It is hard to create revolutions. They don’t happen overnight. If there is one factor that can propel a revolution to happen, it is inevitably the people’s convenience. The revolution of Uber meant just that to the taxi industry. Why not leverage technology and enhance comfort when you have the option to do so? An entrepreneur’s role is significant but complex in this case. It is easy to quote ideas, but transforming it into a successful reality happens once in a blue moon. 

Are you a budding entrepreneur who has the spark of offering a top-notch taxi app but does not know where to start? Let’s make things simple here. To avoid dropping your project halfway, or running out of funds in the middle, you need to take care of the project’s economic needs. In this blog, let’s look at the factors to consider before stepping foot into the on-demand taxi app market, and the cost involved to launch a taxi app like Uber. 

Keep an eye on these factors 

• Make the process simple: Complexity in any system can lead to various problems over time. Hence, while developing a taxi app, make sure you visualize the different aspects of development. This way, once you get to know the big picture, you can make the development process swift and seamless. 
• Develop an app for users: Somewhere down the lane, entrepreneurs forget that they are developing the app for millions of users and not for an elite group of intellectuals alone. Hence, integrate features and design the app in such a way that it resolves users’ problems without any hassle. 
• Prefer the latest standards: Just because Uber, Ola, and Lyft gained success doesn’t mean that you’ll have to follow them end-to-end. Make sure you develop the app according to the latest market trends with the recent technological advancements. This way, you can improve your sustainability as well as the chances of your app’s success. 

The development cost rises proportionally with the features 

Developing a taxi app involves building three separate entities, including the user app, the driver app, and the admin panel. These apps interact with their respective parties only through the feature-set. Let’s take a look at the features in correspondence with their time taken for development in both Android & iOS platforms here, 

Features of Passenger app: 

• User registration: After downloading the app, they register with the app either through email IDs or social media handles. It takes 40 hours each to develop this feature for the Android & iOS platforms. 
• Taxi search and booking: The primary purpose of a taxi app is to let users browse taxis in the vicinity and book them as per their convenience. This feature takes 75 hours for Android & 85 hours for iOS apps. 
• Real-time tracking: To let users track taxis in real-time and get the estimated time of arrival, integrating a geolocation feature becomes essential. Both Android & iOS developers take 50 hours each for this feature. 
• In-app payments: Users can pay for their rides through multiple payment options like credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and many more. It takes 45 hours for iOS and 50 hours for Android apps. 
• Ratings and reviews: Users can share their ride experience in the form of ratings and reviews. A dedicated timeframe of 45 hours is needed to integrate this feature in both Android & iOS platforms. 
• Push notifications: To regularly update users regarding the status of their bookings, offers, and many more, push notifications are necessary. 25 hours of development for both Android & iOS apps can do the trick. 

Features of Driver app: 

Similar to the passenger app, the driver app also has a list of features to be integrated. They include, 

• Registration: To let drivers register seamlessly with the taxi app, it takes 40 hours for the Android app and 45 hours for the iOS app. 
• Availability toggle: Drivers can switch between their availability, thereby offering flexible services. It takes 25 hours on average for both Android & iOS apps to integrate this feature. 
• Accept/Reject requests: Drivers can accept or turn down user requests based on their convenience. For this feature to be integrated into the taxi app, it takes 45 hours for both the app streams. 
• Ride history: Drivers can view their ride history and the earnings generated through this feature. It takes 30 hours for the Android app and 40 hours for the iOS app. 

Features of Admin panel: 

Let’s glance at the features of the admin panel in brief here, 

• God’s eye view
• Reroute taxis
• Dispute management
• Manage users and drivers 
• Set surge pricing 

To create a top-notch admin dashboard, it takes 100 hours on average for each of the platforms. 

App design: 

The UI/UX of the app plays a crucial role in enhancing the app experience. Hence, design a simple and intuitive user interface, thereby attracting numerous people towards the platform. For best-in-class app design, graphic designers require a minimum of 150-200 hours. 

Development rates vary with the region 

Developers spread across the globe demand different development rates based on the region. Let’s discuss the average costs here, 

• The US & Canada  – $80-$200 per hour
• Australia – $110 per hour
• India & China – $10 – $80 per hour 
• The UK – $100 per hour 

Summing up, 

Thus it is clear that it takes anywhere between 650-750 hours to develop the Android app and 750-800 hours for an iOS app, keeping aside other factors like market study, documentation, etc. If you are hesitant to pour in such a big revenue, you can opt for clone app solutions. An Uber Clone developed and rolled by app development companies can reduce your budget substantially and help you launch the app instantly.