Do Taxi Businesses Need to Invest in Taxi App Development?

Raju Ram Khakhal
Jul 09, 2021

Each day, the digital world is facilitating inventive and more expedient solutions for people. In today’s world, mobile apps influence the users to use more accessible solutions for every small and big task.

Since their inception a few years ago, on-demand taxi apps have registered rapid growth due to the handiness provided by them. The popularity of on-demand taxi app has continuously been on the rise, and people have abandoned conventional booking practices and embraced the one-click, spontaneous cab-booking service that a progressive taxi booking and dispatch system offers. This transition has created worthwhile prospects for taxi operators and business owners.

The first review came from a tech startup that is developing a better way to connect digital assets. We provided design ideation and product review for their team. We built their platform’s front- and backend, and we conducted extensive testing throughout the process. Since the client’s product development is ongoing, we make tweaks and improvements on the platform along the way.

Gone are the days when one had to call or contact taxi booking agencies to book a cab. Previously, the callers would need to provide details about their whereabouts like name, address and destination, which the operator would then fill in the system, locate the nearest available cab to that location and assign the driver to that customer.

With the advent of on-demand taxi apps, the need for the intermediary operator is eliminated. The user are required to just their location in the app, find the nearby available cabs in the area, and talk to the drivers in real-time. On the other hand, the driver also gets the notification about the customer that wants a ride. Due to this smooth synchronization between the driver and the customer, the taxi booking has become easier, swifter and convenient.

Embracing new technologies has always been mandatory for the growth of any business. In the present era of smartphones, the lack of a mobile booking channel would cost a taxi business miss a huge opportunity. No matter if you own a small fleet of 20-25 cars, a mobile app can catapult your business beyond the traditional by helping the customers to connect with your fleet in real-time.

Today, we will explore the ins and outs of why every taxi business should invest in an on-demand taxi dispatch system.

On-Demand Taxi Booking Apps Vs. Traditional Taxi Booking Businesses:

Serious challenges have been created for the taxi and transportation industry by the rigorous competition from rideshare and taxi booking apps like Lyft, Ola, Uber. Kudos to their mobile booking apps, calling a cab is now just a tap away! Due to the superfluous and smooth cab booking experience provided by these booking apps, traditional taxi businesses are facing the severe brunt with their customers shifting towards these app-based cab booking services.

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Whilst several taxi and cab companies are still baffled with incompetent phone call bookings, competitors and aggregators have upgraded to real-time mobile booking channels. As per the statistics, taxis lose at least $20 million worth of business on a daily basis just because passengers are unable to find a cab.

As conventional business models substantially rely on human interactions, they incur higher administrative costs due to the increased staff requirements. Apart from this, businesses are embracing digital services offerings instead of phone call bookings as the on-demand apps can be scaled swiftly without having to make any initial expenditure on office setups. It also eliminates the need of employing additional administrative teams or developing infrastructure for the new locations, as they have to just station drivers in the new location and open the location for customers.

Pros of Investing in an On-Demand Taxi Booking App:

Increased visibility – Using a mobile application it is easier and convenient for customers to book cabs. It jettisons the flurry of contacting the booking company, holding in the call queue, and waiting for the cab to show up. Through on-demand taxi booking apps, users can book taxis and keep track of driver locations in real-time. As more and more users are booking using mobile apps, getting a taxi-booking app would connect your taxi business to a larger audience, thereby enabling you to expand visibility and appeal to more customers.

A taxi-booking app expands your reach worldwide as these are very widely used by tourists and travellers. This creates an opportunity for you to build their trust in your business by letting them booking taxis through your taxi booking app in a new and unknown place.

Reduce Costs by Leveraging Automation – In contrast to the dependability of conventional taxi booking businesses on phone calls and human operators for taxi bookings, the on-demand taxi booking app automates the entire process and purges this dependence. Utilizing human forces results in higher administrative and operational costs, therefore it is always profitable to make an app available for the customers allowing them to book cabs in real-time and connect with the closest driver through a driver dispatch system. This provides a superior booking experience for the customers by decreasing ETAs along with enhancing drivers’ performance.

By providing a taxi booking app to your customers and connecting them to the drivers in real-time can help your taxi business to smartly grow in autopilot mode.

Get Real-Time Updates and Ensure Transparency in Communication – There is a high likelihood of miscommunication when a taxi business puts human mediators between customers and drivers. More often than not operators fail to pass on important preferences of customers to the drivers or forget to verify the availability of the drivers prior to confirming the booking with the customers, which results in an unpleasant user experience and dents the brand image. The on-demand taxi booking app provides a platform for customers to clearly interact with the drivers and allows them to get real-time updates regarding the drivers’ availability as well as it also allows the drivers to have substantial control of whether or not to accept the booking in real-time, thus ensuring transparent communication between both partakers.

Effectual Brand Positioning and Superior Selling Points – Mobile apps can go a long way in positioning your brand in the mind of the customers. This brand positioning will allow the taxi business to set itself apart from its competitors, which will in turn help with increasing brand awareness, communicating value and justifying pricing. Exploiting the perks of having a mobile app dedicated to your business will enable you to build long-term brand awareness.

An experienced and professional app development company can help you design a user experience and interface which focuses on brand positioning and value propositions of your taxi business.

Users find it easier to communicate with the company through mobile apps, as such a mobile app can help your customers in building trust with your business.

Utilizing the mobile app, a taxi business can award promotional offers/discounts/reward points to their customers. One way to do this is by utilizing customized Push notifications. This would result in yielding maximum benefits from the marketing efforts.

In today’s world where customers' digital needs are constantly changing, it is imperative for all tax businesses to have an open-source taxi dispatch system. This will facilitate them to widen their reach to more customers, improve their taxi service delivery, thereby increasing profits, and helping them to grow their taxi business. In the current vying on-demand transportation market, not having a taxi app for the business would inhibit the chances of striving successfully.

As you would agree that the taxi business is dicey but is full of potential. A taxi business would need to have an impeccable blend of technological advancements and a strategy to grapple with unpredictable market dynamics in order to become a big brand like Ola and Uber. A user-friendly comprehensive and complete cost of developing a taxi app . Taxi booking app can provide you with a domineering edge over conventional taxi service providers.

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