Car Rental App Development [The Guide Illustrated With a Project We Crafted]

Urban citizens opt for fulfilling all the essential needs here and now with a single tap on the phone: car rental app solution, delivery, logistics, education, dating, fintech, caregiving, hospitality industry, staffing, household services, healthcare, fitness. Using products of an on-demand economy has become the new normal without any possibility for bringing old times back.

In this article, OpenGeeksLab will tell you about car rental apps that are firmly in place now. If you are about to jump into the niche, mobile solutions unlock vast earning forces. However, running car rental app development can be time-consuming and challenging due to high competition and striving for a loyal user base. Therefore, to create a successful car rental platform, simplicity, personalization, value, and convenience are what you should put first.

Read on to uncover vital insights into car rental app development and tips on conquering the niche.

How a Car Rent App Works

A car rental app solution at its core should be functional and useful for both drivers and passengers, providing real-time interactions between server and application. Let’s take a step-by-step look at important insights and their creation process:

Step One

Car rental app solution allows a passenger to request a cab customizing it to their personal preferences. Moreover, they can choose a scheduled trip or an instant book.

Step Two

A program matches passengers with appropriate cabs. A driver receives a request and then decides whether to accept or reject it. In case the trip is rejected, another driver receives an order.

Step Three

Car rental app development will be more successful if the platform calculates travel cost, time, and distance. Clients, in turn, can track trip progress in real-time.

Step Four

Platforms charge clients after the ride. The total cost of the trip depends on location, distance, demand, peak hours, vehicle type, and weather conditions.

Step Five

When the trip is finished, clients can leave feedback for the service and rate drivers. These rating systems encourage car hiring companies to provide a better service. Drivers can rate passengers, too.

As you can see, car rental app development has many nuances to consider. You can solve them by analyzing an industry, choosing the right business model, and hiring reputable car rental app developers.

Car Rental App Development Business Models

Car hiring applications have become a normal thing nowadays. The very first car rental app solution ideas were made at the beginning of the twentieth century with only three cars available for rent. As of today, this business expanded worldwide and has a variety of services and types.

If you want to enter the on-demand car rental app development niche, it is essential to choose how your solution will address customer needs.. Here are some main types of such applications:

Self-Driven Service

In this case, businesses develop a car rental app to provide people who can drive with vehicles. It comes in handy if a person gets their driving license but doesn’t have a car yet. Or something happened to a person’s car, and they need a temporary four-wheeler to do their stuff. Also, this solution can be a budgetary alternative for clients if they need a car temporarily, don’t want to maintain the vehicle, or need a car for traveling abroad.

Car rental apps allow users to book cars, vans, trucks, or prestigious vehicles in the application and pick it up at the company’s car park. The client can usually pay through an app for the service or extend hiring hours or days using a mobile app. Later, a person can drop off a car at the required location.

Leading examples of mobile car rental app development of this type include:

• Rentalcars which allow users to hire a vehicle in more than 160 countries and has been downloaded by over five million users.
• Europcar, an aggregator that lets people hire a car worldwide, choose a preferred pick-up location, and has over a million downloads.
• National, a service that covers more than 1,5K locations worldwide

Peer-to-Peer Car Sharing

This car rental app development business model is similar to the previous one, with a difference that people rent not from companies but private owners. There are many life occasions when this service can save your day: desire to explore new places abroad; your car has suddenly broken; you want to try a new brand or model, and so on. On top of that, it allows decreasing traffic jams and parking problems.

When a person needs a car, they simply choose a destination, a host, a specific car, and agree on the location they want an owner to drop it.

One of the top examples of car rental app development for sharing vehicles cover:

• Turo, a leading player in its niche, with high ratings of over 4,8 stars, more than five million downloads, and cars around the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom. It offers a variety of categories for search like filters by brand, destination, or experience.
• Getaround, in turn, provides a similar experience as the previous app, also having high rates and popularity. However, it has different, more strict requirements for vehicles.

Cab Booking

This business model is one of the most popular ones for car rental app development, helping users hire a taxi for a ride in real-time or in advance. Moreover, these platforms often have reviews and drivers profiles that help get a positive, personalized experience.

Car rental app developers provide users with easy-to-use interactive maps showing available cabs clients can pick with a tap of a finger. Let’s look at top examples of car rental software development:

• Uber is a worldwide renowned niche player covering over 785 cities. It allows users to get a taxi, ride-sharing, or luxury cab with different payment options.
• Lyft is another transportation leader, operating in the U.S. and Canada. All users need to do is choose a destination, and the app will find a ride in seconds, showing costs in advance.

