We understand that accountability starts with us,” says Sachin Kansal, the senior director of product management at Uber. With the vaccine for the Coronavirus still in the making, there is a need for collective responsibility to ensure global safety. Nations across the world are gradually lifting lockdowns, owing to the economic downfall. On the other hand, people are adapting to the ‘new’ normal.
In this unforeseen situation, people prefer to take a private cab rather than availing public transport. This essential need has led entrepreneurs across the world to launch a taxi app with perfect safety strategies. The advent of technology has made it effortless for business owners to establish their brands among the target audience. In this blog, let’s discuss how one can introduce an on-demand taxi app that addresses the safety measures for COVID-19.
Post COVID-19 lockdown, the use of public transportation is about to reduce resulting in the increased usage of ride-hailing applications. The complete revenue of ride-hailing industry is about to increase and revenue estimate is calculated to reach the growth rate (CAGR 2021-2025) 25%, contributing to market volume of $370 billion worldwide.
The ‘Go online’ checklist
According to Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” By ensuring the safety of drivers and passengers in the first place, you eliminate the consequences of disease contractions in the future. This strategy has led to the inception of the ‘Go online’ checklist.
The idea is quite simple. On the drivers’ end, the listicle includes,
- Wearing safety masks and gloves
- Disinfecting the car with a sanitizer
- Answering a questionnaire regarding COVID-19 symptoms
- Taking a selfie by wearing the face mask.
Only drivers adhering to these conditions are allowed to take rides. Integrating a mask recognition software to verify drivers can significantly reduce the workload of the admin.
For the passengers, the list includes,
- Equipping with a safety gear
- Washing the hands with a sanitizers
- Reporting if the car is not maintaining safety standards
- Taking a Q&A session on the symptoms of the disease
Both drivers and users must be able to cancel the ride if they find the other not adhering to safety standards.
‘Limit’ the passenger count
“There is an increased risk of infections or negative outcomes in areas where physical distancing cannot be achieved,” states the WHO. To prevent further disease contraction, it is viable if people encourage social distancing. On-demand taxi apps can limit the passenger count to two, thereby ensuring that there are considerably lower chances of disease spread. Pool rides can be the most prone to infections. Hence, restricting the passengers’ count becomes a necessity.
‘Spend’ on Personal Protective Equipments (PPE)
“We are at a stage where a heightened sense of self-protection has been brought to the forefront,” states Carl Wilson, a trainer/consultant for Hi-line distributors. It is the responsibility of an online platform to provide its drivers with the necessary safety gear. Drivers are the most affected, with almost no movements or rides for two months. Some of the safety strategies worth considering are,
- Distributing masks and sanitizers for the drivers
- Providing additional measures like plastic partitions between the front and back seat
- Offering car-cleaning supplies to drivers, etc.
It is better to spend on these precautionary strategies than lose credibility with the passengers for the platform’s poor maintenance.
Know the ‘core’ features of the ride-hailing app
Choose a ready-made solution like Uber clone app with COVID-19 addons to provide a safety environment for your customers and drivers. Stepping into the development process, a taxi app must house potential features to lure the audience towards it. Some of the vital features include,
In-app navigation: What app comes without a navigation feature nowadays? The on-demand platform must provide accurate results to drivers and users regarding their locations. This feature is mandatory for a hassle-free ride.
Fare calculator: Gone are the days when passengers worry about the meter rates. Users get to know the total fare of the trip, even before they book a cab. This significantly increases users’ reliability and helps them make informed decisions.
Push notifications: This feature can come in handy for drivers as well as users. Drivers, in their transit, get to know user requests instantly with the aid of push notifications. Similarly, users are notified of offers and discounts at any time.
In-app chat/call: The platform must ensure that there must a streamlined communication flow between customers and passengers. This avoids passengers left stranded and drivers canceling rides due to the unavailability of customers.
God’s eye view: A monitoring system is very much essential to maintain order within the app. The admin can supervise the activities happening around the app with the help of this feature from a single place.
Integrate ‘exemplary’ features into the app
These features are the ‘selling points’ of your online platform. They include,
Music: Users can play their favorite music throughout the journey with this feature. This dramatically enhances user experience.
Schedule for later: For users dependent on a taxi for the daily commute, last-minute hassles are the worst nightmares. Hence, passengers can book their rides well-in-advance with the help of this feature, avoiding delays and surge-pricings.
Requesting the favorite driver: Users can favorite certain drivers while rating and reviewing their service. Users can request for their services if they are available to take services in the vicinity. This adds to user convenience, as well.
Waitlist: It becomes a tedious task to avail rides during peak hours. Users get annoyed by continually refreshing their app site. To avoid this inconvenience, users can add themselves to the waitlist. This way, the app notifies the users when a cab is assigned to them.
‘Diverse’ factors affect the development cost
The budget to develop a taxi app depends on several factors. This is the reason why app development companies cannot quote a fixed price for an app. Multiple factors include,
- The design of the app
- The features and functionalities to incorporate into the app
- The region of app development
- The team for building the app
The number of platforms considered for deployment etc.
Wrapping up,
Uber has revolutionized the market for on-demand apps. Since then, the on-demand taxi and transportation industry has been on the upsurge and is termed ‘evergreen’ by entrepreneurs. In the wake of the pandemic, the community’s safety has become paramount. This has provided budding entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to make a mark for themselves among the target audience. Launching a taxi app is simple nowadays, owing to the latest technological advancements.
