Ride-hailing is one of the most intriguing business segments today. It is both highly competitive and at the same time, it has enough opportunities for new players to enter the market. It is only natural that aspiring entrepreneurs want to explore this space after looking at the success of Uber. Barely founded more than a decade ago, the company has been valued at more than $100 billion and it has marked a presence in more than 700 cities spread across more than 60 countries.
In spite of heavy local competition, Uber still retains its supremacy in being the market leader in terms of market value, penetration, number of rides, and every other possible statistical piece of information one can think of. The company generated $12 billion in gross bookings in the most recent quarter.
Why Should You Go For A Taxi Booking Business?
This segment of the business has high growth potential in the APAC region. While countries like the United States and regions like western Europe have almost saturated, the Asian region is still to witness a mass revolution. There are players like Ola and Didi that have dominated India and China in that order. However, there is still a lot of space for accommodating new players, especially when the CAGR is projected to be over 20% over the course of the next five years.
There are some inherent advantages for all the stakeholders in the taxi booking ecosystem. The drivers do not have to spend time searching for passengers and do not have to miss out on potential customers just because they are not visible. It also illuminates unnecessary time wastage. For the passengers, it completely illuminates the uncertainties associated with booking a cab. There is no room for refusal or price haggling.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also expected to contribute to the growth. Maybe the year 2020 was not the one that many industries expected. Although there was a massive plummet of the number of rides and the general demand for transportation, it is expected that the demand will bounce back with greater intensity. People will now be skeptical about using public transport and will want to engage in a more private way to move from one place to another.
Considering aspects like safety, there are chances that even offices will ask people to use their shuttle or taxi services. There is also growth potential in terms of specialized transportation services for kids and women. Considering all these factors, it is only right to expect that the app-based taxi booking system is one of the most lucrative business segments in the near future.
The Relevance Of Uber Clones
The potential for profitability has been established beyond question. It all comes down to time: time the market is one of the most crucial factors that spell the difference between success and failure when it comes to cab booking mobile app business.
The development of a taxi booking app consumes quite a lot of time, money, and effort. To circumvent this challenge, it is highly recommended that you go for a taxi booking clone app. A taxi app clone is easy to customize and it comes pre-packed with all the essential features intact. Therefore, it becomes easy for you to launch your app in the quickest possible time into the market to come out so you have a better edge over your competitors when it comes to brand presents and familiarity.
It is always good to have a headstart in businesses that are highly competitive.
The Different Business Models
The space of app-based transportation is so vast that there are a lot of avenues you can explore. In addition, there are multiple business models that you can consider based on your market and other parameters.
The most common model that facilitated the success of businesses like Uber and Ola is the aggregator model. In the aggregated model, the business does not own a single taxi. Instead, they have a network of gig drivers who can be assigned the rides that the business gets over the app. This is considered to be a game-changer not only in the tax industry but for the entire business landscape because it uses the power of the sharing economy. The drivers get to command their working hours and the business is not liable to take care of employee benefits and other liabilities.
The second model is the ownership model where the company that owns the app also owns a fleet of taxis. This is an ideal choice for companies that have already established a market presence and are looking forward to enhancing their capabilities with a splash of technology. The magnitude of uncertainty associated with this business model is quite less because you already own your feet.
There are ways in which you can spruce up your revenue game by adding a few garnishes to the existing business model. You can consider providing premium services where you can offer luxury rights in premium sedans. You can also bring in variations for different types of cars based on the car type, the driver experience and reviews, and a multitude of other factors. Another innovation brought about by Uber is the dynamic pricing based on factors like traffic, demand, and road conditions. Known as surge pricing, it not only helps bring in additional revenue for the business but also ensures the availability of cabs to passengers at all times.
The Garnishing Features
It is quite known that the app-based taxi booking ecosystem consists of distinct apps for the driver and passenger, and also a dashboard for the administrator.
The signup and registration process has to be simple and straightforward both for the passenger and the driver. They should be able to create an account using their email or phone number or like a secret in just like Google and Facebook. The registration should immediately create a profile for the user or the driver. The user profile should store information about the usual pick-up points, payment methods, and also the history of the rights that they have taken. The driver profile should store information like the history of rights, the earnings, and the payments. The registration process for the driver should include an identity verification process and eligibility checking for driving the vehicle.
The GPS can be considered the epicenter of the on-demand revolution. The GPS should not only help the driver in navigating to the location of the user and the destination but also help in keeping the user updated about the moment of the driver picking up.
The app should be integrated with a payment gateway that can accept payment from multiple payment instruments like credit cards, debit cards, Internet back in, and wallets. The payment system should also ensure that the earnings of the drivers are credited to the bank accounts in the shortest possible time.
A review and rating system should be in place to ensure that the passenger and the driver do not compromise on their behavior, professionalism, and courteousness.
In addition, a few features like multi-language support, in-app chat, referral programs, and push notifications for discounts and offers will ensure that your cab booking app stays on the top when it comes to user appeal and market leadership.
Conclusion
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur who would like to build a taxi booking app business, all that is left for you to do is to get in touch with a company that specializes in the development and customization of white label clones of taxi booking apps. They will understand your requirement and embellish the features and the interface of your choice, so you can launch your taxi booking app business in the shortest possible time.
