Being a business traveller who has to move quite often to several cities in the U.S. on business, my concern is always how to get a reliable and cost-effective means of travel. Taxis are rather expensive, and public transport is not always on time, so it is rather foolish to rent a car in each city. This is when I began researching carpooling opportunities within my team. We required something bespoke, scalable and easy to use - not another off-the-shelf ride-sharing app.
I found Mobility Infotech after trying a couple of off-the-shelf options that didn't fit our needs well. The first thing that struck me was their experience developing their ride-sharing apps and, more precisely, their knowledge of carpooling app features. I chose to write this post to share my experience because, if you are a startup or a corporate team planning to launch a carpooling app, Mobility Infotech is a partner worth considering. I will take you through the top 5 challenges I saw and overcome them with Mobility Infotech.
The initial greatest challenge that we faced was real-time matching of carpool users. Most apps say they can, but their backend machinery, unfortunately, is not always smart enough to do it seamlessly. Then you have late matches or missed rides.
Mobility Infotech built a solution that made this process seamless. With smart algorithms integrated into the backend, users in our app could easily find co-riders heading in the same direction. The system automatically grouped people based on routes, preferences, and even office timings. This was one of the most useful carpooling app features we got.
Unlike taxis, carpooling requires more flexibility. Users might want to make short detours or change drop-off points depending on their day. Building this kind of flexibility into a shuttle clone app or Uber clone app can be a nightmare without the right experience.
Mobility Infotech tackled this by allowing users to customise their pick-up and drop-off preferences without affecting the route too much. The app would suggest minor tweaks and show everyone how the route is impacted. This gave users a feeling of control, which is rare in shared ride systems.
Trust and safety are always big concerns when multiple people share a ride. When we initially tested some carpool apps, we realised there were limited safety options. Some didn’t even have proper user profiles.
Mobility Infotech made sure safety was front and centre. From ID verification to real-time GPS tracking and emergency alert features, they integrated essential carpooling app features that made all our users feel secure. They even helped set up a simple rating and review system, which encourages good rider behaviour and creates transparency.
Another big challenge was handling payments. Users wanted the ride fare to be split automatically based on distance or time. Some apps didn’t offer this, or they made it so complicated that users gave up.
Mobility Infotech offered a simple and reliable in-app payment solution. Whether it was credit cards, PayPal, or even company-sponsored rides, everything could be handled smoothly. Their ride-sharing app development team ensured that cost-splitting was automated and visible to all parties before the ride even started.
Lastly, one issue we faced with template-based apps was a lack of scalability and poor branding options. We didn’t want an app that looked like every other Uber clone app in the market.
Mobility Infotech developed our carpool app from scratch, keeping our branding intact from the logo to the colour theme and even the user interface. As we expanded to more cities, the app scaled smoothly without glitches. Their team ensured that the backend could handle increasing user loads without slowing down.
I initially thought creating a shuttle clone app would be enough for our team's travel needs. But it turns out, when you want a functional and user-centric carpool app, the details matter a lot, especially the carpooling app features that make life easier for both riders and drivers.
Mobility Infotech didn’t just develop an app for us; they offered solutions tailored to our unique needs. Their deep understanding of ride-sharing app development and commitment to quality saved us a lot of time, confusion, and cost.
If you’re in the U.S. and considering building a carpool app for your business, city, school, or community, don’t make the mistake of going for a quick fix. Talk to the team at Mobility Infotech. They know what they’re doing, and more importantly, they listen.
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