How Does Careem Work?

A few years ago, now-day giant Uber sent its first taxi to ride the streets of San Francisco. The black car for shoppers and with one smartphone app, Uber created a huge wave, which led to the birth of numerous other on-demand taxi applications such as DiDi Chuxing, Lyft, Gett, Ola, and many others have entered the global transportation market.

One of the great names that followed in Uber’s footsteps in the US and took a slice of the transit app pie is Careem but in the Middle East!

The local Taxi Ordering app is one of the most popular on-demand taxi apps right now. And has been causing a lot of noise ever since its inception.

The disruption caused by Careem has attracted many startups from various sectors. Following Careem’s model in the Middle East, players from various industries are successfully transforming their businesses. This model has proven successful enough in reducing obstacles in the transportation industry!

Introduction To Careem

Careem means generosity in Arabic. 

This philosophy is to be generous with customers, captains, as they call the drivers, and colleagues when dealing with regulators.

Careem is a 3-year-old Middle Eastern startup looking for cars through an app. The app is a Middle East market leader with a presence in about 20 cities, with Uber being a major competitor.

The company was named Best Startup of the Year in the Gulf Business Region by raising $60 million in Series C last month.

But can a local startup Careem drive global giant Uber out of the Middle East just as Alibaba kicked eBay out of China?

Well, we guess time will tell, but we think they are in a very good position to do so for the reasons mentioned below.

Careem’s History

The company started out as a web-based corporate car reservation service and evolved into a car rental company for everyday use.

At the beginning of the launch, advance reservations were proposed to ensure sufficient time for users to allocate and arrange taxis. Most of their users came from businesses that needed to travel.

In a public interview, Mudassir Sheikha, Co-Founder, and CEO of Careem stated that Careem aims to be an application focused on the daily needs of consumers.

“We can build a more holistic view of the consumer from a single platform,” Sheikha explains. We are essentially in the same business-like Uber, but our business model is B2B and B2C with two main products: pre-booking and booking-on-demand (NOW). We charge our customers a rate per km and per minute like a taxi.”

How Did Careem Become So Successful?

The Middle East is one of the most urbanized and lifestyle-loving places. As the population grows, the number of vehicles on the road increases. People or goods are transported from point A to point B by selecting different modes of transport.

Due to exotic tourism in the Middle East, the convenient transportation has always been a necessity. For example, public transport in Dubai has grown exponentially over the past few years. Against this backdrop of the growth of passenger sharing services, Careem emerged.

Magnus, the co-founder of Careem, said in an interview that he and his team traveled extensively to learn about the traffic inconvenience. The problem was serious enough to start developing the Careem Taxi Venture application to simplify the transportation of all passengers at any time.

Currently, passenger recruitment services are provided in more than 50 cities, mainly in the MENAT region. These include the Middle East, Pakistan, Turkey, and North America. And now, the brand has followed in Uber’s footsteps to become the largest domestic shipping giant.

So when you are in the Middle East, doing the shipping business is definitely beneficial. Whether you rent a taxi, truck, bus or limousine, Careem can start with the idea of ​​developing a taxi app.

Find a major transportation company that can implement your Careem Taxi app development idea.

Careem’s Business Model

Careem’s business model is perfectly aligned with its technology using the Captain App, Passenger App and Admin Control Panel.

• The Captain’s App

The Captain app allows users to register as a driver, get in their vehicle and immerse themselves in the world of money, the Middle East. Captains must register their details on drive.careem.com and complete pilot training before they can start making money through Careem.

Careem Taxi operates safely and comfortably in major cities in MENA, Pakistan, and Turkey, including Dubai, Lahore, Karachi, Riyadh, Istanbul, Islamabad, and Beirut.

• The Passenger’s App

Built-in GPS Ninja in the Careem passenger app finds you more accurately than other taxis. The app presents users with a flexible option. Users can choose to ride `now` or `later,` and they get a booking confirmation as soon as they choose their dropoff location and tap `YALLA!`

The passenger app allows the users to track their ride in real-time, pay via credit card or cash, and rate the service after the ride ends.

• The Admin Dashboard 

The third pillar of the Careem business model is built on the admin dashboard. Admin holds power to do anything from driver management to fare setup to track appointments. Admin can also keep track of drivers, view all trips in real-time, manage cash and card earning of each driver, and set up and manage promotion codes.

Careem’s Operational Model

• Careem’s Customer Service Cell

Considering that people are less tech-savvy than American citizens, Careem came up with the idea of ​​creating a customer service center. Careem has increased customer interest by allowing South Asians to report concerns over a voice call rather than making an appointment. As Careem expanded, call centers moved from Dubai to Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

•  Careem’s Massive Location Database 

In the Middle East, Google Maps is not as accurate as in the United States. Frequent construction is constantly changing the face of the Middle East. Careem had to create its own location database so people could choose the exact pickup location.

• 3rd Party Booking

This trait was key to Careem’s rapid success. Orders are usually placed by the boss’ assistant, the customer’s businessman, or, in the case of a student, the elderly. So Careem made it possible for people to book travel for others. Users can use cash, their own credit card, passenger credit card, or bill as payment methods.