We dwelled on the most popular types. Still, the list of car rental software products includes more options like corporate, local, and outstation car rentals. Now that we’ve learned the core business models enriched with renowned use cases while developing a car rental app, it’s time to explore the current market outlook.

Market Trends & Opportunities for Business

With simplified cab booking through on-demand car rentals app development products and their reduced prices, traditional companies are losing ground. In 2021, user coverage is 19.7%. It is expected to reach 20.9% by 2025. CAGR will be 17.7% for the period 2021-2025. As a result, by 2025, the projected market size is 376.790 million U.S. dollars.

Essential KPIs for a Car Rent App You Should Be Watching Already

Car rent app development is a complex process consisting of several stages. Let’s go see crucial points you should consider before car rental mobile app development.

1. Evaluate Your Idea and Find Your Niche

The assessment process is a significant step as it defines future success. It is vital to initially find your niche, evaluate your idea, the car rental mobile app development process, core in-app functions. Think over the general car sharing rental app’s concept so that it could conquer the market.

2. Analyze Market and Competitors

To conduct successful car rental app development, you should examine competitors, target audience, carry out calculations, and thoroughly study local features, niche tendencies, and legal issues.

3. Conduct Technical Audit and Research

You should put together terms of reference for designers and developers at this stage, including functional extent, framed structure, and choose technologies for project implementation. On top of that, it is vital to formulate tasks and goals before starting car rental app development. Make sure that your project idea is technically possible, and then select implementation methods.

4. Offer a Unique Value Proposition

The car rental software development field is overfilled. Clients select novel and valuable services. So, ensure a unique user experience as it is key to the long-lasting result.

5. Mind UI/UX Design

Creating the design has no longer been about the wow factor, and now users opt for a personalized, convenient, minimalistic, and accessible user experience. That is, the interface of your on-demand car rentals app development should be simple, intuitive, and enjoyable so that people could use your product on the go and get the services they need with a tap of a finger.

6. Bet on Reliable Software Partner

Choosing a car rental software development vendor to create a short term platform is one of the top priorities as it determines your project’s outcomes. To make things right, explore the company’s portfolio, its tech stack, and the niche services they provide. After all, it is these specialists who will implement your ideas.

7. Build a Strong User Base

Engaging new users and retaining existing ones is a must while car rental app development. You can opt for diverse advertising solutions and services like social media marketing, referral programs, and PR to drive in new customers. Create proper feedback and loyalty system, and on-going qualified support to address consumers’ inquiries.

Considering all those KPIs beforehand helps to avoid unnecessary problems. The next big thing in car rental app development is the functionality set to cover all user groups.

Must-Have Features

Car rental apps should serve three distinct audiences: passengers, drivers, and the company’s managers. Learn more about each of them below.

Passenger App

Let’s take a look at core features that should be present in a car rental mobile app development for passengers.

1. Two-Factor Authorization

This feature guarantees the robust security of sensitive data. After registration, the platform requires users to set their password and make email or phone number confirmation.

2. Customized Rides

When booking the trip, passengers can further customize ride options such as payment method, pick-up/drop-off location, time, car type (standard/luxury), language, driver gender, and many more other tools a car rental app development product may have.

3. Quick Trip Matching Algorithm

After requesting a ride, customers will be matched with the relevant driver and cab type.

4. Live Vehicle Tracking

Individuals can monitor vehicle movement in real-time via an online map thanks to location API with GPS tracking.

5. Payment Gateway

Passengers can choose suitable payment options like cash, credit/debit cards, discounts, or bonuses.

6. Booking History

This feature allows users to view previous bookings at hand. They can also add preferences to their personal list and make adjustments so that their trips come to perfect

7. Language Settings

Customers can set the desired language that helps improve user experience and encourage the target audience.

8. Rating and Review System

Passengers can leave reviews after a ride as well as rate drivers or services provided. With reviews and ratings, app managers can measure service quality and improve it.

9. Push-Notifications

Users receive notifications to track order details, system updates, or loyalty programs. This car rental app development feature helps engage people and get more positive reviews.

10. Referral Program

This function helps encourage newbies and existing users by offering discounts and great deals.

11. In-app Chatting and Calls

Users can text or call drivers and the company’s managers. Such in-app communication is convenient as consumers and drivers don’t have to exchange personal contacts.

Driver App

Let’s uncover the basic functions of a car hire app for drivers.

1. Two-Factor Authorization

Drivers, as it is for passengers, need to pass two-factor authorization via email or phone number.

