With the newest technology at our disposal, virtually any work can be completed in a matter of seconds. With this tech disruption, almost everything gets affected positively. From groceries to e-ticketing services, everything is just a few taps away. As a result, mobile applications are essential tools in our everyday lives. The days of waiting in lines to purchase bus tickets are long gone. With the use of mobile technology, the booking window now transitioned into a mobile device. By building a bus ticket booking app, the majority of transportation companies are boosting their businesses by adopting escalating digital trends and providing an online transaction system.
Many businesses seek to create their bus ticket booking app. But making a good application requires more than one individual. A precise approach to app development is required. Choosing the appropriate developers for your application is so vital.
In this article, we discuss every bit to develop bus ticket booking apps. From understanding the need for such an app to the advanced features and associated cost of development, we will talk about every little aspect to help you become the next big name in the online bus booking space.
What is a Bus Ticket Booking App?
With the use of an automated technology called a bus ticket booking app, users may buy bus tickets online. The technology further enables customers to plan their itinerary, check the availability of seats, and even make online payments using secure payment networks.
Is it Good to Invest in a Bus ticket Booking App?
Travelling has become a candid companion of this human race. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) says that the global tourism sector expanded by 3.9% in 2018 and contributed USD 8.8 trillion to the global economy. In addition, numerous travel trends, including local experiences, solo travel, and customer experiences, among others, have been affected by changing demographics and the development of technology. As a result, the need for online bus ticket booking apps in the travel sector is sparked by the accessibility of reasonably priced travel options provided by bus services.
The market for online bus tickets is yet to increase drastically from USD 6,264.67 million in 2021 to USD 22,663.59 million in 2030, growing at a CAGR of 14.9%.
Major Stakeholders of a Bus Ticket Booking App
Users App
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Sign Up/ Profile Creation
This crucial function makes it simple for new users to register for the app using any of their social network accounts. The quickest way to use the app using accounts from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other services is through this method, which improves the user experience.
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Allow Travelers To Choose Drop & Pick Up Location
This crucial app feature will guarantee that customers experience the highest level of comfort and convenience. Passengers will prefer your app over competitors if you make it simple for them to select their pick-up and drop-off locations.
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Facilitate Co Traveler Management
Sometimes when someone is travelling alone, they would prefer to have a travel companion of a specific gender. With this feature, the user may choose the gender of the companion while making the reservation.
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Passenger Review & Rate
It is an important quality that contributes to gaining the trust of new users. Within the app, travellers may post reviews of various providers.
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Ensure Payment Safety & Security
The app must protect all of the sensitive consumer data and maintain its privacy. Additionally, the majority of bus ticketing applications enable consumers to pay online.
Operator/Travel Agency App
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Registration and secure login
New users may easily sign up for the app using any of their social network accounts. This strategy enhances the user experience by making it the easiest way to access the app utilizing accounts from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other services.
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Push Notification and alerts
The bus operators or drivers may send push notifications to the passengers with important bus trip information.
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Manage Ticket scanning
Swiftly scan the QR code to verify that the ticket is still valid before allowing the passengers to board the bus.
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On the Dashboard view total bookings, refunds, total revenue
The primary goal of this is to securely connect payment gateway APIs. Customer opinions and the integrity of the system are improved.
Admin App
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Manage Billing
Manage all billing-related activities such as refunds, operator payments, commissions, earnings, and income.
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Manage Route
Add new routes or modify existing ones, and inform commuters of how and where they will arrive at their destination.
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Manage Bus
To assign routes, add or modify all the buses that you or your system owns.
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Manage Bookings
Utilize a mobile application to manage every booking made by commuters.
Features to Develop Bus Ticket Booking App
The bus ticket booking app domain is one of the most crowded segments in e-ticketing services. But to win the market every entrepreneur needs to nail these below-listed features.
Encrypted Sign-Up
Make a separate login page that accepts submissions exclusively. The login form should always be present on the homepage.
