A Taxi Booking MVP to discover customers’ and drivers’ unmet needs.
Assisted Ethiopian startup in launching a market-fit product in 2 months.
- Industry: Taxi Booking
- Country: Ethiopia
Assisted Ethiopian startup in launching a market-fit product in 2 months.
Web/App Development,
UI/UX Design, QA
Web & Mobile
Laravel, React Native, MySQL
Our client, based in Ethiopia, wished to launch a working MVP of a taxi booking app quickly. Earlier associated with one of the largest ride-hailing apps, he has first-hand experience with the problems of passengers and drivers in his native land. With the MVP, the client wants to test his hypothesis with real people and develop a more usable and unique taxi booking app.
The growing market for ride-hailing services in Ethiopia, with a projected ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) of €13.26 and a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 27.37% over the next five years, offers an exciting opportunity for our client's new taxi booking app. The app could fill a gap in the market for affordable transportation, and tap into the potential for significant profit.
The future predictions are promising. However, competition in the ride-hailing industry in Ethiopia is fierce. So, it becomes necessary to discover and implement the unmet needs of riders and drivers. This was the primary motivation behind MVP - one of the best ways to test new features in real-time.
Quick Launch
Scalability
Data Privacy
Smooth Interactions
In the past, many existing taxi booking apps in Ethiopia have been alleged with data breaches. Hence, it was super important to ensure the privacy of both the drivers and riders - both from an ethical standpoint and also to earn a good reputation in the market.
Drivers upload all the necessary documents. The back office team verifies the authenticity of drivers. Only after a careful evaluation, drivers are allowed to go online and take rides.
Drivers receive notifications for new rides, they can check the pick-up and drop location, and accept or reject the rides.
With this option, they may call riders without their personal numbers being exposed or even chat to ask for any instructions, reconfirm the location, notify them if they’ll be late, etc.
They will rate their experience with the passengers. If any passenger receives low ratings continuously, then the back office team can take appropriate action for that passenger - give a warning, deactivate, or block their account.
An organized place for drivers to check their weekly, monthly, or yearly earnings. The simple charts help them quickly get high-level information and discover earning patterns over a period of time. Based on this, they could determine the profitable location and time, schedule their time on the road accordingly, and ultimately earn more.
After reaching a certain threshold of earnings - set by the back office - drivers can anytime cash out the fruits of their labor. The earnings are already tax deducted and get transferred directly to their banks.
The important dates, like expiration dates are automatically extracted from the documents submitted by the drivers. Based on that, they receive timely reminders so as to keep their documents updated and continue earning from the platform.
With Google Maps integrated, customers can submit their destination. Moreover, they can add up to 2 stops in their trip. The app picks the current location by itself if the customer has given the location permission. At any time, they can submit the current location manually.
Once the destination is set, riders have the option to go for a car or tuk-tuk ( a three-wheeled car). With the car, more options – basic, luxury, or SUV - appear. The fare is adjusted according to the vehicle type, distance, and the time it would take to complete the trip, and is shown next to each option.
The customers choose their preferred payment method and pay for the trip only when it is done. Currently, the app supports credit cards, debit cards, wallet, and cash as the payment method. The card information is stored for quick pay. Netmaxims has ensured that sensitive information is safe and payment processing is secure.
The fare may surge in between the trips in cases where it would take a disproportionate time to reach the destination – possibly because of traffic. It would ensure fair compensation to the driver for extra fuel and time.
During the interval – from booking up to some driver accepting the request and reaching the pick-up location – the customer waiting time is made interesting by giving them updates on important activities, showing the driver’s car live location along with the animation of their car moving and turning, and the time left to reach the customer. They could cancel the ride with a driver if it takes them too long to reach. Once canceled, the app searches for new drivers nearby.
Admin team gets a real-time, bird's-eye view of all the ongoing trips, allowing the back office to monitor the performance of the system and make adjustments as needed. It gives the administrator a 'live' picture of the drivers and their current locations, making it easier for them to respond to potential issues quickly.
The backend team verifies drivers' documents, such as driver's license, vehicle registration, and insurance information. They have full control over activating, deactivating, or blocking drivers' accounts if necessary. This would ensure that only qualified drivers are using the app, and would provide a level of safety and security for both the drivers and the customers.
The transaction details feature provides complete information on each trip, from the moment it's booked to the moment it's completed. This includes details on the amount paid by the passenger, the commission earned by the platform, and any deductions made for tax or other fees.
The platform's automatic refunds include cases where a trip is cancelled or a passenger is unhappy with their experience. The administrator can set policies for when a refund is automatic and when it requires manual review. The platform also allows for the option of charging a cancellation fee, and this is configurable for both drivers and passengers.
The platform offers timely and accurate payments to drivers, taking into account vehicle type, commission, and tax deductions. Payments can be made automatically or manually, based on the drivers' preference and earnings threshold. Drivers also have the option to request early payments if needed.
Prices are set on the basis of time, distance, and the type of vehicle. They can also set a buffer time and distance - during which no extra charge is applied to the customer. Once the buffer limit is exceeded, a unit price is applied for time and distance traveled. This system ensures that both drivers and customers are charged fairly, based on actual usage.
The app is successfully running in two major cities in Ethiopia and everything is set to expand it in other cities. The client is satisfied with both the initial positive response from the public and the app's performance. We're now in talks to improve the UX based on user feedback and comments, and we're also working on implementing features to improve safety for both drivers and customers.
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