2. Driver Accreditation

Drivers should fill in the application to complete the certification process. They must include driving and vehicle documents to verify their accounts.

3. Rides Management

When drivers receive orders for a ride they can accept them or decline. They also set order status: ‘on the way to pick-up location,’ ‘reached pick-up location,’ ‘ride started,’ ‘ride on-going,’ ‘reached drop-off location,’ ‘trip ended,’ ‘bill generated.’

4. Order and Earning History

A driver gets access to the reports on all their earnings, rides, and bonuses. On top of that, they can split stats into daily or monthly records.

5. Push-Notifications

Drivers receive notifications on incoming orders, including passenger preferences for roominess and additional equipment (child seat, roof rack, and so on)

6. Advanced Route Optimization

Accurate and advanced navigation is a must for successful car rental app development. It optimizes routes to their destinations in real-time with high precision thanks to route builders, indicating traffic jams.

7. Language Settings

The same as with a passenger version, this feature allows drivers to choose a convenient language.

Admin Panel

Developing a car rental app admin panel allows managers to control the entire workflow in a centralized system as they are responsible for quality control, have to sort out disputable situations, and regulate employees’ activities. That’s how:

1. Content Management

Managers can create, store, modify in-app content. Admins need these tools to control all information within the platform.

2. Interactive Dashboard

Having full information about drivers/passengers at hand, admins can track in-app activities, trip history, financial outcomes, answer complaints, resolve issues, and more.

3. Driver Verification

Managers verify drivers’ accounts thoguh approving or declining applications. Also, they check vehicle and drivers documents.

4. Passenger Management

To provide passengers with quality services and process complaints, admins track and manage passenger data.

5. Driver Management

Managers process drivers’ data, check and admit newcomers, as well as disconnect existing ones from the system.

6. Revenue Management

Admins can process payments, assign drivers’ commission, and manage bonuses.

7. Push-Notifications

Administrators can send notifications to passengers/drivers about order status, payments, system updates.

8. Geo-Location Boundary Settings

This feature lets admins add service cities or countries. It is required to provide users with locations where service is available.

9. Bonus Payment System

Bonuses work to attract customers/employees and competently motivate them for further trips. Managers process reward schemes for passengers/drivers.

Car rental software development is all about the user experience so don’t ignore making strategy for the tools you are planning to implement. Your next step is to decide on how you are going to earn profit from your new platform.

Revenue Model of Car Rent Apps

There are four regular revenue streams applied in car rental mobile app development. Let’s unlock each of them:

1. Commission From Passengers

Passengers pay the service fee Per each trip. Depending on distances, stopovers, time, cancellation, early booking, or vehicle type, the total price may vary.

2. Commission From Drivers

Drivers are also charged per trip. Their commission is subtracted from a total trip cost based on vehicle type, distance, location, and so on.

3. Surge Pricing

Passengers have to pay more in case of traffic jams, public holidays, bad weather, or high demand. Transparency is essential in this case, so customers must be informed beforehand if the price increases.

4. In-App Advertising

This option makes it possible for other brands to get into cooperation with partners to attract more users. Advertisements can be in-app or in a cab. Brands get more customers; business owners get profit; customers get benefits like good deals or discounts.

After learning how you can monetize on-demand car rental app development it is time to spring into action.Keep reading to learn about how our team handled car rental software development.

Our Expertise in Car Rental App Development

Queen Car is a car rental application that our team developed for the Middle East region. Read the step-to-step process below.

The Story Behind

The current work-life tempo replace traditional taxis with on-demand car rental applications. These exemplary services and advanced solutions led to the niche resound boom. But this is a rival market with an intense battle for a loyal user base.

The best way to win over customers is to provide them with extra simple and reliable capabilities available with just a few taps. This was the main idea of Queen Car.

Challenges to Overcome

The solution has separate platforms for drivers, passengers, and the company’s managers. We did not create a car rental application from scratch but jumped into the continuing car rental mobile app development process. We had to craft and integrate additional functionality to the legacy system, develop and implement a microservice structure for the new server. On top of that, we had to redesign existing iOS/Android platforms for drivers and passengers.

Applied Solutions

Before jumping into the very development, we have examined renowned use cases. After that, we provided server solutions to ensure capacity and stable system operating along with UI/UX redesign.

Features for Passengers

Our customer had a legacy passenger application we needed to integrate with. Here are advanced solutions implemented for regular users:

1. Two-Factor Authorization

Users register by setting a password and passing authorization via email/phone number.

