| The problem we address: Platform monopolies in the ride-hailing space have led to users paying more for trips, while receiving a lower quality service. On the flip side, drivers often find themselves at the mercy of a single dominant platform, impacting their earnings and freedom of choice. So… we saw an opportunity to empower users. Technical solution: - built an internal API that interfaces with multiple platform APIs to fetch real-time ride data (for both passenger and driver personas) - built two apps: - for drivers: aggregated incoming offers in a single interface, custom parameters-based automation, surge maps, aggregated statistics (earnings, distance, time)
- for passengers: aggregated ride options, pricing, and ETAs in a single interface, deep-linking directly into the ride request within the platform apps
Challenges & resistance:- platforms attempted to block our API traffic - we observed unusually rigorous hardware protection in some platform apps, causing a lot of drivers to have to change their older phones even if they didn’t use Bliq - we realized some of their mobile apps tried to detect if our app is installed on their device, potentially flagging drivers. they removed this mechanism afterwards - some drivers reported being cautioned/advised against using Bliq by employees of some of the platforms Curious to know how the community would navigate these challenges while maintaining integrity and user value. We just launched the passenger app this week, so feedback on both apps is very welcome. |
Grab, Ola and Lyft come to mind as being apps I only use when I'm in specific countries. You have your work cut out for you if you're wanting to support and maintain all these different integrations.
I'd MUCH rather there just be an open standard for this kind of thing and completely separate the app from the ride sharing service, but there's no incentive for companies to do that right now. It'd probably take a big push from the likes of Apple, Google or the EU to make it happen.
Best of luck with the app!