Ride-sharing has become an indomitable part of taxi providing services. The considerable slash in trip fares and conservation of fuel proves economical to both, people’s wallets and for the planet’s environment. With mobile applications offering the service, the demand for ride-sharing apps is increasing. Being a lucrative niche that is welcoming of new entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity, here’s how you can develop a ride-sharing app like Gett, Juno, and Uber using an Uber clone app.

Ride-sharing is a method of commuting wherein customers can share their rides with other riders. The algorithm of the application only accepts requests from individuals who are traveling on the same route. The system rejects requests from people who have their destinations set far apart from the common shared route. Customers acclaim the commuting system since they reap several benefits by opting to reach their end destinations by ride-sharing. 

The concept of traveling along with other riders is increasingly becoming popular due to the following reasons,

• Cuts down fares – By choosing to commute by sharing rides, individuals can save on fare expenditure.

• Ecofriendly – The ride-sharing concept transports people to their locations via a single-vehicle. It results in lesser fuel consumption, emission and is overall, ecofriendly.

• Lesser trips – The transport method prevents multiple vehicles from doing multiple trips for separate individuals, instead, one vehicle serves the transport needs of multiple people.

Although ride-sharing is a fairly new concept that is digging its roots further and further into the market, there are a number of companies that are leading in the niche industry. They are Grab, Lyft, Uber, Juno, and Curb. Knowing how these companies work and the type of features they incorporate for their customers is of vital essence to build a market-relevant ride-sharing mobile application. An Uber clone app contains scripts that code for essential features that are required to launch a fully functional ride-sharing app. 

How a ride-sharing app works

When a ride-sharing service through an app is requested, it follows an orderly set of processes that seamlessly facilitate passengers to join and share a common commute route.

• Firstly, a customer requests for a ride. The request is broadcasted closeby to find a driver willing to accept the trip.
• The driver who receives the request can choose to either accept or decline the request.
• Once the customer is picked up and the trip commences along a certain route, other passengers who are traveling on the same route can request a pickup from the same driver.
• The number of passengers that can share a single taxi depends on the seating capacity of the vehicle.
• As passengers reach their destinations, they make their payments at their final drop off points.
• Finally, passengers who have finished the trip can review the driver and so can the driver provide reviews for passengers.

Preparing to build a ride-sharing application

Using Uber clone scripts cuts short a lot of development processes and provides various features that make up the application that in turn can be quickly launched. Nonetheless, it is important to have a clear idea of how your application is going to work and who it is going to cater to.

• Assess your competition

Research on the geographical location that you intend to establish your ride-sharing service in. Know about pre-existing companies that offer similar services and how they’re going about it. Understand flaws that result in failure and the workflows that result in profits. The ride-sharing industry has already widely seeped into the market, the more unique your app is, the higher the chances of it ranking high.

• Understand your target audience

Know who your average customer is. Ask questions like how your service would benefit them, the likelihood of people sharing a single vehicle, the culture of the region, what the average age group of your customer is and so on. Information about your typical customer lets you optimize your service to serve them better.

What your application needs to have

An integral part of every application that makes them favorable and frequently used is their features. Uber clones come with scripts that can be customized according to your ride-sharing needs, delete, edit and add new features.

Ride-sharing applications have three types of apps with unique panels that cater to customers, drivers and admins. Let’s look at them more in detail.

Customer panel

This panel contains features that allow customers to request rides and view its details.

• Sign in / Sign up
• Use of referral codes
• Real-time GPS tracking
• Car type preference
• Driver details
• Fare details
• Multi-language support
• Multi-currency support
• Customer support
• SOS button
• Broadcast/Host a ride
• Push notifications
• Review and rating

Driver panel

A driver’s panel will consist of features that permit the driver to accept rides and view his stats. The panel must contain

• GPS Navigation and tracking
• A dashboard that displays the amount of revenue and trips made
• Review and rating
• Multi-language support
• Multi-currency support
• Push notifications
• Option to accept and reject rides

Admin Panel

Administrators have a bird’s eye view on all of the processes that are going on within the application. Their panel contains features such as

• Content management dashboard
• View ride-sharing trips made
• Website management and settings
• Manage payments and refunds
• Manual driver assignment
• View conversations between drivers and customers

To support all of the functions and features, your ride-sharing app will need to implement stable codes. Technical development is the foundation of every software.

Development tools needed to build an application

There are several interfaces in an app that need to be created, debugged and tested. Hiring an experienced team of individuals to take care of this technical aspect of the software will go a long way in maintaining a functional app with minimal glitches. After deciding which platform you want your platform to be available on, android or iOS or both, there are five core technical features to focus on during development. They are,

• Mobile app design
• Backend development for ride-sharing app
• Native app development
• Web app development
• Mobile app testing

Conclusion

As more and more people have realized that they commute in the same direction, they have found carpooling a great way to reduce fare costs and save fuel emissions. The concept of ride-sharing is increasingly becoming popular by the day and its market is most lucrative right now. Rake in a good amount of profit by putting your entrepreneurial skills to use with an easy to use Uber clone script and launch a world-class ride-sharing mobile phone application.