How to Build a Ride-Hailing App Like Bolt?

The ride-hailing industry has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade, reshaping how people commute. What began as a niche service has now evolved into a global, multi-billion-dollar industry that provides reliable and cost-effective alternatives to traditional taxis. With the advent of smartphones, GPS technology, and widespread internet access, ride-hailing apps like Bolt, Uber, Lyft, and Careem have quickly scaled to serve millions of users. Ultimately, disrupting the transportation market while providing on-demand mobility at the tap of a button.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the steps to building a ride-hailing app that could deliver reliable services and boost profitability. Whether you’re an industry veteran or just starting out, you’ll discover insights that can help you turn your vision into a vibrant reality and equip you with the key aspects of building a ride-hailing app similar to Bolt.

What is Bolt?

Bolt is one of the fastest-growing ride-hailing apps in the world, offering services that span far beyond just transportation. Founded in 2013 by Markus Villig in Estonia, Bolt (formerly known as Taxify) began as a local solution to meet the transportation needs of smaller European cities. The platform quickly gained popularity due to its affordability and simplicity, rapidly expanding its operations beyond Estonia. Over the years, Bolt has grown into a global brand, now operating in more than 45 countries and 600 cities worldwide, serving millions of customers daily.

The company’s evolution is marked by its strategic adaptability and constant innovation. What started as a standard ride-hailing app has expanded to include additional services like offering e-scooter rentals for eco-friendly options. Ultimately, Bolt’s holistic approach to mobility, paired with its competitive pricing model, has positioned it as a key player in transforming urban transportation across the globe.

Bolt’s Primary Services

• Ride-hailing: Bolt’s core service connects riders with drivers for convenient, affordable, and quick trips within cities. It offers a wide variety of vehicle types, from budget-friendly rides to premium options, catering to varied user preferences.

• E-scooters and E-bikes: In response to the growing demand for sustainable transportation, Bolt has expanded into electric scooters and bike rentals, allowing users to navigate shorter distances in eco-friendly ways.

Business Model of a Ride-Hailing App like Bolt

A well-defined business model is crucial for the success of any ride-hailing app. Such an app connects riders with drivers via a digital platform, offering on-demand transportation services with efficiency and convenience. The core business model revolves around facilitating these connections and generating revenue through commissions, service fees, and additional value-added services. Typically, a ride-hailing app consists of three primary interfaces that work collaboratively to create a seamless experience for all stakeholders:

• Rider App: The rider application enables users to effortlessly schedule rides by entering their pick-up/drop-off points, selecting their desired vehicle type and preferred payment option.

• Driver App: The driver interface alerts drivers for upcoming ride requests and allows them to accept/decline requests based on their preferences. They can access detailed ride information, navigate to pick-up sites, and effectively monitor their earnings through the app.

• Admin Panel: The admin panel offers complete visibility into all activities involving riders and drivers, including ride monitoring, transaction oversight, and customer support. This ensures efficient operations and allows for quick resolution of any issues that may occur.

Key Features to Build an App Like Bolt

With the global ride-hailing industry projected to reach a market volume of $212.80 billion by 2029, there are substantial opportunities to enter this market. To succeed in this competitive landscape, a ride-hailing app must offer a robust set of features that cater to both riders and drivers while ensuring effective management through the admin panel. Below is a detailed breakdown of essential features required to build such an app:

Rider App Features:

Implement seamless login options, such as OTP verification, phone number logins, or integration with social media accounts. This simplifies the onboarding process and enhances user retention by allowing quick access to ride booking.

Facilitate easy ride bookings by guiding users through a straightforward process that includes essential information like pick-up and drop-off locations, preferred vehicle types, and payment methods.

Enable riders to propose fare offers directly to drivers, allowing for price negotiations. This feature empowers riders to select rides that align with their budget preferences, resulting in significant cost savings and heightened user satisfaction.

Offering precise GPS tracking ensures that riders can easily monitor their driver’s real-time location, the chosen route, and the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA), providing a sense of security and convenience.

Incorporate an intuitive in-app fare estimator that helps riders gauge the cost of their trip before booking. This promotes transparency and allows riders to make informed decisions.

Simplify the payment process by integrating multiple options, such as credit/debit cards, digital wallets, and cash. This ensures a quick, convenient, and hassle-free transaction experience for all riders.

Enhance rider safety with a dedicated in-app SOS feature that allows them to send immediate alerts to their emergency contacts. The alerts include vital ride details with real-time location tracking, providing an added layer of security and peace of mind during their journeys.

