Intercape

Mobile app development & Team augmentation

Industry: Transportation
Location: South Africa
Year: Ongoing
Client Type: SME
Website: intercape.co.za

Services

Mobile app development
Team augmentation

Technologies

React Native
PHP

Project Summary

Intercape is Southern Africa’s largest intercity coach operator, with routes across South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Mozambique. Direct bookings still leaned on the website and legacy systems, while passengers expected to search, pay and travel from their phones. We worked with Intercape to build their mobile booking app for iOS, Android and Huawei. Tickets needed to work offline at the station, push updates had to reach riders in real time, and the app had to ship to all three app stores without rebuilding the PHP stack behind it.

“What impressed us most about Modern Day Strategy was the depth of knowledge their development team brought to the project. They were highly capable and efficient in handling every aspect of the technical work. Especially being able to work with PHP code and being willing to create custom solutions to match our needs, and not unnecessarily overcomplicate the project.”

Erin FerreiraBusiness Analyst | Intercape

Reviewed on

5.0

See full Clutch review

Project Challenges

MDS Solutions

A complex, long-standing PHP platform

Their bookings and APIs ran on a PHP platform built up over 25+ years, with all the complexity that comes with it. Rebuilding that just to launch an app would have been slow, risky and expensive.

PHP fluency

Our developers have worked in PHP for most of their careers, so their existing system was familiar ground from day one. That meant no rewrite and no ramp-up time. We plugged a native app straight into their platform and only built custom pieces where needed.

Mobile was new territory

Their in-house tech team knew their platform inside out, but native mobile development was outside its focus. Building that capability from scratch would have slowed the launch.

Proven mobile app experience

Native mobile development is one of our strongest skill sets. We brought that expertise to the project and worked closely with their developers, so the app fit naturally into what their team had already built.

Finding the right partner

They wanted a local team they could work with closely, that understood how they operate and could deliver within their budget.

A local team that clicked

As a Cape Town team, we could meet in person and work on their terms. We delivered within their budget, and the working relationship clicked from the first conversation.

Thoughts from our team

Outcome

Passengers now book and manage trips on iOS, Android and Huawei, with offline ticket storage, push notifications and station-side screen software in the mix, all wired into Intercape’s existing APIs. Intercape also gained a tech partner they can rely on as the platform grows.