The biggest compliment every startup aim for is to be called disruptive changing not just local businesses but entire industries across the country and around the world. Uber has successfully created that impact in a very short period of time.
Uber has changed the way we go around and has impacted the taxi industry around the world. It is valued at $82.4 billion dollars, has over ten thousand employees and more than a million drivers operating in 528 cities.
Initially started with a bunch of guys wanted to ride around town in style, Uber now has become a highly valued private business. With its sole intention to make transport easy and available Uber didn’t just provide privacy and comfort but also made taxi service luxurious and economical.
With their disruptive technology and explosive growth, this revolutionary 8 yr old startup has literally defined what an on-demand business is! Uber provided an on-demand service platform without owning cars and employing drivers to drive them.
Now with its driver-less cars, flying taxis, and Uber-Copter, Uber is heading for world domination. The success story of Uber is the reason that every on-demand business aims to replicate it.
What is the On-Demand Business Model?
At its core on-demand is basically a marketplace. What really sets it apart from a traditional marketplace is the sense of immediacy. I order and I get it instantaneously and then there is a buyer, merchant and seller relationship.
Its biggest challenge is getting both buyers and sellers simultaneously. How to deal with this is to start small. There’s a much better chance of getting both sides of the market place with starting small. For best success, focus on a small market, an industry or even one customer side of the marketplace.
These business models are so powerful because they are meeting the changes in consumer behavior. Millennials and Gen-C are more inclined towards more convenience, comfortability, and speed. On-demand businesses meet these demands perfectly.
Elements of the System
When looked from the technical perspective, not many realize that Uber or any such on-demand business basically comprises 3 core elements:
• Mobile app for riders — iOS & Android app where anyone can conveniently order a ride;
• Mobile app for drivers — iOS & Android app used by the drivers who execute the orders;
• Administrative panel — the central control web-panel to manage drivers, riders, orders & marketplace;
It’s the amalgamation of these 3 applications/software that makes these on-demand services a success. Let’s try looking at each one of them separately to understand, what set of features does each of them have.
Features of Mobile App for Riders
1. Vehicle Tracking System (GPS)
– Auto-sensing the current location of the rider.
2. Rate Card/Flexible vehicle options
– To pick and choose the type of vehicle with varying pricing options.
3. On-Demand Booking
– To set pickup & drop location while booking
4. Automatic Fare Calculation
– To provide accurate fare and distance for the destination journey.
5. Estimated Arrival Time
– To provide an estimated time when the driver will reach the rider’s location
6. Chat Feature
– To chat with the driver directly from the mobile app.
7. Driver Details
– Complete driver profile in terms of feedback received from other riders,
– History of ride cancellation and important reasons associated like cancellation after knowing destination address, ride canceled since it was night time, etc.
9. Trip/Cab Tracking
– For rider security, he/she will be able to track the entire journey and will be able to allow his/her friends to see the vehicle path and other details during the journey.
Features of Mobile App for Drivers
1. Chat Feature
– Once accepted ride request by the driver, the mobile app will alert to the rider through chat about vehicle details and approximate pickup time.
2. Fare Calculation & Payments
– The app will auto-calculate the fare at the end of the journey.
– The app will also facilitate the driver to mark whether the payment was received as cash or paid directly through card etc.
3. View Trip Routes Using GPS
– The most economical and fastest route will be shown on the driver’s mobile app from source to destination
– Deduce and notify the most probable area to get passengers/riders.
Features of Admin Panel
1. Vehicle Management
– Registration of all cars in the system with details like car make, model, year of manufacturing, insurance start date, and end date, insurance value, mileage wise number of services done, future service schedule, etc.
2. User/Customer Management
– View/add/edit/delete the customers/drivers
3. Trip/Cab Tracking
– Know the time for which a vehicle is idle and not driving.
– Notification generation if any vehicle is idle for more than 5 mins, which driver is driving which vehicle etc.
– Categorizing trips as personal/official travel.
4. Salary Generation
– Generation of driver’s salary
5. Manage Dashboard & Reports
– Real-time data based on various parameters of Drivers and Riders
– Reports including Actual Vs Target Trips, KPI performance Report, Daily Collection, Daily Vehicle Utilization, Driver Performance, Earning Report, Hourly Vehicle Utilization
6. Invoicing
– Management of all customer invoicing
7. Settle Cash Payments
– Accumulation of all details like who submitted cash, which car or cars helped in generating cash, cash amount, period, etc.
– Validation system of trips and cash collected at the end of each trip against every submission
– Validating the cash submitted against the trips made in the day and approve the receipt
– Generate receipt and automatically syncing with the driver app and showing cash collected for a particular trip
8. Multiple Payment Gateways
– Support for country-specific payment gateway integrations
Along with these, there can also be Advanced Features like:
• Multi-Language
For better ease, the app can support multi-language for rider/driver
• Voice Bookings
This feature can assist specially-abled people & also helps in quick bookings.
• Spot me Feature
The app can facilitate riders phone screen to turn to a color that’s specific to their driver. To easily spot them at their pickup location, they can just hold up the phone so that their driver can find them.
• Emergency Taxis
The app can have a feature(similar to SOS signal) where the User can click on a medical emergency button. This will automatically route the nearest vehicle to the user’s location. Such vehicles can have basic medical aids available.
• Surcharge
Extra charges in case of peak demand hours.
• Quick Complaint Management
The app can have an easy chat support/call feature to reach to Operations team.
• Leave Management
The administrator will be able to manage the leaves & KPIs of the drivers through their web panel.
What should you keep in mind while building an app like Uber?
Uber for services app is a platform that brings offline and online together. As this idea of an on-demand business app is applicable across various business verticals, there are few things to keep in mind before building an app like Uber-
1. Research- understanding of the industry is important. You should be aware of the upcoming trends, how will the industry evolve, deeper understanding of niche and demography to target the right audience.
2. Technology- To build an app which will potentially support a large number of users, technology plays an important role. Choosing a technology which is matured enough and provide great community support is crucial to successfully build an app like Uber.
3. UI/UX — Crafting smooth UI/UX designs ensures user-friendly navigation.
Cost of Building an App like Uber-
To develop a basic version of your Uber-like app, your set of resources will be:
• Project Manager/Business Analyst
• UI/UX Designer
• Frontend, Backend & Mobile app developers
• QA team
If you have the Idea/Business we Got the Technology
As our economy is becoming more and more consumer-centric the rise and need of on-demand businesses is rapidly increasing. So if you have an idea or an existing on-demand business an app like Uber can boost your business growth and reach.
Brace yourself to build a disruptive business with an app like Uber.
6DegreesIT is an experienced web development company. We have successfully designed Uber-like apps for various businesses.
Our team of expert developers has lots of creative ways to meet your innovative ideas. We understand our client’s vision and provide the best technological solutions to make it a reality.
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