders can easily add or remove a payment method. |
 OLA | Allows riders to keep a separate record of work-related travel via Corporate Profiles. Riders can add and save their favorite locations like HOME, WORK, CLUB, etc. Easy navigation on the map. |
 CURB | Booking rides in advance Riders can easily hail a cab on the street and pay with the app. Share the ride status with closed ones.Fares are automatically calculated based on the pick-up & drop-off location. |
 DiDi RIDER | Riders have the freedom to choose their drivers Offers lower base fares. Riders can opt for ride-sharing services Users can choose to book an on-demand city-wide delivery. |
Now that you know what services and features these five popular on-demand taxi apps offer, you can decide what you want in your app!
Well, to help you make a better decision, let’s elaborate more on the different services that you can offer under one taxi app.
Numerous Taxi App Services That You Can Offer
Based on the demographics of the region you are planning to launch the app in, you can offer one or all of the following taxi services in your app.
Well, just for your information, Uber Clone apps are trending in the market. What’s an Uber Clone? These are apps similar to Uber but with much more advanced features and taxi services that its users can book on demand.
Think of it as all the taxi apps combined in one. So, if you want to develop an app that has various taxi services, then you definitely need to check out an Uber-like taxi app.
Instant taxi booking
Users can book instant taxis using the application. Customers love quick ride-booking services because they are convenient. All they need to do is enter the destination and pick-up location, select the car type they want, and book the ride.
The driver arrives right at the doorstep and starts the trip. Who wouldn’t want such ease of commuting?
Ride scheduling
Scheduling rides in advance is helpful for customers who want to avoid the last-minute hassles of finding taxis. Uber-like taxi apps have the option to schedule the rides by selecting the date and time slot that the customer wants.
Once booked, customers can forget about it. The taxi will arrive at their doorstep at the set time.
Taxi pool/Ride-sharing
With on-demand taxi apps, customers can also book ride-sharing services. This service is best for customers who want to regularly travel short distances.
Here, passengers going to the same destination travel together in the same cab. The bill is split between all the passengers. Therefore, riders can travel in a taxi without splurging all of their money.
Taxi Rentals
Renting a taxi on an hourly basis is best for those who are on business trips or just need to wander around the city but avoid driving.
By simply renting the taxi on an hourly basis, riders can get completely chauffeured cabs.
How Do On-demand Taxi Apps Work?
Looking at the revenue generated by the taxi apps is not enough.
To learn how the apps actually work, one should also consider looking at their workflow. It is important to see how it works and offers convenience to its customers.
Therefore, you must build a taxi app that has a simple workflow. That being said, ensure to glance through the standard workflow that you should follow before starting the taxi booking app development process.
Take your time to understand the flow and build your own as per your customers’ demands.
- The user first needs to download and register with the taxi booking app if they haven’t already. If they have an account, they then need to log into it.
- Once the signup/login is complete, the user has to enter the pickup and drop-off locations to get the fare estimates.
- Depending on their budget and requirement, the user needs to select the car type they want.
- The user can change the payment method if they want.
- Immediately upon clicking on BOOK NOW or REQUEST NOW, a ride request is sent to all the drivers closest to the user’s location.
- The driver then accepts the ride request, arrives at the user’s location to pick them up, and starts the ride.
- The payment process is completed after the trip ends.
- Lastly, both the user and driver can rate & review.
Challenges of Developing a Taxi App like Uber
The second most crucial thing to keep in mind are the challenges that you may face when developing a taxi app for your business.
Until you have a blueprint of how you would tackle these challenges or avoid them in the first place, it will be difficult to say that you could achieve your goals on time.
So, to help you eliminate the possible complexities of taxi app development, compiled here is a list of challenges.
1. Selecting the ideal development approach
The finest app development technology and approach must be selected before initiating the process. Which app development approach you choose greatly impacts the time and cost of building the taxi booking app.
Basically, there are two ways of developing the app.
● Build the app from scratch
Entrepreneurs can choose to develop the app from scratch. Although they can customize everything including the design, the cost of development will be humongous! Moreover, it is a lengthy and time-consuming process.
Certainly, this option is a NO-NO For entrepreneurs who want to quickly develop a taxi app on a small budget.
● Build an app using a ready-made solution
Developing the on-demand taxi booking app using a ready-made solution is a feasible idea. Why? One is because the cost of development is very low. Two, entrepreneurs can go live with a fully-functional and advanced app in just one week.
Furthermore, ready-made apps have already gone through rigorous testing, ensuring that the solution you get is flawless!
2. Standing out in the market
The mobile market has throat-cutting competition. So how can you create a taxi app that is unique in the market and well-liked by your potential customers?
You can use multiple ways and strategies to stand out from the competition. Here are some for your reference:
- The app should be visible and discoverable as people can only find your app on Android and iOS stores and download it.
- Develop a high-performing mobile app that is designed to deliver a fantastic user experience.
- Create a strong and full-proof branding strategy.
3. Develop an app for an exceptional user experience
To ensure that you attract more users and retain them, you need to develop a flawless taxi booking app. Surely, there are multiple challenges one could face when designing the UI/UX of the app, but that’s what professionals are for – to help you.
To name a few things that matter the most when designing the UI/UX of the app, you have:
- Ease of use
- Quick loading speed
- Attractive visuals
- Clear call to action buttons
- Visible text
One of the ways you can deliver a flawless user experience, bring in more conversions, and operate smoothly is by integrating the right features.
Features are the backbone of developing a user-centric application. So, let’s learn about the must-have features of a taxi booking app.
Features to Integrate into Your On-demand Taxi Booking App
Your online taxi booking app must offer a variety of features that offer the best user experience to both the riders and drivers. The main purpose of integrating the features should be to make the app convenient for everyone.
The essential features you must have in an app like Uber are enlisted here.
- Wallet-to-wallet payments
- Ride Scheduling
- In-app push notifications
- Ratings & review
- Live location tracking
- Book ride for someone else
- Ride detail sharing
- SOS button/Emergency contacts
- Login with Face ID and Fingerprint
- Child seat preference
Integrating all these features will help you develop and launch an advanced and fully-functional application. But, is integrating the right features enough to increase your revenues?
Well, that is why you need to know the secret to make more money using the app. Don’t worry! We’ve got your back.
How to Make Money with Your On-demand Taxi App
This is one of the most intriguing questions of all. Developing the app using the right technologies, integrating trending services and features, or designing an impressive UI/UX are just a few important things. However, revenue-generating or profit-making still stands as the key thing to determine if the business will be successful or not!
Well, it’s time to share the secret of making huge money with your taxi app. So, what is it?
1. Choosing the right business model
When developing the Uber-like taxi app, choose the commission-based model.
Here, you will make commissions on every ride that gets booked via your app. Moreover, the app owner gets to decide the commission rates of all the services they offer.
Ideally, commissions are the steadiest and the most secure way to earn money in a mobile app-based taxi business like Uber, Lyft, Careem, etc.
2. Earning more cash flow
Apart from earning commissions, you also need to monetize additionally with your app. So, when developing the taxi app, make sure that you integrate third-party Facebook/Google Ads, and make commissions on surge prices and cancellation fees.
Final Thoughts
By developing an on-demand taxi booking app, you can reap multiple benefits like improved efficiency, increased customer satisfaction, and huge money making! However, how you develop the app and how you maintain it makes a huge difference in establishing a taxi business that wins.
No one can deny that the future of on-demand taxi apps is bright. So, without stressing over if the idea is valid or not, get started with your market research.
To develop a successful business, create a strong business plan, hire the right mobile app development company, and quickly launch the app before your competitors do!
