The taxi has come a long way from being the iconic yellow color car playing the streets of New York. The taxi industry, in all its aura, had a few misgivings. If people could not see a taxi, they cannot book it! Yes! They could probably consider telephone booking but that is going to cost quite a lot of hassle in coordinating with the driver and letting them know of the exact location.
This method cannot work for any emergency requirement that you have and even for leisure requirements like shopping where you do not have a fixed time of exit.
To address all of these, the on-demand taxi booking solution was born. Spearheaded by Uber, this business model has proliferated in all directions, both vertically and horizontally. Creating a lot of businesses that offer the same service or any other service that can combine the magic of a personal online profile and GPS.
With people becoming impulsive in their wants, and the Boleneus taking over as decision-makers, it is, without question, conclusive that on-demand taxi booking will be the transportation method of the future! In spite of Uber making its mark in more than 600 cities across 70 different countries, there is still room for new players to enter the market and make a profitable business out of on-demand taxi booking solutions.
Why is it the right move to build a taxi booking app in 2021?
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that 2021 is one of the most paradoxical years in recent history. People have still not snapped out of the chaos that the COVID-19 pandemic had caused in 2020. Some countries like India experienced their second wave in 2021. A lot of businesses have shut shop.
In all of this, some businesses like on-demand food delivery, grocery delivery, and telemedicine have exponentially grown not only in their consumption but also in profit. Now might look like a bleak time for the taxi business as there is no active tourism or even daily commute.
On the other hand, come to think of it, this is a nice time for any aspiring entrepreneur to not only create the app but also test it with a limited audience without spending a lot of money. The cost to enter the market will be relatively low and the possibility of you reaching the right customers with the right messages. Before the market saturates again, you would have perfected the product and would also be able to reach your customers with a better depth.
In short, there is no better time for an entrepreneur to explore the market of on-demand transportation than in 2021!
What to do before you start your taxi booking business?
While it cannot be denied that this year looks promising, it is not the time to dive without measuring the depth either! Before you embark on the process of developing a taxi booking absolution, it is crucial that you follow certain steps.
– Research your market
Market research is of crucial importance before entering into any business. The taxi app market might not be saturated but it has a lot of big players. You will need to find out what are the pain points affecting your customers, and present your solution as a route of redemption for them. Instead of firing a shotgun at all your customers, you can approach with a sniper precision, targeting a very specific niche and aim at depth rather than acquiring wide spectrum of audience.
– Critique your business idea
After you launch your business, there are a lot of people who are going to criticize your business idea, giving suggestions to improve it. It is highly recommended that you do the dirty job yourself, critiquing your own business idea. Think of reasons why it might not work and act accordingly. You will also need to brainstorm on the possible challenges like the number of vehicles, the kind of drivers that you might need to hire, the cost with regards to insurance, and the marketing strategies.
What are the steps to build your taxi app booking business?
Now that you are clear with respect to the idea, the next step is to get started. There are a few steps that you need to go through to ensure that your taxi up a business experience is a smooth and solid start.
– Legal and operations
The taxi booking app that you create is a brand for your business. Before you start investing and start being out to your employees and your driver partners, you will need to be registered as a properly legal entity complying with the company laws in which you intend to incorporate your organization. It is to be noted that Uber circumvented the necessity to pay salaries to employees by listing the drivers as partners. Therefore, the drivers were eligible only to receive commissions and not any employee benefits. Your legal system is most likely advanced enough to strike a balance between both. It is highly recommended that you go through the legal implications of starting your business before you fall into some zone of legal turmoil.
It is suggested that you register your company as a private limited company so that your losses are limited to the company and does not affect you personally. The legal dimensions not only cover the existence of your company/app as a business but also at a specific service provider.
– Operators’ license
The same legal system would require you to have a valid license to operate your business. Even before you start dispatching your first ride, it is imperative for you to get the license to operate your business compliant with the laws of your jurisdiction.
– Business insurance
Any business needs to be insured against possible malicious happenings. Your taxi app business is not an exception. Having insurance and staying protected against vulnerabilities goes along way in ensuring that your business is legal, protected, and efficient in handling crisis.
– Advertising and promotions
All these efforts would fall flat if you do not invest your time, money, and effort in advertisements and promotions. Advertisements and promotions help in reaching your brand to a good number of people and it is only those people who will engage in some form of business with you. You can use traditional methods of advertising like email marketing and content marketing and the usual arsenal of digital marketing strategies including search advertising, social media, and influencer marketing.
The technology and the white label bliss
The awesomeness of the taxi booking segment has been established beyond question, and we also know that it is bound to be the transportation method of the future. If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, it is quite likely that you would want to create your own taxi booking business.
Instead of building your app from scratch, you can go for an Uber clone taxi app. An Uber clone app is easy to customize and you can make it to bear the visual and technical features of your choice. It also ensures that you do not spend a lot of time and money in building your app from scratch, and it also gives you the power to hit the market faster.
Conclusion
All that is left for you to do is to get in touch with the company that specializes in the development in the customization of white label Uber like taxi booking app source code. They will take care of to completely understand your requirement, garnish the app with the features and user interface of your choice, and present you with a perfect solution. With a taxi looking up bearing the same skeleton as multiple apps but with a unique user interface that speaks your language, you are all set to conquer the lucrative ride hailing market and reap your profits!
About the Author
William Mark is a Tech Consultant at well-established IT company in web and mobile application development services firm.