The blockchain is innovative and disruptive, we know it all. The point where the idea is left behind is – why we are not trying to build apps or services using the integration of blockchain. There are lots and lots of use cases that are still untapped or are not being used at optimum levels.
What’s the use of technology in itself if it’s not being used to take the current offering to the next level?
Once Clayton M. Christensen said - “Disruption is a process, not an event, and innovations can only be disruptive relative to something else.” One such use is a cab booking service. It’s not just a reliable opportunity but is imperative from the future point of view.
Demands of starting cab or taxi booking service :
The data collected from various sources, all hail the success of car booking services. The “CNBC DISRUPTOR 50-2018” has 2 such car-sharing service companies in the top 5 – Uber and Lyft. In addition to this, the facts that CNBC used in support of these providers were:-
• Gross bookings of Uber were up from $20 billion in 2016 to $37 billion last year.
• Net revenue (the amount left after paying drivers) increased by nearly 14 percent over the prior year and reached $7.4 billion in 2017.
• Data reveals that Lyft has 35 percent of the U.S. ridesharing market and enjoys a majority share in "multiple" markets, which is up from 20 percent 18 months ago.
• Lyft provided 375.5 million rides in the year increase of nearly 14 percent over the prior year 2017, a 130 percent increase over 2016.
Another thing which supports the cab booking service is the growth graph which proves that how cab booking service provider are wining in penetrating the market.
Data presented by various sources proves that the growth for such cab booking service providers is the availability of a large number of vehicles in the fleet and its management. The reach and widespread availability of vehicles are the reasons acting as support in the growth of these aggregators.
In addition to this, these cab aggregators easily expanded in other sharing business which includes, scooter sharing, bike sharing, and food delivery business due to easy reach and niche experience in this business model.
The serious problems of current cab or taxi booking services :
There are various issues prevailing with the current model of business. Any business is all about the customers and employees. However, the current business structure and the working model seem to be inefficient in making both of them happy and unable to turn them to help the business grow.
The first and most prominent issue is the lack of trust and transparency. The current system of cab booking services is too centralized and neither rider nor driver finds and has availability of data, which creates dissatisfaction among both parties; even after the owner of these services spends billions of rupees just to satisfy both these groups.
Safety and compliance issues remain a hurdle for cab booking services. There are no standard procedures for onboarding drivers. This can be a cause of increased crimes and the threat to the safety of the riders; the ultimate profit source of cab booking services. Another instance that can hit the revenues and image of these companies is their drivers not abiding by the rules and regulations.
Centralization and rigidity remain at the core of the present major cab booking aggregators like everything in these business models is done and controlled by the providers or say, owners. In this business structure, both the parties involved - whether a rider or a driver are unable to execute their flexibility; because they don’t have it. This centralization adds another layer of intermediaries which increases the cost involved and increases the burden on riders as well as drivers.
How does blockchain technology help in cab booking services?
Cab booking services’ integration with blockchain can be a real use case. It can remove almost every hindrance and can prove as a clever way to handle every problem attached to the business of cab booking services.
The need for decentralization is crucial. Blockchain technology when joining hands with the cab booking application can sort out the issues involved and all other problems attached to the current aggregator model of cab booking service.
The blockchain needs to be updated with all the data of the driver continuously. This way it creates a record of all the crimes and acts done by a driver. It opens up the way to integrate government records with those of companies. This option can eliminate a great number of crimes that happen with riders while availing of cab service. Also, using algorithms and AI, this data can be further refined to process drivers’ data before their selection.
The next step enhancement to the blockchain data can be done by integrating it with the real-time traffic data and accident information of companies’ cabs. In this way, it would be easy to create and attach metadata to a particular driver or cab which can allow removal of such entities from the company. Other factors like centralization, lack of trust, and transparency issues can also be resolved by using Blockchain technology. The use of blockchain would allow the creation of a fully decentralized cab booking service; a peer-to-peer service.
Through blockchain, everything can be coded and executed using Smart Contracts. The cab booking service provider needs to be the only service provider and not mediatory. The rider inputs the ride data and can be provided with the option to apply filters.
After receiving data, smart contracts will execute the search and find the driver as per the rider-defined data. After that, a rider can select from the available search results. The selected driver should also have the option to accept or deny the ride. After acceptance of the ride, the driver will receive all the data after the smart contract executes the transaction.
After reaching the destination, the ride will end up on its own. The smart contract in the backend will execute the payment using created rules. The rider’s wallet will be debited and the driver’s wallet will be credited without any interference.
Blockchain not only decreases the cost involved but also brings transparency; and drivers as well as the rider will be able to get every required detail along with the flexibility to make informed decisions.
Requirements of a blockchain-powered cab or taxi booking service :
The creation of a fully functional and intuitive cab booking service requires development at both the front end and back end.
The front end will require a mobile app for the driver, the rider as well as legal authorities. At the back end, the development will require a blockchain, cleverly designed smart contracts; requiring a full-stack developer having a niche in the blockchain.
In addition to this, a good team consisting of mobile app developers and blockchain developers along with a team of consultants having a niche in the blockchain and tech development industry will always act as a helping hand in creating their cab booking service with blockchain integration.
Conclusion:
However, this concept is new to players like DACSEE and Mix. Rent, Arcade City, Chasyr, Didi Chuxing, and some more are playing very nicely with cab booking or ride-sharing services in integration with the blockchain.
Connect with all the blockchain advantages & benefits that make your cab or taxi booking business successful even more before by setting up blockchain-powered solutions. Try a free 20 minutes business consultation
