Welp MagazineThe key to the success of a taxi business is promoting it in its local market. And in taxi business promotion, to stay competitive you must have a comprehensive taxi dispatch app. Creating a taxi dispatch app can drastically increase the customer base by making the process of taxi booking, tracking the car’s movement and paying for the ride just a few taps away. Besides, you can also promote it on local newspapers, radio and televisions. The more people know about it, the more they’ll recommend it to others around. You can also create a promo-video showing your new app, have it uploaded on the local taxi business TV channels or post it on the online platforms such as YouTube to advertise your new dispatch app.
Get set for smart taxi dispatch app!
Another important aspect of this business is selecting the right software for your business. There are so many options to choose from. Some of them are low-cost, some are not so well-built and some of them are feature-rich but terribly overpriced. At some point, you might have already tried a couple of them without much success. You might have even picked up a single software to meet the basic requirements and saved some money but quietly sighed in regret when you realized that you needed another software for the rest of your requirements. It’s easy to plan and start this business but choosing the right software to build your taxi business app is crucial. You’ll end up wasting a lot of time and effort if you don’t prepare properly.
What is a Taxi Business Software/Taxi Software/Taxi Dispatch Software?
A taxi business software is important for managing your taxi leasing business, setting the prices, keep it social by booking rides online, offering payment options and keeping your business information to yourself.
Why should I create a Taxi App in the first place?
For years, taxi business owners have been operating manually. But in the past few years, this has become a crucial part of running a taxi business.
- A taxi app is important for all taxi business owners because:
- It brings a whole new set of customers and drivers to your business.
- It reduces costs on the taxi dispatching process.
- It saves time on dispatching and booking rides.
- It helps business owners to stay in touch with riders anytime.
- It allows multiple payment options such as cash,credit cards etc.
- It has the GPS tracking option of your taxi.
- It can be accessed from both smart phones and tablets.
- Most importantly, it allows 24 x 7 booking.
A taxi app can be a life-saver, for both the drivers and passengers.
It has a tracking system and customers can see the car approaching them.
Customers can book rides from anywhere, anytime.
They can track the ride and reach their home safely.
You can check the car and passenger details at ease.
Customers can view their booking history.
How Taxi Booking Apps Help You Attract More Customers
Mobile app can help taxi leasing businesses in the following ways:
User Search
A taxi booking app can help you search for nearby taxis that are available for booking. The app also shows how much distance you have to walk to approach the taxi. This gives your customer the reassurance of quick and easy reservation without any delay.
Your app must have a live chat in case the customer requests more details regarding the taxi such as its features and price. The app should also have a live support like the live support of eBay.
A taxi booking app can also create a QR code as a link between your customers and your business. In this way, you can reach out to your customers even when they are away from your desk. In simple words, they will be able to access your services and offer them better assistance.
Another benefit of using an app to make your taxi business more efficient is that, it brings your customers into your office rather than you going to them. It is a simple solution that saves their time and your time as well.
Customers can search for your business,make a call and reserve it by making an online payment using the fast and secure payment gateway.
Online Payment
The online payment option is among the top reasons why customers prefer to book their ride online. Most taxi apps allow the customer to pay using their credit cards and you can also offer cash payment at your taxi depot.
The Paytm, ECo, PayU, Paylance, Mobikwik, PayUmoney, and Freecharge are few popular payment gateways that accept credit cards.
Some taxi app companies provide their own payment gateway so that you can charge your customers directly from your account.
Others may offer a merchant gateway, which means that you have to pay their commission for each booking.
Some applications also charge a mobile app development cost which varies from $1000 to $5000. These costs are in addition to the application cost.
You can use a taxi driver software developed by a taxi service company. These taxi app companies usually charge a yearly license fee to use their taxi software. Some taxi app companies may not charge different rates for different taxi software that they develop.
However, some taxi services may prefer to develop the app separately to meet their specific requirements. If you choose to develop your taxi software on your own, then you don’t have to pay any license fees. You can also track the number of rides and monitor your taxi business performance.
Once installed, a taxi app also acts as an online advertisement for your taxi business. It is a cheap way to advertise your business and can help attract more customers.
Give your customers the freedom to choose the service they want and have the opportunity to explore the best taxi rates and services in town.
Take Competition head on
Your app doesn’t let your customers waste time. It gives them the convenience to order a taxi at their own time and location. The app allows your customer to book a taxi within seconds. You can even implement geofencing into your app to make sure that you are providing the best services to them. It is a surefire way to take your business to the next level.
Eliminate Fraudulent Rides
Once a customer is online, they can give you a snapshot of their location through the GPS functionality in your app.
Connect with customers 24/7
Your app can provide you information about your customers at your fingertips. You can even ask your customers to leave a feedback about their experience with your taxi service.
Online Chat
Your app helps you communicate with your customers in real-time. A customised app can help your customer book a taxi and talk to you at the same time.
You can also get an idea about your customer’s profile in the form of bookings. For example, you can identify which are your most popular routes for your customers and use them when you’re not fully booked.
Your taxi app can also send push notifications to remind customers about their booking time. You can send these push notifications through Whatsapp, SMS, and the app itself.
Real-Time Tracking
As soon as the driver accepts the bookings, your mobile app will track the location of the taxi. This allows your customers and you to track the location of your taxi in real time.
Overview of Fleet
Through the taxi app, you can easily monitor the status of your fleet, as well as its location and status.
GPS Tracking of Your Fleet
Your taxi app can provide you with all the information you need about your fleet.
The app helps you to provide great customer service as you can prevent your customers from leaving the cab with unmet demands. At the same time, you can also prevent your taxi drivers from rushing through their work and stop pick-ups or drop-offs at unauthorized locations.
Apart from Uber, other customer-centric taxi services like Taxify and Lyft also provide the option to discuss the ride details before accepting it. If you’re looking for a similar feature, then you can check out the Uber app SDK to implement it in your taxi app.
Uber allows drivers to make ride offers to potential customers. Then the driver and the customer can discuss the details of the ride through in-app chat. Once the ride is accepted, the driver can give more details to the customer such as the vehicle type and the estimated time of arrival.
Eliminate Fraudulent Taxi Drivers and Passengers
The best way to eliminate fraud is to instigate online payments and link the payment gateway to the app. This way, customers can’t cancel any bookings and the driver can decline any rides without affecting your business.
Customers can be more vigilant than the taxi employees and can keep an eye on any fraudulent activities.
Increase Customer Satisfaction
You can provide better customer service to your customers by making use of the taxi app. All the necessary information is in front of you and you can use that information to cater to customer’s needs. In fact, you can also place a customer support feature into your taxi app which allows you to provide better services to your customers.