Driver App Features:

• Easy Registration & Verification

The onboarding process should be straightforward and seamless. The registration process must include minimal steps with clear guidelines for providing necessary documents. Also, verification of documents must be streamlined for both speed and accuracy to prevent delays in onboarding.

Implement a sign-in/out toggle that allows drivers to manage their work hours effortlessly. This provides them more flexibility in work hours, making it easier to manage schedules. Ultimately, enhancing driver retention by promoting a more flexible and driver-friendly work environment.

• Ride Requests and Management

Enable drivers to view and manage ride requests in real time. Drivers can accept or decline ride requests based on their availability, location, and preferences, improving efficiency and user experience.

• Advanced Navigation and Route Optimization

Integrate advanced navigation tools to help drivers efficiently navigate to pick-up and drop-off locations. Optimized routes can help drivers choose the quickest and most efficient path, reducing travel time and increasing customer satisfaction.

Allow drivers to request payouts anytime, giving them more control over their earnings. This increases driver satisfaction, especially for those who rely on daily cash flow, making your app more attractive to potential drivers.

Enable drivers to provide feedback for every ride by rating the rider and overall ride experience. This feature will help maintain quality service by promoting positive behavior and maintaining a high standard of service across the app.

Offer optional subscription packages to drivers at an additional cost that provide benefits such as reduced commission rates or exclusive services. These plans incentivize drivers to stay with the platform by offering cost savings through tiered membership options.

Admin Panel Features:

The admin panel should include a centralized dashboard for managing both driver and rider accounts. This includes approving new driver applications, verifying uploaded documents, and handling any necessary account maintenance.

• Vehicle Listings and Management

Allow the admin to configure various vehicle types. Enable them to set different pricing structures, commission rates, peak-time surcharges, and cancellation fees for each vehicle category to better serve diverse rider needs.

Implement geo-fencing capabilities to define operational areas for your service. This enables the admin to restrict or allow ride requests within certain geographical areas, improving service efficiency and coverage.

Empower the admin team to book rides manually, catering to customers who might be facing internet connectivity issues or may not have access to smartphones. This feature ensures inclusivity and accessibility to all user demographics.

The admin should be able to track and manage commissions earned from each completed ride. This feature helps streamline revenue generation and allows the admin to adjust commission structures as needed for various vehicle categories.

• Subscription Order Management

Allow the admin to manage driver subscription plans, including details such as pricing, renewals, expirations, and payments. This tool ensures smooth subscription management and can automatically notify drivers for upcoming plan renewals.

Provide detailed reports and analytics based on user data and operational insights. The admin can thus use this data to identify top-performing areas of the business and make data-driven decisions to improve service, efficiency, and profitability.

Steps to Build Your Own Ride-Hailing App Like Bolt

Building a successful ride-hailing app like Bolt requires careful planning and execution. Thus, here are the key steps to consider:

1. Conduct Thorough Market Research 

Begin with thorough market research to identify customer pain points and industry trends. Analyze existing ride-hailing solutions to understand user preferences and challenges.

Gather insights on competitors, focusing on their strengths and weaknesses. Review their pricing models, service quality, and technological innovations. Understanding these insights will help you strategically position your app, define your unique selling proposition (USP), and develop features that set your app apart.

2. Define Your Unique Selling Proposition

Differentiating your app is essential to stand out in the crowded ride-hailing industry. To attract both drivers and riders, your ride-hailing app must offer something unique that sets it apart from the competition. Consider offering:

• Lower commission rates for drivers, which could increase your supply of vehicles.

• Advanced safety features such as SOS buttons, or background-verified drivers.

• Specialized ride options that address niche markets or specific demographics. Some potential niches you might consider include standard ride-hailing, taxi booking, luxury ride-hailing, or eco-friendly options such as on-demand electric taxis, and more.

3. Select Your Niche

Selecting a niche is the foundation of your ride-hailing app, as it defines the market segment you intend to serve and differentiates your service from competitors. Here are the crucial elements to consider when selecting your niche:

• Conduct thorough market research to understand current trends, user needs, and existing competitors in the ride-hailing space.

• Define your target audience based on demographic factors such as age, income level, and lifestyle.

• Think creatively about how to enhance the user experience. This could involve developing unique features that set your app apart or personalized ride options based on user preferences.

Finally, decide on the types of services you will offer. Beyond standard rides, you could include options like taxi booking, bike booking, shuttle service, corporate rides, and more.

4. Define Monetization Strategy

A well-thought-out monetization strategy is crucial for the sustainability of your ride-hailing app. Determine how your ride-hailing app will generate revenue. Consider the following revenue models to generate revenue:

• Commission-Based Model: Earn a percentage from each ride booked through your ride-hailing app.

