Thinking Beyond Utility – Uber, and Transportation
The need for transportation is no longer limited to going from point a to point b. There is a demand for luxury and convenience. Public transport has become relatively irrelevant when it comes to people’s expectations of last-mile connectivity. Passengers want the transport to arrive at their location as per convenience.
Coinciding with this paradigm shift in demand, technology has also changed its landscape. Applications have become mainstream, thanks to mobile ecosystems like iOS and Android. Global positioning system (GPS) is no longer confined to space research and military organizations – it has become an integral part of smart devices.
The convergence of the change in demand and the technology had given rise to a new stream of services called location-based on-demand services. Users can command a particular service to be delivered at a time and location of their convenience.
One of the first sectors to be affected by this revolution was the cab industry. People who have always been used to waving their hands at those trademark Yellow cabs of New York and the hackneys of London had a new option. People can now book a cab using a mobile app. The app would take care of identifying the location of the user and connect the cab drivers with the customer.
The company that spearheaded this revolution in transportation was Uber. Started in San Francisco a decade ago, the services of Uber today are spread across 600 cities and over 60 different countries. The valuation of the company stands at a staggering $78 billion.
Developing your own version of Uber has been made easy with the white-label solutions such as the Uber clone app. These solutions are developed by app development companies with pre-loaded features and inbuilt business/revenue model. Since the solution is white-labelled, entrepreneurs just need to come up with their own set of requirements to make it so unique among the rest of the on-demand taxi apps.
The Different Avatars of A Ride-Hailing App
Uber had brought in a new dimension in the field of transportation and in the field of services in general. Even at the concept level, the Paradigm shift was so Revolutionary that it spread across different realms of transportation and even into other services.
Today the ride-hailing segment can offer different services including but not limited to carpooling ride-sharing, shuttle services, luxury transportation services like limousines, airport special pickup and drop services and even specific services for kids and geriatrics.
Any ride-hailing app needs to have specific applications for different sets of users.
– The Passenger App
The passenger app is the one used by the people who will avail of the ride-hailing services.
- The passenger should be able to book a cab without much difficulty and in as few steps as possible.
- The app should be able to accept multiple payment instruments to accommodate the different payment methods used by passengers.
- The app should also contain a review and rating system that will help passengers give their comments on the performance and workmanship of the drivers.
– The Driver App
The app might act as a mediator, but it is the driver who provides the services that the user requires. For this purpose, the driver app should be made in a way the driver finds it delightful to use the app.
- The driver needs to have the liberty to accept or reject ride-requests based on their convenience.
- The driver needs to be able to get their payment processed as quick as possible. This is one of the biggest factors that determine the intensity of your brand’s appeal for the driver.
- The driver should be given assistance when it comes to navigation, such as showing an optimized route. The driver should also be able to have the convenience of booking their last ride of the day towards their home.
– The Admin
The administrator functions as the overseeing authority of all the activities that happen on the app.
- The admin exercises complete control over the roots and the commercials of the app. They can modify the rates per kilometre, quickly access the revenue reports and a lot more.
- The administrator can delete or suspend users or drivers based on their behaviour.
The Way It Functions
The combination of the mapping and GPS Technologies makes Uber and other on-demand cab services extremely efficient.
- The passenger books the ride from a particular place. The place can be tracked through GPS/Mapping. Alternatively, the passenger can also use a set of predetermined replacements based on their frequent travel.
- The ride requested by the passenger is sent to the drivers in the vicinity. One of the drivers accepts the ride request and proceeds to move towards the location of the passenger. The journey is assisted by mapping and GPS.
- The passenger boards the cab. The driver will start the trip.
- The driver drops the passenger at the specified location and ends the trip. The passenger can choose to pay either by cash or by digital currency. Both the driver and the passenger can review each other on the app.
The Values That Uber Adds
On the surface, it might seem like Uber and other taxi services give nothing more than transportation. However, there are a lot of advantages, some obvious and some obscure, that these app-based transportation services bring.
Any-Time & Any-Place Availing
These on-demand cab services have shaken one of the greatest stumbling blocks for drivers in offering and passengers in accessing cab services. Before these apps, it meant that you could not get a cab if you could not see one. Getting the cab booked through the telephone was a long and arduous process. Finding a cab in the odd hours of the day was quite difficult.
However, after these taxi booking apps came in, people could book a cab at the time and location they wanted.
The Professionalism of Drivers
Uber refers to its drivers as driver-partners. Uber has a network of more than 5 million drivers across the globe. If they have to keep up the quality of their service in every way, it is the responsibility of the company to ensure that the drivers conform to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics.
Earlier, if you have to pick up a random character, there was no guarantee that you are riding with a professional driver. However, with these apps in place, you can be sure that the identity and the records of the driver have been verified. There is mutual accountability because of the review and rating system.
The Wide Spectrum of Options
Based on the quality of the cars and the experience of the drivers, there are different services that apps like Uber provide. They can range from utility to top-notch luxury. With so many options, users can choose to ride in different types of cabs. You could probably consider going on an Uber Prime if you are out shopping. You could also choose to ride on an Uber Luxury if you are going for an important meeting in a big hotel.
The Time-Saving Aspects
One of the biggest challenges in booking a cab over the telephone was in guiding the driver. There were uncertainties involved in taking a random cab on the road – there was no way to find out the credibility of the driver. It was also not sure if the person would be ready to take you to your desired location.
On-demand cab services through applications have brought in a lot of efficiency in the entire process. This would mean that there is a lot of time saved – time as time and the time as money too!
The Business-Opportunity
It is quite evident that on-demand cab services are here to stay. If the industry is projected to grow at 16% CAGR from 2019 to 2024, it is bound to be profitable as well.
We have seen that Uber exists in about 600 cities. That is still a lot of opportunity for new cab booking services to not only exist but even flourish in the market. This is one of the reasons that a lot of entrepreneurs are capitalizing on the availability of Uber clones in the market.
The Relevance of Clones
There are a lot of ride-hailing services like Lyft, Gett, Grab, Ola and Didi. all of these, however, work on the same skeleton. If you want to create your own cab booking business, it does not make sense for you to invest a lot of time and money in creating the entire app from scratch. It is for this purpose that Uber clone scripts are considered to be extremely relevant.
Uber clone can be made to represent your business with the customization options.
The Conclusion
There are a number of app development companies which specializes in creating Uber clone scripts for your business. Hire a team which brings with it such a solution, expertise in developing the app, and embellishing it with an intuitive and easily navigable UI. With the customization options, top notch design and sound technology, you are all set to hit the market at the earliest. All you need to do is identify such white-label solution and gather your own requirements to make it unique among other taxi apps. It’s just a matter of time before you get your own, customized, Uber-like app.