• The Captain Call Center 

Careem’s call center is built on two pillars: customer safety and customer service. Captain Careem is not armed with customer contact information. When a question arises in the captain’s head, he can call an agent.

The captain, who recently arrived in the UAE, is having trouble understanding the language of the customer (immigrants from Australia, Africa, Europe, etc.). This issue was addressed by opening a call center for captains in Dubai.

Careem turned the Middle East troubles to his advantage. They have developed Careem’s business model and an operating model that perfectly fits the context of the Middle East. Careem has brought personality to their service, and this has been key to their success.

Careem’s Revenue Model

The Low credit card penetration in the Middle East has prompted Careem to propose a new Careem business model that includes a combination of different payment methods. Cash, Credit, Invoice, and Wallet Credit are the four payment options Careem offers its passengers. The other side of the story revolves around the captain and Careem.

Careem changed its operating model, and it worked great.

They pay the captain for B2B invoice reservations and B2C credit card reservations. When booking in cash in B2C, the captain pays Careem.

Did you know that over 90% of Careem bookings can be divided into three categories, NOW, LATER and REPEAT bookings (mostly cash bookings)? If the passenger prefers cash as a payment method, the captain must pay Careem. If the passenger prefers another payment method, Careem must pay the captain.

Careem takes a percentage of the cost of each trip (when payment is credit), and the rest goes to the captains. 

Careem forbids accepting travel until the captain shares the last fare. This happens when the captain violates Careem’s cash cut limit.

Why Should You Also Invest Into A Taxi App Like Careem?

With the spread of smartphones, the taxi business is rapidly developing. The mobile taxi app has become the preferred choice worldwide. Learn the benefits of investing in a taxi mobile app development solution and why you should use it in your taxi business! 

• Brand Awareness

Brand awareness is essential to any business growth recipe. Today, Uber operates in more than 10,000 cities worldwide, thanks to its strong brand recognition. Emphasizing authority, superior and unmatched customer service and trust with a taxi booking app can help build brand awareness.

Customizing a taxi app to suit the needs of users is also a great way to attract as many customers as possible. 

• Massive Data Goldmine

To provide quality service to our customers, we need to know the needs and preferences of our users. Investing in developing an on-demand taxi app will help your taxi business collect valuable user data such as location, contact information, and more. 

Based on this data, we can send you personalized notifications with attractive offers and discounts. This helps build a loyal customer base. 

• Live Location Tracking 

 This is one of the most important features of a taxi app. Real-time tracking and monitoring are included, making it easy for drivers to determine their exact location and vice versa. It benefits your business by increasing efficiencies, reducing operating costs, and increasing customer satisfaction.

• Visibility Enhancement 

In today’s digital age, people prefer to book a taxi through a mobile app rather than calling a travel agent because they find it convenient enough. Mobile apps can improve visibility and give you maximum confidence in acquiring customers with the best service. Mobile app development can make your taxi business more visible as it allows customers to connect with a larger audience they prefer. 

You can also hire a trusted app marketing company to develop a strong marketing strategy to increase the visibility of your taxi app and make your app easier to find among users. 

• Improves Driver Efficiency 

Developing a taxi application allows operators to monitor the driver’s work. Driver behavior can sometimes affect fuel consumption, customer satisfaction, and vehicle usage. If the driver does not pick up passengers, monitoring can be carried out so that necessary actions can be taken.

In other words, careful driver monitoring can help improve the efficiency and success of your business.

• Higher ROI 

Taxi drivers and drivers who worked with logistics companies complained about paying huge fees. As a result, taxi operators do not prioritize aggregation sites. Therefore, investing in developing a taxi ordering app is a very lucrative step that taxi companies must take. This is because it helps to save on fees paid to taxi integrators and increases ROI. 

• User Reviews 

Customer reviews and ratings have a greater impact on the identity of any brand. Like any other app, taxi apps need feedback. User ratings and reviews provide insight into areas of the business that need improvement and areas that are performing well. This way, you can improve your service and stay ahead of the competition. 

Suitable Team Structure To Develop An App Like Careem

• Android developer 
• iOS developer
• UI/UX designers
• Quality assurance engineers
• Business analyst
• Project Manager
• DevOps

Bonus: Technology Stack To Build An App Similar To Careem

• Application and Data– jQuery, React, Java, Google Drive, Redis, Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, jQuery UI, Kafka, Apache Tomcat, Amazon RDS, Animate.css, Slick
• Utilities- Google Maps, Amazon Route 53
• DevOps– GitHub, Docker, Visual Studio Code, GitLab, Kubernetes, IntelliJ IDEA, Kibana, Grafana, Terraform, Amazon EC2 Container Service, AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)
• Business Tools– Gmail, Slack, Jira

Wrapping Up

A convenient taxi ordering app helps you stay competitive with traditional taxi services and competitors. Therefore, taxi ordering apps have become a must for the taxi business.

To grow your customer base and revenue, you need to invest in developing a mobile taxi app. Ready to start developing a mobile taxi app and grow your taxi business?

Frequently Asked Questions About An App Like Careem(FAQs)