DriveMond setup guide: launching a ride-hailing app

DriveMond is 6amTech's ride-hailing and parcel platform: a rider app, a driver app and an admin panel. It's the script behind our clients Drop Me in Sri Lanka and drivN. Ride-hailing is less forgiving than food delivery. A driver who can't see a trip request in real time is a lost fare, and a rider whose map freezes deletes the app. This guide covers the setup decisions that make the difference.

What DriveMond includes

• Rider app: request rides or parcel deliveries, see the fare, track the driver, pay and rate.
• Driver app: go online, receive and accept trip requests, navigate, collect payment and see earnings.
• Admin panel: zones, fares, vehicle categories, driver approval, trip monitoring, promotions and reports.

Step 1: a server built for real-time

Ride-hailing depends on constant location updates and instant trip requests, so DriveMond relies on a real-time websocket layer as well as the normal Laravel admin panel. Things to get right:

• Use a VPS, not shared hosting. You need control over long-running processes, ports and SSL.
• Run the websocket service under a process manager such as Supervisor so it restarts after crashes or reboots.
• Serve websockets over SSL through your web server or a reverse proxy. Mobile apps on HTTPS won't connect to an insecure socket.
• Add the Laravel scheduler to cron and run queue workers if your version uses them.

Follow the websocket configuration in the documentation for your DriveMond version exactly, because the details have changed between releases. Our server guide covers the general Nginx, PHP and backup setup we use for all 6amTech scripts.

Step 2: zones and fares

Everything in DriveMond is tied to zones. Draw your launch zone tightly around the area where you'll actually have drivers. Riders requesting outside it is better than riders waiting for cars that never come.

For each zone and vehicle category, set:

• A base fare, per-kilometre rate and per-minute rate.
• A minimum fare for short trips.
• Cancellation fees and waiting charges, if you use them.
• Parcel fares, if you're enabling parcel delivery.

DriveMond also supports fare bidding, where riders and drivers can negotiate. Some markets like it. Others expect a fixed upfront price. Pick what local riders are used to.

Step 3: vehicle categories

Create categories that match the cars and bikes you actually have: for example motorbike, economy car, comfort car and parcel bike. Each category gets its own icon, fare and capacity. Fewer categories with good availability beat many categories with empty maps.

Step 4: driver onboarding

Driver supply makes or breaks a ride-hailing launch. In the admin panel, set the documents drivers must upload (licence, vehicle registration, insurance, ID) and review every application. Before launch:

1. Recruit and approve drivers in the launch zone.
2. Train them on the driver app: going online, accepting, navigating, completing and collecting cash.
3. Check that each driver's phone lets the app run with location in the background. Aggressive battery savers on some Android phones kill background apps, and drivers then miss trips.
4. Agree commission and payout terms in writing.

Rules for ride-hailing drivers vary a lot by country and city, from licensing to insurance and worker classification. Check local regulations before you recruit.

Step 5: maps and location

DriveMond uses Google Maps for the map display, place search, routes and distance calculations. Enable only the APIs your version needs, restrict your keys, and set budget alerts. The Google Maps API guide explains which keys go where and how to avoid surprise bills.

Step 6: payments

Cash is the default in many ride-hailing markets. Add a wallet and the online gateway your riders use. In Latin America that's often Mercado Pago, and cards via Stripe elsewhere. See the payment gateway guide. Test how driver earnings, platform commission and cash collection balance out in the reports.

Step 7: brand, test and publish

Rebrand both apps with your own name, icon, colours and package IDs, and add your own Firebase project for push notifications. Then test on the street, not at your desk: two phones, two people, real trips across the zone. Check trip requests, live tracking, fare calculation and notifications.

The driver app's background location use needs Google Play's location permission declaration and a prominent in-app disclosure. Apple checks that location purpose strings are clear. Our store publishing guide covers these.

Launch week checklist

• Enough approved drivers online in the launch zone at peak times.
• Fares checked against real trips you've driven.
• Support channel ready, such as WhatsApp or in-app chat.

How we help

We set up DriveMond end to end: server and websockets, zones, fares, Maps, payments, rebranding and publishing both apps under your accounts. See Drop Me and drivN in our ride-hailing section, and read our breakdown of what an Uber clone costs.