How To Launch A Car Rental & Sharing App Like Zipcar?

Hi! In these contemporary times, we lean towards on-demand taxis more than public transports. The ratio of people opting for public transport and private taxis are high, where the number of people using public transports surpass. The reason is obviously the affordability but the convenience is out of the question.

What if there is a way where users can take the advantage of both affordability and convenience? Yes, there is a damn way. Here is where the car-sharing concept comes live. The concept of car-sharing or ride-sharing has become popular as users can avail of taxi services at an affordable price and also guarantees convenience.

Ins and outs of car sharing

In the car-sharing concept, both the business owner and users can takeaway many advantages. Starting off, users who wish to travel with other passengers can opt for car sharing. Here, users will get a bill splitting so that each passenger will have to pay only a nominal amount. From the business owners’ perspective, they will have reduced fuel usage as they don’t have to allot separate cars from each user.

Zipcar is a successful pioneer in the car-sharing business. The idea was proposed by Robin Chase, founder of Zipcar. Though Zipcar’s business model is simple, they have a huge customer base. Yes, within two to three months of deployment, the company gained around 600 customers. In later years, Zipcar’s business success and customer base triggered other business professionals to indulge in a car-sharing business by launching a similar app. 

Well, that is it with the concept of car sharing. Let us drill down further to learn more about the car-sharing apps and the suggestion on the best car-sharing app for your business.

Insights to consider to develop an app like Zipcar

If there is a successful business in the marketplace, no doubt many businesses will try to introduce a similar business model with a punch of their unique strategies. Uber launched car-sharing services. Initially, the company confronted many push backs but then gradually raised its car-sharing services and earned users’ trust. “Launch a car-sharing app”- is the motto of businesses who are keen to open up their taxi services business. Some of the insights you need to know before getting into the car-sharing business.

• The ultimate aim of your car-sharing business is to gain as many users as possible. To attain the user base you must include convenient features right from the car types to the payment types. Include a range of cars from mini to maxis so that users can choose their convenient car type.
• Owning your fleet will be an added brownie point to your business as you don’t have to depend on third-party drivers. Managing the fleet can be complex but with Uber for car sharing clone app fleet management can be accomplished.
• Of all, keeping an eye on the market trend and competitors’ services will help you tweak your services accordingly.

In this blog, you will have a thorough understanding of the Uber-like car-sharing clone app, its features, workflow, and revenue model.

The feature set and the user interface are the heart and soul of any application. As there is a saying, first impressions are always the best ones, having an eye-catchy and easy-to-use interface will captivate users at the first glance. 

Having a horde of features is not important instead having a set of smart features that allows users to book their services conveniently is highly recommended. 

Features Of The Car Sharing App

Choose the car type- Users should be able to choose the type of car they want to travel to. Including a wide range of cars based on the seating capacity is recommended.

Schedule service- Users can schedule their car-sharing services to any date by mentioning the same in the app.

Estimated time of arrival- Intimating users about the time of arrival of the car will give greater transparency to users.

Tracking- Another transparent policy of the app is that users can know the accurate location of their vehicle. Users can start tracking the vehicle as soon as they book the service.

Estimated fare- The app provides an estimate of the fare once users book their services. 

Payment options- Let users choose the payment mode of the multiple payment options. Popular payment gateways include PayPal, Stripe, Braintree, etc., Also add cash on delivery options as some users will prefer cash on delivery over digital payment gateways.

E-wallet- The e-wallet comes as a savior to users. Users can make payments from the app’s wallet so that they can eliminate the need for choosing the payment mode each time and making the payment.

Book for others– The app has a separate column where users can book services for others by mentioning pickup and drop off locations.

Route optimizer- The app employs a route optimization algorithm that will collect the source and destination details and suggest the most optimized route to the driver.

Invoice– Driver can know their income details from the digital invoice generated in the app.

Child seat preference- Cars with child seats will be a savior for mothers who carry kids while traveling. You can charge additional charges for taxis with child seats.

Other features of the car-sharing apps include multilingual support, toggle buttons for drivers, where they can express their availability, and many other innovative features.

You may wish to know the steps involved in booking the car-sharing app. In the next section, you will get the entire set of processes involved in car-sharing services right from booking services to completing the ride.

1. Users will download your car-sharing app on their smartphones.
2. Next, users will choose the car type in which they want to travel.
3. Once users enter the source and destination, the app will assign the ride service to any of the available drivers.
4. Based on the driver’s location, the app will generate the estimated time of arrival.
5. Users can track the vehicle till it reaches its place.
6. Once users reach their destination, they can make the payment.

Conclusion

The car-sharing apps are becoming the next big gig in the on-demand taxi services industry. You can take insights from this blog and launch a car-sharing app with a Uber clone app that will be a fortune cookie for your business. Good luck!