The ride-sharing industry is rapidly expanding, transforming the way people move around. With global giants like Uride, Uber, and Lyft making transportation more accessible, entrepreneurs around the globe are eyeing this lucrative market.
The global ride-sharing market size is estimated to be around US$1.37 billion, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 3.20% expected from 2024 to 2029. It’s not just a trend but a revolution that caters to convenience, cost-effectiveness, and environmental concerns.
If you’ve been dreaming of launching your own ride-sharing app, you’re already stepping into a landscape that has abundant opportunities.
However, the main concern that most people have is how to begin. So, here is a detailed guide to provide you with the steps to building a ride-sharing app like Uride and gaining a competitive edge in the market.
What Is Uride and How It Captured the Canadian Market?
Uride is a Canadian ride-sharing service app that has established a prominent space in the industry by tapping into a niche market—Ridesharing.
The platform serves underserved regions and makes rides accessible for regions where public transportation is limited. Thus, Uride has gained an impressive customer base by providing affordable and reliable transportation services across Canada.
Uride’s success lies in its hyper-local strategy and community-centric approach. Unlike competitors who catered to vast demographics, Uride identified a gap in smaller markets and worked on it effectively. Thus, gaining customer trust and retention.
For aspiring entrepreneurs, the Uride story is an example of identifying a gap in the market and creating a service that really solves a problem.
The Ride-Sharing Business Model
The Uride platform connects passengers with drivers through its mobile app, making the entire process seamless and efficient. Here’s a breakdown of how Uride’s business model works:
A rider enters their pickup and drop-off locations in the app, selects the preferred ride option (e.g., economy, XL), and the app calculates the fare based on distance and time.
The system matches the rider with the nearest available driver, who receives a notification with the pickup and drop-off locations along with the fare.
In case, some other rider is looking for a ride in the same direction, the app allows them to share the ride with another rider as per the requirements.
Upon the ride acceptance, all the stakeholders are provided the essential information, and the riders can track their driver’s real-time location through the app.
After picking up the riders, including any shared one, the driver follows the optimal route to the destination, ensuring the passengers are dropped off at their respective locations.
The app deducts the admin’s commission from the fare and processes the payment in the admin and driver’s digital wallets efficiently.
Want to Build a Ridesharing App with the Same Business Model?
To ensure that your ride-sharing app is profitable, you need to establish diverse revenue streams. Here is a list of some of them:
Ride Commissions: Uride earns a commission for each trip fare paid by riders. This commission structure allows Uride to maintain a sustainable revenue model while keeping the platform attractive to drivers.
Surge Pricing: During peak hours or periods of high demand, Uride implements surge pricing to balance demand and supply.
Subscription Plans: Offer subscription packages to drivers for access to exclusive features or reduced commissions.
In-App Advertising: Partner with businesses to display targeted ads within your app.
Cancellation Fees: Charge riders for last-minute cancellations, ensuring both drivers and the platform are compensated for lost time.
Key Features of a Ride-Sharing App Like Uride
Building an app like Uride involves understanding the core features required for both the rider and driver experience, as well as the admin panel that ensures smooth operations. Below are the key features you should focus on:
Rider App Features:
User Registration & Profile: Easy sign-up procedure using OTP, email, phone number, or social media accounts. Riders can create and manage profiles easily through the app.
Ride-Sharing Option: Allow riders to share rides with others heading in the same direction, lowering costs while promoting eco-friendly commuting.
Real-time Tracking: GPS integration allows passengers to track the location of their driver in real-time. This feature helps users estimate the arrival time and feel more secure about their ride.
Fare Calculator: Estimated fare calculation based on distance, time, and surge pricing.
Push Notifications: Notifications for ride updates, promotions, and special offers.
Payment Integration: Secure payment gateways for credit/debit card transactions, digital wallets, and cash payments.
Ratings & Reviews: After completing a ride, riders should be able to rate the driver and provide feedback on the ride quality.
Driver App Features:
Driver Registration & Profile: Drivers should be able to sign up and go through an identity verification process, including uploading necessary documents (e.g., driver’s license, vehicle registration) and background checks.
Trip Management: Drivers should be able to accept or decline ride requests and view trip details (e.g., pickup location, destination).
Navigation: GPS and navigation tools are essential to help drivers find the best routes and avoid traffic. An integrated map will guide them to the passenger’s location and the destination.
Earnings Tracker: A feature for drivers to track daily/weekly earnings, tips, and incentives.
Ride History: Access to past ride details and ratings.
Driver Support: In-app support for drivers to resolve issues related to payments, ride disputes, or app functionality.
Admin Panel Features:
User Management: It helps the admin manage the user profile for security concerns.
Ride Management: It tracks ongoing rides and past rides in real-time and allows the admin to manage ride cancellations or disputes.
Payment Management: Track payment transactions of rides, including ride fares, commissions, and payouts.
Surge Pricing Control: Sets dynamic pricing rules by vehicle type, demand, location, and time.
Analytics & Reporting: Generates detailed reports and insights on ride statistics, earnings, and user behavior.
Driver & Rider Ratings: Monitors feedback and ratings to maintain service quality and user satisfaction.
Commission Management:
Planning to Launch a Feature-Rich Ridesharing App?
When it comes to developing an app like Uride, entrepreneurs typically have two main options: Custom Development or Readymade Software.
Let’s explore both approaches.
Custom Development: Custom development involves building a ride-sharing app from scratch, tailored to your business needs. This approach offers businesses complete control over features and design.
However, this can prove to be very costly and time-consuming. You’ll have to hire dedicated developers to build the app, which can be very resource-intensive. This whole process may take several months or even a year to complete, depending on the complexity of the features and the budget.
Readymade Software: Readymade software is a pre-built solution designed to help businesses build their own taxi apps quickly and cost-effectively. The solutions come pre-equipped with essential features, functionalities, and required APIs to build a fully-functional app.
Besides, these software are pre-tested and significantly reduce the risks of encountering any bugs or issues. Thus, helping you to capture the market shares as quickly as possible with three times less investment than custom development.
VivoCabs is one such popular readymade software that primarily focuses on ride-hailing operations and supports extensive customizations to support your dynamic business ideas. It is a highly versatile software with a suite of benefits for businesses’ ease of operations.
Wrap Up
Building a ride-sharing app like Uride requires careful planning, understanding the market needs, and choosing the right development approach. The ride-sharing market is more than just a business opportunity—it’s a chance to make a difference in people’s lives. By offering convenient, affordable, and reliable transportation, you’re addressing real challenges faced by your community.