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On-Demand Economy is a disruptive innovation created by tech companies that fulfill the needs of customers via immediate supply of goods and services. The economy is revolutionizing the way people demand in cities around the globe.

A number of people ask: Is this an air bubble? A short-term trend? Or a change that is going to fade soon? Confidently and indisputably — the answer is no. The on-demand economy has opened the doors to the fulfillment of goods and services in real-time which customers are embracing with a frequency that is remarkable.

This changing trend will introduce a paradigm shift in our lives which will be quite similar to what was seen after the invention of internet in late 1990s. Today, the on-demand model can be connected to practically every one of the industries.

Take Uber, for example, it began the disruption with an iOS app. At first, Uber could just book the rides for the customers. With time, the company expanded its services and made taxi booking affordable for everyone which was once a royalty.

Today, Uber is available in 78 countries and is completing over 1 million rides every day making its net valuation to more than $72 billion. After winning the taxi market almost all over the world, it is now planning to fly in the sky with UberCopter – an on-demand helicopter service!

So, if you are planning to make an on-demand app like Uber – Go Ahead – the world is waiting for a new disruption in the on-demand economy every day and is ready to embrace it.

But, first, do a bit research on how these kinda apps work and how much money do you need to create such an app.

How On-Demand Apps Like Uber or Careem Work?

Uber has changed the way world moves and that is not an exaggeration. This California-based company disrupted the market with an amazing idea. It made spending 10 minutes while looking for a taxi a thing of past while giving pretty much everybody a chance to earn money in their extra time by working as a cab driver. Here is the way it works:

How On-Demand Apps Like Uber or Careem Work?

1. Request a Car

Using the application itself, the users can schedule or book a ride. The request sent by the user will be received by the drivers nearby.

2. Matching

When the drivers see those requests, it is up to them whether they accept or reject it. If a driver declines the request, then it will be sent to different drivers.

3. Ride

The users can track the taxi which they booked through a mapping system in the application. The users can also know the estimated arrival time of the driver.

4. Pay and Review

The users can see the price they need to pay ahead of the time. There is more than one approach to pay the driver – in cash or online. This makes the procedure smoother for drivers as well as for users.

For making their services even better, Uber also has a system for rating the drivers as well as users.

To know more about How Uber Works, What Is its Business and Revenue Generation Model, you can head to our in-depth article here.

3 Must-Have Components of an Uber-like App and their Features

So as to make an application like Uber, or a similar on-demand application, it is essential to understand the major components of the entire system. Each on-demand app like Uber depends on the development of two different applications interconnected with the assistance of an admin panel.

Now, let’s see what components are crucial for each part of the service:

  • The customer app

  • The driver app

  • The admin app

Let’s see what features you will require in each of these apps:

1. Must-Have Features of an Uber-like Customer App

The Uber mobile app for users let them book a taxi ride and pay for it effectively, from the phone screen. To provide customers with a truly advantageous and functional service, the customer part of the taxi app must have the following features:

Must-Have Features of an Uber-like Customer App

Registration – The registration process in the app can be done via email, phone number and Facebook with a confirmation. The most used and preferred way of registering is via social media.

Taxi Booking – It refers to a feature that allows users to book a cab as per their preferences by entering the location, car type, and pickup location.

Fare Calculator – The user can check the cost for a ride ahead of the time if fare calculator is embedded in the app.

Driver Tracking – It is the feature for users to keep an eye on the driver’s location to see how far he has reached.

Payment – In an app like Uber, multiple payment methods can be incorporated – in-application payments via credit cards, services like PayPal, or simply in cash.

Push Notifications – It is one of the fundamental features of the app which keeps users informed even when they are not using the app. The features also keep users updated about driver’s arrival time, car details and other important information.

Messaging – Incorporating in-app messaging in an on-demand app provides users the ability to contact the driver from the application.

Driver Rating and Review – Using it, the users can provide feedback about drivers and their experiences in-app.

Travel History – It shows details of past and upcoming rides.

While there are endless features that you can include in your Uber-like app, the above-mentioned are the ones that are crucial. If you want to add some advanced features then you can think of adding features like Ride Cancellation, Split Payment, Interactive Map, Gamification and voice recognition.

2. Must-Have Features of an Uber-like Driver App

Uber mobile app for drivers allows them to accept the requests and get access to the information regarding the rides they need to complete. Some of the features of Uber’s driver app may be same as that of customer’s app like registration, messaging, notifications, reviews, and support.

Must-Have Features of an Uber-like Driver App

Here is a list of features for Driver’s application:

Driver Profile and Status – Verification and profile creation of a driver should be done from the admin side. The status will let the admin know about the availability of the driver.

Trip Alert – It provides drivers the ability to see a request by user for accepting or denying the same. It also let them know about the user’s whereabouts.

Pop-up messages – This feature is used for getting alerts from the admin side regarding taxi booking information, trip changes, and completion.

Route Optimization and Navigation – It suggests the best route to drivers using Google Maps.

Driver Delivery Reports – The feature provides information regarding trips and earnings on a daily or monthly basis.

Messaging – For calling or texting a user from the application.

Just like Customer app, there are some advanced features for driver’s app as well like Quest Earning, heat map, etc. But, we suggest that you add these features once your app like Uber becomes stable and get enough traction in the market.

