The rise of on-demand ride share services has made hailing a private sedan, SUV, or taxi a cinch. Not all ride sharing apps are created equal. Some have the advantage of volume, while others offer better prices and superior technology. The on-demand services that ride-share companies offer play a specific role in the new mobility landscape.
Uber and their success are known worldwide, and what started as a high-end luxury limousine service has quickly transformed into one of the world’s largest provider for driving and transportation to its end users.
Uber came at a perfect time, just as the newer generation was getting more mobile, they introduced the app as a way for drivers to come to them and these drivers would be available at the click of a button.
No more hailing down a taxi, negotiating price. Users know exactly what they are paying, and the GPS pinpoints their exact location, especially in unfamiliar areas.
Developing a ride share application can be daunting, especially since the market is so saturated with apps such as Uber, Lyft, Waze, Curb, to name a few, however research suggests that a number of advances, particularly smarter design, improved user experience, and the application of advanced analytics, can create more purpose-built solutions and more favorable economics.
Purposeful Solutions
Customers – If you are looking to start a new ride-sharing app know the customer wants and then you can roughly estimate the cost and time that is needed to implement it.
Registration – Making a safe and encrypted environment where the customer can store their credentials, and even connect it with their social media sites for easier access and ability to post.
Driver – The purpose of the rideshare app is to be connected with not only a driver but with other passengers that are looking to take a similar route to save extra money. Your potential clients should be able to choose their preferred route, type of transportation and the option to travel with passengers or not.
Real-time Notifications – Users want to be notified of live events occurring, including updates from the driver or from other passengers that might delay the arrival of the vehicle.
GPS and Location Determination – Other than the driver and other passengers checking in to let you know of any updates, there is also the important feature of GPS locations, so they know they are, where other passengers are and where the driver is.
Booking Rides Ahead of Time – The ability to book a pre-determined time at a pre-determined location is important for scheduling trips to airports, venues, dinner parties, and other endless possibilities.
Payment – A mobile app needs to have a very flexible payment structure. The ability to pay with credit card before the ride. If the users are sharing their ride beforehand can the payment be split amongst the party and distance?
Cancellation Policies and Methods – Whether last-minute or ahead of time, clearly state your cancellation policy and methods. Users will often need to cancel due to urgencies, changes and other unforeseen circumstances.
Financial Plan
Ideally everyone wants to see a beautiful “one-size-fits-all” budget plan. Sad enough, such thing will never be adequate to a real situation.
• Collect enough information for a financial forecast.
• Use the data from successful cases, references and insights from other companies.
• Your product team or/and a marketing agency you’ll hire will need to provide realistic benchmarks.
• Plan the essential marketing investments. Those will depend on how exactly you’re planning to launch the app: will it be a soft-launch campaign first, or an immediate, aggressive push-campaign?
The specifics of the market, the number of competitors on it, and many other variables are to be considered while making a financial plan. – Be prepared the return on marketing investments is influenced by many factors as well. Monetization model, the reasonableness of it, how much it’s planned to earn from one user, etc. — a realistic financial plan can only emerge from all this data put together.