Notification through Push
The passengers might receive essential information regarding bus travel via push alerts from the drivers or bus operators. These alerts will be delivered in real-time, keeping the travellers informed of the timetable.
Bus Tracking Live
Customers may use this intriguing feature to view the bus’s current location and get an idea of when it will arrive or depart. As a result, they don’t need to get in touch with the bus driver to find out where the bus is.
Actual Seat Inspection
Customers can use this function to check whether there are seats available for a certain ride. Users may choose any seat utilizing this option according to their preferences, such as an aisle or window seat.
QR Code Ticket Validation
The drivers utilize this function to verify the ticket supplied by the passengers. Before letting the passengers board the bus, he may quickly scan the QR code to see whether the ticket is still valid.
CRM
Customer relationship management (CRM) integration is crucial to the efficient operation of every firm.
Support for Chat Integration
A bus ticket booking app must have a chat assistance section. In case of an emergency or with any questions, it lets the passengers speak with the bus operators immediately.
Tools for Marketing & Promotion
The app owners may increase app engagement by using a variety of marketing and promotion tactics including calls, texts, and emails.
Analytics & Dashboards in Real-Time
With the help of this functionality, the app administrator may monitor the actions occurring within the app. The functionality makes it easier to keep track of everything in real-time, gauge how well the app is doing, and make adjustments as necessary.
Loyalty Program
New loyalty schemes should occasionally run on your bus ticketing app. For devoted clients, this might take the shape of exclusive discounts or discount codes. It is a remarkable strategy for keeping clients and enticing them to utilize the software again.
Navigation
With the help of this function, users can follow a bus’s progress and learn about all the stops it will make along the way to their destination.
Calendar
Once a booking has been made, the app will notify the user as the departure date is getting closer.
Third-party Integration for Hotel and Taxi Booking
This feature allows the app to recommend local lodging options or taxi booking services that are close to the user’s destination.
The Tech Stack Necessary To Create A Bus Ticket Booking App
Function Technology
. Hosting – Amazon EC2
. Content delivery network – Cloudflare/Amazon CloudFront
. Push Notifications – Twilio, Push.io, Firebase,
. SMS, Voice, and Phone Verification – Nexmo, Twilio
. Payments – PayPal, Stripe, EWallets, Netbanking
. Database – MongoDB, HBase, DB2, Postgress
. Email – Mail Chimp Integration
. Cloud Environment – AWS, Google, Azure
. Real-time Analytics – Hadoop, Cisco, IBM
. Map Navigation – Google Map Apple Map Server
. UI – ReactJS, BootStrapJS
. Code Repository – Git
. Load Balancer – Nginx
. Messaging queues – AWS Simple Queue System
Cost to Develop Bus Ticket Booking App
- The price of creating a bus ticket booking app depends on several variables. The following are a few of the most notable:
- The following platform was picked for the app’s creation: UX/UI development for iOS, and Android.
- The quantity and variety of incorporated features and functions
- Integrating external parties
- Technical stack
- Hours required for development
- The developers and location of the app development company
The last one, the location of the app development business, has a particularly significant impact on the development cost among the previously listed criteria. This is due to the significant differences in labour costs between nations. For instance, developers in the UK and the USA charge between $80 and $250 per hour. The hourly rates for developers in Europe and Eastern Europe range from $50 to $170. In comparison, Indian app developers charge far less. There, you may discover qualified engineers working for between $20 and $80 per hour with ease.
However, on average, the cost to create an Android or iOS bus ticket booking app should be over $45,000 for an app with sophisticated capabilities rather than under $30000 for one with minimal features.
Words to Wrap Up
The process of developing a bus ticket booking app is lengthy yet overwhelming and exciting. It takes time to create an app for bus reservations. Numerous hours of careful and precise work are required to produce one of these applications. According to the statistics, you have a lot of opportunities to develop your own bus ticket booking mobile app and take a sizable market share.
For a successful bus ticket booking app, it’s always better to hire a reliable mobile app development agency. All features must now be properly integrated into the app to deliver the best service.