2. Customized Rides

Customers book a ride and customize it by selecting pick-up/drop-off location, setting time, date, scheduling trip, choosing car type, payment method, availability preferences, flat rate/fare, settings language, driver gender.

3. Quick Trip Matching Algorithm

The program matches requests with suitable chauffeurs and vehicle types based on users’ personal preferences.

4. Live Vehicle Tracking

People can monitor trip status: ‘a vehicle on the way to the pick-up location,’ ‘reached pick-up location,’ ‘the ride started,’ ‘ride on-going,’ ‘reached drop-off location,’ ‘trip ended,’ ‘the bill generated.’

5. Payment Gateway

Users can choose from several payment options such as credit/debit cards, cash, discounts.

6. Booking History

Customers can track all their past in-app bookings.

7. Language Settings

Currently, there are two available languages: English and Arabic.

8. Two Color Modes

Users can select color modes in the platform choosing light or dark.

9. Rate and Review System

Customers are asked to give a review on a chauffeur and services assigned after each trip.

10. Push-Notifications

Users get notifications about the trip status, discounts, system updates, referral programs, and so on.

11. Referral Program

There is a referral program to engage new users and retain existing customers,

12. In-App Chatting and Calls

Clients can text or call drivers/managers via an app.

13. Car Sharing

Besides private cabs, customers can choose a shared option to get a lower cost.

Features for Drivers

We needed to integrate with the legacy driver app that our client had. Here are the functions provided for chauffeurs:

1. Two-Factor Authorization

Drivers are also granted access to an application by confirming the password via email/phone number.

2. Driver Accreditation

Drivers must provide the service company with a license to finish setting up the profile.

3. Rides Management

Drivers have few options to get a customer. They can independently look for orders, and accept or decline incoming requests.

4. Order and Earning History

Chauffeurs have daily/monthly statistics on rides and income.

5. Two Color Modes

A driver can switch between light and dark color modes.

6. Push-Notifications

The platform notifies drivers about system updates, requests, rewards, and earnings.

7. Advanced Route Optimization

Drivers can reach their destination with high accuracy and in a shorter time with advanced navigation.

8. Language Settings

As it is with the passengers’ app, there are English/Arabic languages available for drivers.

9. Balance Replenishment

Scratch cards allow drivers to top up their account balance.

Features for Admins

A company’s managers maintain the overall workflow within a centralized system. Here is the functionality applied to develop a car rental app admin panel:

1. Content Management

The platform lets managers fully control service content.

2. Interactive Dashboard

A dashboard contains robust data on all in-app activities in real-time.

3. Driver Verification

Platform admins manually check all drivers’ information and documents before verifying their profiles.

4. Passenger Management

Admins can monitor/manage in-app passengers’ activities: personal data required for providing services, rides history, customer complaints, bonuses. Also, they can add/modify/delete passengers.

5. Driver Management

Admins can monitor in-app chauffeurs’ activities and add/modify/delete drivers.

6. Revenue Management

Managers can view/manage bookings (completed/pending/canceled by user/canceled by driver and filter by day/week/month/specific time period.

7. Push-Notifications

Managers can send notifications to passengers/drivers.

8. Vehicle Type Management

Admins get access to the fleet management: vehicles’ types, rates and other details.

9. Geo-Location Boundary Settings

Managers can add/modify/delete cities where the service is provided.

10. Bonus Payment System

Admins can retain existing drivers/passengers and engage newcomers by offering them referral bonuses, loyalty programs, special offers and so on.

Tech Stack and Team Composition

To accomplish the required tasks, seven people were involved in the workflow: two backend developers, one frontend developer, one mobile Android developer, one mobile iOS developer, one project manager, one UI/UX designer.

Here is the list of technological solutions our team used: Node.js, Java, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C, Nest.js, Angular, Mongo/Redis, TypeScript, GRPC, RabbitMQ, Express, Mongoose, Twilio complex solution for audio-calls.

Project Outcomes

Our customer makes a profit by charging riders/drivers fare on the ride’s length and duration.

The project is completed. Additionally to the other services our team delivered, we developed server-side solutions and integrated them into mobile/web apps to ensure high-load capacity, fault isolation, scalability, performance, and security.

Jump Into the Niche!

An app to rent cars from owners is holding a leading position among on-demand apps and is worth investing in. You absolutely need a car rental application if you are about to jump into providing car hire app services.

Contact us without hesitation. What’s more, you can book a free online consultation with our experts. With the tools that we have, you will get an exclusive car hire app.