Booking app for passenger transport companies

A shuttle, airport transfer or group transport company still receives many requests by phone and email. Every quote is calculated by hand, every confirmation is typed, every change sets off a chain of calls. A custom booking platform automates what can be automated and keeps people involved where it matters. Here is what it includes, the rules to build in and what it costs.

The essential features

I split a booking platform into four blocks, which can be delivered in batches:

On top of that come notifications (confirmation, reminder the day before, driver on the way), invoicing and an activity dashboard.

Instant quotes: writing down your pricing rules

This is the feature that changes the customer relationship most. It requires formalizing your rate card, which is often known to only a few people:

• the base: price per kilometer, by zone or flat rate for frequent trips (airports, stations);
• the variables: number of passengers, vehicle category, luggage, child seats, waiting time;
• the surcharges: night, Sunday, public holidays, peak periods;
• the discounts: round trips, regular customers, partners.

Distance and duration are calculated with a mapping service, billed by usage by its provider. Requests outside the standard, such as a three-day seminar with several vehicles, switch to a quote prepared by the team, with an automatic follow-up.

Payment, partners and invoicing

For individuals, online payment at booking, or a deposit, sharply reduces no-shows. A provider such as Stripe handles cards, refunds and international payments; its fees are charged per transaction under its own terms. The approach is explained in adding Stripe payments to a business tool.

For business customers, it is the opposite: they want to book without paying each time, and receive a detailed monthly invoice by traveler or cost center. The partner area is often what makes the difference with hotels and agencies.

Regulations to build in

Passenger transport falls under different regimes depending on your activity: private hire, taxi, group transport. In France, for private-hire vehicles (VTC), Article L. 3120-2 of the Transport Code, available on Légifrance (in French, checked in October 2026), requires a prior booking to pick up a customer on the public road. A well-designed booking platform timestamps and stores every booking, which makes it possible to prove it during an inspection.

The exact obligations depend on your status, your vehicles and the country or city where you operate. I build them into the tool once they have been identified with your legal counsel or trade association; this page is not a substitute for their advice.

The budget

A multi-area booking platform is quoted after scoping. For an order of magnitude, here is a calculation using the building blocks from my pricing, for 10 to 50 active internal users and partners:

Above 50 users, the factor rises to ×1.2, or about $26,900 (€24,000)excl. VAT. A connection to accounting software or an existing dispatch tool adds $2,300 (€2,000)excl. VAT. Timelines run from 3 to 6 months or more. For your setup, the estimator gives you a first range, and the logic of business portals is covered in how much a B2B portal costs.

When this is not the right solution

If your trips are standard and your pricing simple, an off-the-shelf booking module, possibly embedded in your website, will do the job for a monthly subscription. Likewise, if most of your business is on-demand rides in town, what you need first is a dispatch tool: see dispatch software for taxi companies and ride-hailing fleets.

Custom software makes sense when your rate card cannot be configured in existing tools, when business partners account for a large share of revenue, or when re-entering data between the website, the schedule and invoicing keeps your team busy every day.

How the project works

1. A free 30-minute discovery call: types of trips, customers, current tools.
2. Scoping (1 to 2 weeks): formalized rate card, booking flow, regulatory rules, fixed quote.
3. Clickable mockups, tested by operations and one or two partners.
4. Development in batches: booking and payment first, then partner area, scheduling and invoicing.
5. Go-live, team training and 3 months of support included.

The offer is described on the business apps page, and vehicle management in custom fleet management software.