Gone are the days when every single business day of a taxi driver used to be dependent on taxi agents for getting passengers. The entire process used to be less effective and costlier as compared to the present date. Also, after reaching from point A to point B, the taxi drivers, having poor knowledge about a particular area, used to face difficulties in getting new passengers in the point B.
Nowadays the sphere of the taxi industry is rapidly changing. The idea of taxi driver application has appeared to take all the problems to toss out of the window and shift the entire process to a driver application on a smartphone. Undoubtedly the introduction of taxi driver app, also known as taxi driver dispatch app, has brought a significant change in the landscape of taxi service and transportation industry. It has started helping the whole taxi business expand in assistance with an all-in-one operating system for sending off taxis, tracking locations, processing payments, and managing overall income.
How a Taxi Booking App Works?
In a taxi booking app, from booking a taxi to completing the journey - the entire process is involved with some simple yet technological steps that benefit both the passengers and the drivers.
Step 1
After opening the application, the users get access to nearby available cabs with the help of automatic activation of GPS.
Step 2
After finding the availability of cabs within a map, the users can generate the request to avail a cab service from the application. They need to tap the “book a ride” button, and the action will prompt the nearest taxi driver with a ride notification. When the acceptance is done from the driver’s side, the user will get notification of the taxi location and expected arrival time.
Step 3
The user will get another ride notification once the taxi reaches the pickup location. This notification alerts the user about the fact that the driver is waiting and ready to start the journey once the passenger will come.
Step 4
After the completion of the ride, the driver is entitled to get the payment either by cash or through any in-app e-wallet or internet banking. Also, the driver can get a rating and a review from the passenger as a token of feedback.
All the drivers need to register, sign a contract, and choose to dedicatedly drive the taxi on revenue sharing base. In this arrangement, the drivers earn a specific portion of every ride they get and share the revenue according to the respective company’s norms. They have a separate user interface, directly connected with the admin dashboard where their activities can be tracked.
In a nutshell, the core functionality of a taxi driver app is involved with providing a unique User Interface that manages to simplify both the users’ and drivers’ tasks.
How Important a Taxi Booking App is for a Driver
By getting registered with a taxi booking app, the drivers get abundant advantages. There is no need for driving around a particular area to search for passengers because the application does this job for them. With little time spent, the drivers can get more rides than usual and eventually, increase their revenue. Moreover, the taxi dispatch software automates every process involved in booking a taxi and delivering the service. Therefore, the drivers put less effort into managing schedules in an organized way.
But how exactly does this app become such a useful thing for the taxi drivers? Well, because it has some great features. So, let’s have a look at what features make the taxi driver apps a convenient and useful option.
Key Features of a Driver Booking App
1. Custom Booking Facility
There was a time when booking a taxi used to be a tedious job with a manual method where drivers had to park their cars in a taxi stand and wait for their turn to get a single trip. Then the time came when the mobile phone started being used where the customers used to contact the taxi. But this process was not that much effective since the driver might be in a distant location and was unable to serve the customer at that time. Now the time has changed in the taxi industry with the introduction of taxi dispatch software where the entire process has become easy based on the driver status with prompt booking.
2. GPS Technology Benefit
In assistance with GPS feature of the taxi booking app, the drivers can find the passengers on a map using the address filled by the passengers themselves. This way the drivers can reach the right locations easily and quickly. Also, they can notify their arrival to the passengers by using a push notification option in the app. The system helps the drivers get an optimized route. They can even see the best optimal route through which they can reach the location with less gas or petrol consumption. On the other hand, GPS benefits the admins of the apps as well as they can monitor all their cabs in real-time directly from the dispatch panel and check who is working and who is not.
3. Secure Payment System
The ride fare can be calculated automatically, based on the distance covered, in the app. This makes the drivers free from doing the manual calculation and thus saves a lot of time. Also, such apps support card and online banking payments. Thus no driver needs to worry about any unpaid ride or carry a huge amount of cash all the time.
4. Rate & Review Option
The passengers can rate and review the drivers after completing the journey. This helps the app companies get to know their drivers in a better way, which is in the future can be beneficial for the drivers.
Nowadays, white label taxi apps are gaining immense popularity among taxi companies. White label taxi apps often include lucrative packages, having an app for passengers, an app for drivers, and a dispatch app. Other than the features that a normal taxi booking app has, this app includes some more advanced level features.
Here are some custom and advanced features that a white label taxi app has:
- A user-friendly web interface in dispatch panel along with VoIP integration
- Credit card payment support
- Customizable frontend
- Cloud hosting option
- Data backup
- Timely reporting and analytics
- Ability to expand the app in a profitable way by including more cabs to the fleet
In short, white label taxi booking apps offer abundant customizable options that allow you to get to the market fast while owning unique branding and design and that too without spending a lot of upfront investment. Moreover, the companies that offer such apps guarantee support assistance and maintenance service after the release. Their maintenance support can make the entire app management process hassle-free for you.
Cost of Building a Taxi Driver App
One of the most popular taxi apps, named Uber was introduced in 2009. According to a report, now it has 80 million users and operates in 77 countries because of its user-friendly features and the ability to benefit the passengers, drivers, and the owners. If you want to develop a taxi app like Uber, trust me, there is no specific cost of development. It may vary depending on your requirements, how you want to expand your business, the architecture of your app, the country you are focusing and the hourly rate of the company you are relying on to get the assistance.
You can get a free demo on Taxi Pulse, a cloud-based taxi dispatch software, from us. It will help you have an overview and build an idea of how your requirement can be met by its awesome framework and smart mobility.
Conclusion
Wrapping it up, ever since its introduction, taxi driver booking app, along with taxi dispatch software, has been empowering the entire transportation industry immensely. It not only gives the passengers a rich riding experience but also makes the whole process of getting passengers, finding locations, receiving payment and managing money for the drivers hassle-free. This trend is certainly going to stay and change the scenario of the taxi industry forever. So, if you are planning to develop a taxi booking app, contact us today. We offer custom taxi app development solution with expert assistance that can never fail to meet your need perfectly.
Get in touch with us today to know how we can help you!
Author's Bio
Nitin Lahoti
Nitin Lahoti is the domain expert of Logistics and Transportation. He has 12+ years of experience in Design, Business Development and Startups. His expertise is in Product Ideation, UX/UI design, Startup consulting and mentoring. He prefers business readings and loves traveling.