Ridesharing is a service that allows people to share a car and thereby save money, reduce pollution and meet new people. It’s also an effective way of reducing your carbon footprint by giving up your own vehicle.
Ridesharing apps enable you to get around without owning your own car or dealing with the hassle of driving, parking, and paying for gas every day. By using ridesharing apps like Lyft, you can make extra money as well!
What is the current market of ridesharing apps?
Ridesharing apps are becoming more popular as the market continues to grow. However, a few apps have taken a majority of this growth market, leaving others in the dust. This is because of their ability to provide high-quality services at an affordable price for both drivers and riders alike in the market. Some examples include DiDi rideshare app, Uber rideshare app, and Lyft rideshare app. Between 2021 and 2026, the worldwide ride-sharing app industry market is predicted to rise by more than 115 percent.
Uber ridesharing app is one of the most well-known rideshare apps on the market today. It was founded in 2009 by Garrett Camp, and Travis Kalanick, who wanted to create a better way for people to get around town than taxis or public transportation could offer them. They decided that giving people access through a mobile rideshare app would be one way they could do it - and boy did it work out! Today Uber mobile rideshare app has over 77 million riders worldwide, with over 2 million drivers on their platform at any given time! That’s impressive!
How do you estimate costs for a rideshare app?
Now that you know what a mobile rideshare app is let’s talk about the development cost for this type of mobile rideshare app. The development cost of a mobile rideshare app depends on several factors, including:
The complexity of the mobile rideshare app: app development
The more complex your business logic and functionality are, the more time it will take to develop your app. For example, suppose you want to integrate payments into your ride-sharing mobile app. In that case, it will be pretty complex compared to an e-hailing or ride-sharing app, which only needs to display drivers’ and passengers’ information.
Number of features & screens in the mobile rideshare app
If your rideshare application requires many screens with different interactive features, it would cost more than developing an e-hailing or ride-sharing application without any screen interaction at all (e.g., Uber rideshare app).
The number of app developers needed
One app developer can finish building a simple feature like booking a cab through GPS coordinates in 30 hours, whereas making a full-fledged online taxi application system could take around 150 hours depending upon how complex the entire system is.
The design of the mobile ridesharing app
The design of the mobile ridesharing app is a vital part of the process, and it should be based on user feedback. The app developers should consider:
- What features do users/target audience want most?
- How do we make this mobile rideshare app as efficient as possible for drivers and the target audience?
- How can we make sure the rideshare app is secure for all users?
- What features should be present in a ridesharing app?
User registration
A user should be able to register with your rideshare application. This can include user information such as name, email address, phone number, and password.
Driver Registration
Drivers’ registration requirements are different from passengers. They should be instructed to complete an online tax number verification and get ridesharing business permission before becoming drivers. They should also submit personal information, such as contact, names, photographs, and any other relevant data that the ridesharing business may want.
Drivers must plan their availability hours and then switch to online mode when they begin driving.
Adding features like My rides (earnings), working hours graph, tips, revenue, etc., will enhance the user experience.
User login
Once a user has registered an account on the app, they should be able to log in from their home screen by entering their username and password. Suppose you’re using a Facebook login feature (which is recommended). In that case, you will need to provide users with a single sign-on feature that allows them to access all of their applications without having to re-enter their credentials each time they open an account on another platform or app
User profile
A profile page should provide basic information about every rider on the app. So there is no confusion when booking rides with others who may have similar profiles as yours but different names or pictures on social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, etc.
You can also add additional details like height/weight if applicable for certain types of vehicles. It’ll be suitable for bicycles or scooters where these details might occur during rush hour traffic jams. Because the space between cars becomes limited, making it difficult for passengers who weigh more than ordinary people. However, this could also cause problems if someone were driving up behind them very fast because then it would become too dangerous for them not to hit someone else safely! :)
Location services
This means knowing where everyone lives. This will help us understand how far away from each other we all live. So we don’t waste time driving all day long looking everywhere else except where we really need it most right now instead!”
Preferences
You may add a preference search filter for drivers as well as passengers to the ridesharing app. With this filter, they’ll be able to avoid certain kinds of vehicles and drivers, passengers, or locations in the app.
Chat
The chat option is essential in the ridesharing app. With this feature, drivers and passengers can better communicate and understand the requirements. They can discuss their travel plans and manage things accordingly in the app.
Ratings
Reviews and ratings are vital for a successful business in any rideshare app. They ensure a better and more transparent experience. Every individual will try to be helping and get positive reviews. This will automatically help your ridesharing app gain a reputation in your target audience.
Therefore, transparency is significant for your ridesharing app.
Backend development for a rideshare app
Backend development for a rideshare app is the process of creating, configuring, and maintaining an API so that it can communicate with other applications. A good API will enable third-party developers to integrate with your rideshare app, leveraging its functionality and data to create new features.
