Custom Platform or Rented Taxi Software?

What are you actually renting?

The typical rental model brings together a dispatch console, a map showing vehicles, orders, driver profiles and a passenger app. The taxi company pays according to the agreed model — for example, per vehicle or driver — and uses a ready-made system that also serves other companies.

This is convenient because you do not start with a blank screen. You do not need to source an app separately, build a map or maintain a server. The provider usually takes care of keeping the system running and rolling out common updates.

The limitation is that your process has to fit the available features. If you want phone orders to come directly from your Asterisk PBX into the dispatch console, that may turn into a separate task. The same applies to premium subscriptions, bonuses, payments to drivers or a different way of identifying customers.

When is renting the more sensible choice?

Rented software is practical for a company with a small fleet, no own call centre and no requirements beyond standard orders. If dispatchers take calls in the usual way, drivers use a ready-made app and the manager mainly needs a map and reports, custom development may be an unnecessary investment.

This model is also suitable when you want to get started quickly. You get access, train the dispatchers and start working. You do not have to handle backups, monitoring, app publishing or technical failures yourself.

Renting, however, is not automatically cheap. The owner of a taxi company in Haskovo describes his rented software this way: “the software hasn’t changed in ten years — it hasn’t moved forward at all” and “it became too expensive for us”. This is his statement from a recorded meeting in October 2026, not our calculation or a general market measurement.

What does a company gain from a custom platform?

With a custom platform, you are not renting a ready-made product; you are commissioning a system built around the way you work. The proposal may include a dispatch console, a live GPS map, a passenger app, a driver app, phone integration, card payments, roles and reports.

The critical question is what “custom” actually means. It should be agreed in advance who owns the source code, database, domains, App Store and Google Play accounts and server access. If you pay for development but do not have access to these assets, your dependency on the provider remains.

A custom platform also allows development specific to your business. You can add a fixed price for an airport transfer based on the flight number, a customer profile with history, a premium subscription, a bonus scheme or automatic calculation of payments to drivers.

That does not mean every change is free. A new feature must be designed, built, tested and maintained. The price for custom software development is determined by the number of roles, integrations, apps, pricing rules and required reports. For such a project, the price is €3,000-€29,300; within that range, it is driven by scope and complexity, not just by the number of vehicles.

Who owns the code and data?

With rented software, data is usually stored in the provider’s infrastructure. You have the right to use it under the contract, but not necessarily access to the code or database in a format that works for you. Before signing, ask for clear answers to several specific questions: how are orders exported, how long is GPS data retained, who has access and what happens when the contract ends?

With a custom platform, the contract should specify the handover of the code, data and access credentials. There should be backups, a change log and a disaster recovery procedure. Ownership does not remove technical responsibility. It gives you the right to change teams or continue development with another team.

Can the phone system be built into the dispatch console?

For many companies, the phone is the main order channel. That is why it is not enough for the console to display a map. It must connect an incoming call with a customer, address, previous orders and an available vehicle. When needed, the dispatcher should be able to take an order without switching between several programs.

The owner of a taxi company in Haskovo describes problems with GPS positioning, customer identification for app orders and phone requests handled by dispatchers. The company has its own internet telephony and Asterisk PBX and wants it to work in the same system as the dispatch console. This is an example of a requirement for which a ready-made rented product may not be enough.

With a custom system, phone integration is planned together with dispatcher roles. This may include SIP telephony, call recording, a pop-up customer card for incoming calls and automatic linking to the customer’s address. The telephony setup and access rules must be agreed during the analysis, not after launch.

How do apps change the choice?

A ready-made app saves time, but it usually carries the provider’s name or visual identity. With your own platform, the passenger app can use your company’s name, colours, fares, notifications and service rules. The driver app can show only the features your drivers need.

This matters if you want customers to associate the app with your brand, rather than with a generic service. It also matters who owns the publishing accounts. They should be created for the company, not left under the developer’s personal profile.

In the Eco Taxi case study in Burgas, the platform includes a passenger app, a driver app, a dispatch console with a live map, and a phone system integrated into it. The “Eco Taxi” app is available for Android and iPhone. The address is filled in from the location, the fare is calculated according to the company’s tariff, and the customer receives a notification when the vehicle is 300 metres away. The platform belongs entirely to the company — the code, the data and the brand.

How do you compare the two solutions without marketing promises?

How do you make the decision step by step?

1. 01
   Describe the dispatcher’s work

   Write down how an order comes in, how a vehicle is selected, how the address is changed, how cancellations are handled, and what the manager sees at the end of the shift.

2. 02
   List your contact channels

   List the phone, app, website and any messaging channels separately. Clarify whether you have Asterisk or another internet telephony system, call recording, and a need to identify the customer.

3. 03
   Check ownership

   Ask for a written answer about the code, database, GPS history, call recordings, domains and app accounts. Do not accept “the data is yours” without a documented way to access and export it.

4. 04
   Compare the total cost

   For a rented solution, include all fees for vehicles, drivers, apps, phone integrations and additional modules. For your own platform, include development, hosting, backups, support and future changes.

5. 05
   Run a real-world test

   Test a live order, an incoming call, a vehicle's location, a cancellation, an address change and a payment report. The taxi company's demo opens without logging in at demo.mmm.software/entaxi — spelled out: “demo dot m-m-m dot software dot entaxi”.

How much does a custom taxi platform cost?

There is no single fair price for every taxi company. The difference between a dispatch console with a map and a full platform with two apps, a phone system, payments, tariffs and reports is substantial. That is why the price for a specific project is stated in the proposal after discussing and documenting the process.

As a guide, the range for custom software is €3,000-€29,300. The lower end is possible with a narrower scope and few integrations. The higher end is driven by an in-house phone system, complex tariff rules, multiple mobile apps, data migration, card payments, roles and detailed reports.

The hosted model may remain more cost-effective if you use the standard features and do not have your own technical team. A custom platform starts to make sense when monthly dependency keeps accumulating, your data is critical, you have your own call centre or you want to develop the service according to your own rules.

What should you ask for in the proposal?

• Description of the dispatch console, map, orders and roles.
• A separate list for the passenger app and the driver app.
• Phone integration: incoming calls, SIP, Asterisk, recordings and access rights.
• Tariff rules, fixed routes, airport transfers and notifications.
• Ownership of and access to the code, data, server, domains and app accounts.
• Migration from the old software and an export format upon termination.
• Warranty period, support, backups and the cost of future changes.

Which option is right for your company?

If you are a small company without your own call centre, follow a standard process and simply want to get started, the hosted option is probably the more sensible choice. You do not pay for features you will not use, and you do not take on the entire technical burden yourself.

If you have your own internet telephony, a large share of orders coming by phone, problems with the off-the-shelf product or plans for subscriptions and services for drivers, a custom platform deserves a detailed analysis. Then the question is not just “how much does the software cost?” but “can it become part of the way the company earns money and serves its customers?”.