The good way to develop an app like Uber suggests building an MVP first with all the essential and core features of the app and then adding the advanced features in it to streamline the customer’s experience.

3. Must-Have Features of an Uber-like Admin Panel

The admin side of the on-demand taxi booking application is generally a web application, which is utilized to save, manage, and analyze all the things that are happening in both the applications. It offers an overview of the procedure, shows the best route, manages payroll, and also collect user’s data for marketing purposes. The features of an admin platform for Uber-like app include:

Uber Admin Features

Between all the three applications, there are various shared features that help answer “how much it costs to make an app like Uber.” Now, that you know the essential modules of an Uber-like app and the features they should include, let’s talk about the technologies that you must integrate in your Uber-like app to get the enough traction and a good user experience.

Must-Have Technologies for Uber like App Development

The taxi booking app, which wants to repeat the success of Uber, or just wants to gain the same traction and revenue as Uber, must integrate some technologies in the app. Without these Uber technologies, the functioning of the application like Uber would not be imaginable:

1. Geolocation and maps

The ability to locate the passenger and driver in the app allows the service to be fast and accurate. Finding the right route, measuring the distance and duration of the ride –will be impossible for the users without Geolocation and maps.

2. Push notifications and SMS

These messages help the passengers come to the cabs timely, and the drivers get to know about the new requests instantly.

3. In-app payments

Without this feature, the online taxi service wouldn’t differ much from taxicabs on the road. The opportunity to make cashless payments right from the phone screen is one of the top advantages provided by on-demand taxi apps. The set of cashless payment methods available should be credit and debit cards, Google Wallet, Paypal, and Apple Pay.

Now that you know about the technologies that are crucial for developing an app like Uber, let’s put some spotlight on Tech Stack that Uber used for developing their robust mobile app.

Tech Stack Used by Uber – an On-Demand Ride Booking App

As Uber’s user base has developed with such a fast speed, they confronted global scaling problems en route. The tech-stack of Uber has hence changed since their first launch and will most likely continue to do, so as to meet the needs of the business.

Here is the tech stack used by the leader of taxi booking apps – Uber:

1. Programming Languages

As disclosed by Uber, when Uber first began the development of the app, the two programming languages used were Node.js and Python. However, today the developers at Uber are also using Go and Java along with Node.js and Python.

Java and Go were selected for high-performance reasons, particularly Java which takes benefits of the open source ecosystem and is utilized for integration whereas Go is mainly for efficiency.

2. Infrastructure and Storage

Uber’s business relies on a hybrid cloud model, utilizing a blend of cloud providers and numerous active data centers. In fact, this is the key to their success, as if one server falls flat, another takes its position. To manage this infrastructure, they utilize a blend of internal tools and Terraform.

They are currently using Schemaless (built in-house on top of MySQL), Riak, and Cassandra for the same.

3. Routing and Services

Uber is utilizing a Service-oriented Architecture and it depends on its numerous services to have the option to communicate productively with one another. To accomplish such they have utilized a combination of HAProxy which is a free and open source load balancer and HyperBahn which is also an open source solution build In-House at Uber.

4. Other Technologies

Uber’s tech stack is vast and is created very carefully to provide a seamless user experience. Along with the above-mentioned technologies, it also uses the following tech-stack to integrate several features in its mobile app:

Payment System: Uber’s payment system is equipped with various technologies and methods. It chose to partner with Braintree, one of the pioneers in the mobile payment industry, to accept card payments. It also utilizes PayPal’s Card.io service for card scanning on iOS.

Push Notifications and Text Messages: Uber text messages are controlled by Twilio. For push sending notifications in the iOS application, Uber has utilized Apple Push Notifications Service, and for the Android application, they have utilized Google Cloud Messaging (GCM).

Geolocation: The Uber application for iOS utilizes the CoreLocation framework to find a user’s device while for the Android version they use Google’s Location APIs. Both of them can effectively manage the operations of an app like Uber.

So, that was all about Uber. If you are planning to make an app like Uber, the tech stack of your Uber clone app should depend on all the emerging technologies and frameworks that would provide a wonderful & secure user experience for all the related partners.

Now that we know all the components of an on-demand taxi booking application, the must-have features for an Uber Clone App and the tech stack that supports the working of the application, the time has come to look at the most significant part – The Cost to Develop an App like Uber.

How Much Does it Cost to Develop an app like Uber or Careem?

When you make an application like Uber, you create three apps. While every application development company has their own pricing models for making these applications, there is an uncertainty in the cost of building up an ‘Uber-like’ mobile application.

Therefore, it is hard to give an exact figure but to have a rough idea about the estimate, have a look at the following points:

  • For the most basic variant of the application with just the MVP features and attractive UI/UX design, the cost can go up to $5,500 for development.

  • For a mix of basic and advanced features, the cost can increase to somewhere in between $15,000 to $20,000.

  • For the application to be created with all the advanced features that Uber as of now has, the cost can rise to as high as $80,000 to $85,000.

Also, if you want to get your Uber or Careem like app developed from us, we also offer free consultation about your business model and must have features in your Uber-like app. So, to kick-start your app development project, get a free consultation here.

In Conclusion

The On-Demand Economy Is Developing and not just for the rich and young but also for people who have disruptive ideas in their minds. A brilliant idea that solves customer’s needs and the right execution process to implement the same is all that you need to step into this large and getting larger on-demand economy.