Not all customers would be calling to book a ride anymore, they prioritize convenience more than anything nowadays.
That is why, offering them the modern way to book rides is crucial.
And nothing is better than allowing them to book rides with just a few clicks from the convenience of their smartphones.
This way, the booking process also gets easy and fast and a whole lot more convenient.
In this blog, we will see how the transportation industry has evolved over the years.
The early days: Phone calls and taxis
Earlier the transportation industry used to operate in a totally different method. The rides used to be booked via call or by personally visiting the taxi business location, the dispatching of vehicles used to be done manually and managing data was next to impossible.
Let's see an example to better understand how traditional taxi businesses used to operate.
Imagine, you are a customer, who wants to book a taxi ride. In order to do the booking you have called a taxi business. Once you share all the details with the dispatcher, your ride will be booked.
But, what now, once the ride is booked, how will you as a customer come to know about it, how will you track the driver's location, how will you know how much time the driver is going to take to reach your destination?
There are a lot of “How” when it comes to running a taxi business through a traditional method. Today's modern customers won't even imagine going through all this hassle just booking a ride.
Nowadays, long waits and uncertainty could quickly turn your customers into your competitors. That is why, to survive and become successful in a competitive transportation market, adopting trends is very crucial.
The rise of ride-hailing services: A game changer
The ride-hailing market volume is expected to reach US$11.64 Billion by 2029, showcasing a yearly growth rate of 9.10% during the period of 2024-2029. This is a staggering number for the transportation industry.
With the growth of ride-hailing the innovations in the industry have also grown. Customers no longer have to call dispatchers to book rides. Along with calls they also have other convenient options as well to book rides. Options such as booking a ride via mobile app, website, 3rd party app, etc. This has made life a lot easier for customers.
This is not it, there are many other benefits that modern ride-hailing businesses provide to their customers. Let's see them one by one:
1. Dynamic pricing
Dynamic pricing offers customers transparent pricing. As it is defined based on demands and resources. For example, if a customer is booking a ride when the demand is less, the pricing would be very nominal.
And if a customer has made a booking at peak hour, the cost might be slightly higher for the same distance. So, the price won't be the same every time the passengers book a social ride.
2. Real-time ride tracking
Customers always are updated about their ride's whereabouts. They can track it easily with just a few clicks. For example, you are a passenger who has just booked a ride and is in a hurry. Now, once the ride is booked you want to know where your driver has reached and how much it will take to reach your destination. So, this is where real-time tracking comes into the picture.
It helps you easily check where your driver exactly is and how much time is going to be taken to reach your destination. This way, your business can effectively avoid making customers frustrated and also offer them quality service.
3. Ease of payment
Not everyone nowadays has cash in their pockets. As we all now live in the era of digitalization. Gone are the days, when cash was the only option to make payments. Customers now prefer to make payments via credit card, debit card, UPI, wallets, etc. All these payment options have made making a payment a very easy and stress-free process for customers.
Let's see how it works.
- The customers open the app and enter their current location and also the details of the location they want to go to.
- The app will show them the estimated price of the ride.
- If they are fine with it, they can book a ride.
- Once the ride is booked, they can make the payment via their preferred payment method.
This is it, easy as you like. No confusion. Just a straightforward payment process. This enhances customers' experience and also encourages them to opt for your services in the future as well.
Mobile apps: The modern way
Mobile apps have become an integral part of the day-to-day life of everyone. Be it games or watching movies or having a chat with a person far far away, everything is possible with mobile apps.
Things that were even not imaginable just a few years back are now practically possible. This is also true with booking rides via mobile apps. Just a few decades back booking rides via a mobile app was just a thought, but was not practical.
But now, the taxi industry landscape has totally changed. Booking rides has become a lot easier. Customers can now book rides from the comfort of their smartphones that too with just a few clicks. There are many options available to book rides, but booking rides with mobile apps is the most prominent and convenient option out there. As its easy-to-use interface and seamless experience, make it a lot easier for customers to book rides.
Along with customers, businesses are also providing apps to their drivers as well. With the help of a mobile app, drivers can also easily accept rides, get optimized routes, check their wallets, analyze their performance, etc.
This way, the emergence of mobile apps in the transportation industry has changed the way how they used to operate a few years ago. It has made the processes more simpler and convenient.
Conclusion
The transformation from calls to modern app-based ride booking has made things more convenient for customers. With the emergence of tech, the transportation industry has only improved its service for customers. And with the pace that it's moving, it won't be a surprise if we see other technological advancements in the coming future as well.