A few things you should know about backends:
API development
Every successful rideshare app needs a robust backend, including APIs that allow developers from all over the world to integrate their own apps with yours. These APIs might include fare calculation functions or other specialized features—for example, user authentication or location tracking capabilities.
They should also support high volume requests at all day hours, even if your servers are under heavy load from users requesting rides during peak hours (i.e., during rush hour traffic).
Database development
Your database is where all user data lives in your mobile rideshare app. This includes information about passengers who have requested rides through your service and drivers who are currently on shift and ready for pick-ups.
Security
Hackers often target databases because they contain sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or social security numbers which could be used fraudulently. Hackers can leak them looking for a way into someone’s bank account.
Data storage
If you’re using cloud storage services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) or Microsoft Azure, then make sure they’re secure enough before uploading important content such as user passwords. They might otherwise get compromised by hackers trying to break into accounts through methods like guessing passwords based on birthdays etc.
What are the best tech solutions for building an efficient ridesharing app?
Now that you know what to look for in a ridesharing app let’s look at some of the best tech solutions for building an efficient one.
Cloud Platforms
You’ll need to choose between two types of cloud platforms: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), which gives you access to virtual servers and storage space, or platform as a Service (PaaS), which allows you to build applications top of existing infrastructure. Both solutions offer plenty of benefits for providing scalable hosting for your app. But PaaS tends to be more cost-effective than IaaS because it requires less time and money upfront.
Database Solutions
There are many different database solutions out there—from traditional relational databases such as PostgreSQL and MySQL all the way over to newer NoSQL databases like MongoDB—and each option has its own set of pros and cons depending on how much data needs storing and how often the target audience interact with it during each session (or “request”).
How much does it cost to develop a rideshare app?
You can determine the development cost of your own ridesharing app by asking yourself a few questions.
- What kind of rideshare app do you want to create?
- What features will the app have?
- How complex app is the rideshare app going to be?
- How much design work needs to go into the app?
Let’s break it down
On average, a software developer demands $50/hour in Eastern European regions. The costs are high in the USA and UK. So, if you’re adding more functionalities, you’re adding more work for the developer. Therefore, the cost of your mobile rideshare app will go up.
Suppose a developer needs 9 hours to add the login option for a mobile app; it’ll cost $450. But if you want to connect a Facebook sign-in, it’ll add another 8 hours of work. So, the app cost will double.
Similarly, adding features in the app for both Android and IOS means that you’ve to hire different developers and add more working hours.
| Features | IOS, h | Android, h | Backend, h |
| Registration | 25 | 25 | 14 |
| Login | 35 | 35 | 23 |
| Splash Screen | 3 | 3 | - |
| Cost | $3,150 | $3,150 | $1,850 |
| Total | $8,150 |
So, $8,150 is the estimated cost of the simple login option for IOS and Android, along with the backend.
This shows how you can estimate the cost of a ridesharing mobile app and its development. It also indicates that adding more functionalities and releasing on more platforms means more working hours and costs. However, the app developers’ costs aren’t the only thing involved in the project. You’ll need much more than that. The cost of a ridesharing mobile app can reach up to $150,000.
Benefits and Disadvantages Of Building A Ridesharing App From Scratch
Pros
- App developers can add or remove any features from the app.
- It takes time to establish your company and make people trust it. But once you market and launch, it’s easy to add more functionalities and convenience.
- You’ve to protect the sensitive data of drivers and the target audience of the app. Custom development allows you to protect personal information through encryption within the app.
- App developers can add customized and personalized experiences to your mobile app users.
Cons
- A mobile app from scratch costs much more than the development of an existing model. However, it allows more flexibility. Moreover, ready-made systems are only good for the short term. For the long-term, you need app development from scratch.
- It takes more time to build an efficient mobile app from scratch. The minimum time required is 3 to 6 months. You’ll put a lot of time into developing the mobile app without any satisfactory results.
- The minimum viable product (MVP) of the app can be prepared in approximately three months.
Final Thoughts
Governments worldwide are enforcing stricter automobile pollution restrictions, which is boosting the use of shared transport options for daily commutes. The ride-sharing app market is growing.
According to Statista, between 2021 and 2026, the worldwide ride-sharing market is predicted to rise by more than 115 percent. In 2026, the market value is estimated to be over 185 billion dollars. The sector’s significant participants are DiDi, Uber, and Lyft.
However, it doesn’t mean that no new ridesharing apps can enter the market. Once the Uber app was the most prominent player in the ridesharing business market, but still many new companies came and established themselves in the market.
The key is to provide what your target audience and the drivers need in the market. You need a unique selling point to attract the target audience to your mobile app and convert them to loyal customers. Every ridesharing app has blanks, and you need to fill them.