• Subscription Services: Offer users premium services or drivers discounted commissions for a monthly or yearly fee.

• In-App Advertising and Partnerships: Generate revenue through targeted ads and partnerships with local businesses.

• Surge Pricing: Implement dynamic pricing during peak demand times to maximize revenue.

• Cancellation/Wait Time Charges: Introduce fees for late cancellations or extended wait times to compensate for lost opportunities.

• Loyalty Programs: Encourage repeat usage by offering rewards and incentives for frequent riders.

Carefully understanding these revenue models is thus crucial for enhancing the profitability of your ride-hailing app.

5. Choose a Development Approach

The development phase is critical in determining the future scalability and performance of your ride-hailing app. There are two key approaches when it comes to building a ride-hailing app: Custom Development or Readymade Software. Each has its own advantages and considerations.

Custom Development involves building a ride-hailing app from scratch tailored to your unique requirements. Custom development ensures maximum control over every aspect of the app, including its design, functionality, and user experience. However, it also comes with higher costs and longer development timelines. 

Alternatively, opting for readymade software enables you to build your ride-hailing app more swiftly and cost-effectively. These solutions come pre-built with core features and functionalities required to build ride-hailing apps like Bolt. With pre-integrated features, ready-made software allows for a faster launch with reduced investment.

Given the complexity and cost associated with developing a ride-hailing app from scratch, leveraging readymade software solutions has become a practical and popular choice. These solutions offer a variety of features that can expedite the development process and reduce costs.

Selection Criteria for Ride-Hailing Software

The market is saturated with several ride-hailing software, making it crucial to conduct thorough research to identify and shortlist software that aligns with your specific business requirements. After identifying potential software solutions, conduct a detailed evaluation based on the following factors:

Evaluate the credibility of the shortlisted software solutions, consider the company’s reputation and history, client testimonials, and case studies. Check for industry certifications and compliance with standards. Positive client feedback and a solid track record enhance the software’s trustworthiness and reliability.

Analyze the pricing structure of each solution. Consider not just the upfront costs, but also ongoing expenses such as maintenance, upgrades, and transaction fees. Determine which options fit within your budget while still meeting your operational needs.

Assess the value provided by the software in relation to its cost. This includes considering features, support, and scalability. A solution that appears expensive may offer greater long-term value through enhanced capabilities and reliability.

Ensure the software can scale alongside your business. As your user base grows, your app will need to accommodate increased demand without compromising performance. Verify that the solution can support additional features and users seamlessly.

Every business has unique needs, and your ride-hailing service will require specific features to meet those demands. Evaluate how customizable each software solution is. The ability to tailor features, branding, and workflows to suit your business will be crucial in maintaining a competitive edge.

Many software providers offer free demos and trials, allowing you to test their software before committing. Utilize these opportunities to gain hands-on experience with the software and evaluate the software’s functionality, user interface, and overall performance. 

Reliable customer support is essential for addressing any issues that may arise during implementation and beyond. Evaluate the level of support provided by each vendor, including response times, availability, and the quality of technical assistance.

Our Recommendation

Although there are several ride-hailing solutions available in the market, VivoCabs emerges as an ideal software solution for your ride-hailing app. It comes with all the essential and advanced features to launch a ride-hailing app like Bolt. Designed with precision, it caters to the unique requirements of all stakeholders and is available for both Android and iOS platforms.

By utilizing VivoCabs, businesses can serve diverse segments—be it taxi booking, car rentals, shuttle service, or eco-friendly options like on-demand electric taxis—through a single software. Thus, increasing their customer base while offering a convenient and all-inclusive service. Moreover, the software provides an efficient and ready-to-deploy approach to build your ride-hailing app that is fully flexible and reflects your unique value proposition. 

Following are some of the various benefits that VivoCabs offers to business owners:

• White Label Solution
• Source Code Ownership
• Extensive Customization and Scalability
• No Recurring Charges
• Lifetime License at a One-Time Upfront Cost
• 1 Year of FREE Technical Support Post-Sale

6. Launch Your App

The final step in building a ride-hailing app like Bolt is launching it. This involves deploying the app to app stores (like Google App Store or Apple App Store) and ensuring it is ready for public use. 

Conclusion

Building a ride-hailing app like Bolt necessitates a strategic approach that encompasses thorough market research to identify opportunities for market differentiation. Defining your unique value proposition is essential for standing out in this competitive landscape. Choosing between custom development and readymade software will significantly impact your budget and timeline. Thus, it is essential to evaluate available solutions carefully to ensure they align with your business goals. By leveraging proven software solutions like VivoCabs, you can enhance user experience and streamline operations, ultimately setting your ride-hailing app on the path to success.