Careem Bus

On-Demand Commutes, Reinvented

Services: Design; Software Development
Industry: Mobility & Transportation

A bus driver following the Careem Bus captain app on a phone mounted by the wheel

Overview

Careem Bus is a leading on-demand bus booking app in the Middle East, offering users a comfortable, affordable, and tech-powered alternative to public transport and expensive taxis. With a single tap, users can request a ride, track their bus in real-time, and enjoy a modern commuting experience with AC, comfy seats, and fixed pricing.

Careem partnered with Blink22 to enhance the mobile app experience, improve backend analytics, and modernize the Android codebase—all while maintaining tight coordination with internal teams and live operational systems.

Context

Careem, a subsidiary of Uber and one of the Middle East’s top transportation platforms, expanded into the mass transit space with Careem Bus—an initiative aimed at making daily commuting more reliable and accessible in Egypt.

As user adoption grew, so did the need for a more optimized backend, better real-time tracking, and a cleaner mobile experience. Blink22 joined the mission to elevate the Careem Bus platform through focused engineering and design improvements, delivered across multiple platforms.

The Careem Bus app’s launch screen beside its route map screens — Careem Bus UI overview

Design Approach

Blink22 assigned two dedicated engineering teams to work in parallel and meet these goals efficiently:

Feature Expansion & Backend Analytics
- Added new features and enhancements to the mobile and web apps.
- Built a dynamic fleet management dashboard capable of real-time tracking, analytics, and route optimization.
- Improved the booking and payment flows to streamline user interactions.
Android Code Modernization
- Migrated the Android base code from Java to Kotlin, improving readability, maintainability, and performance.
- Ensured full compatibility and smooth integration with Careem’s core platform and existing backend services.
- Supported production teams with ongoing updates, bug fixes, and release management.

We worked in close coordination with Careem’s cross-functional teams, adopting Agile processes to ship regularly and respond quickly to product needs and operational feedback.

Challenge

To maintain its market leadership, Careem Bus needed to:

Improve the entire user journey, from booking to in-app payments.
Enhance the backend system to provide better insights and analytics on real-time bus operations.
Refactor and improve the Android codebase to enhance stability and future scalability.
Collaborate with multiple internal teams—design, product, operations—while shipping fast and iterating often.

All this had to be done without disrupting existing services that thousands of users relied on daily.

A white minibus in Careem Bus green livery — Careem Bus branding concept

Proposed Solution

By blending thoughtful design, robust engineering, and tight integration practices, we helped elevate Careem Bus from a functional MVP to a polished commuter app:

Fast, reliable bus booking and tracking experience across iOS, Android, and web.
Centralized fleet analytics dashboard for operational insights.
Modern, maintainable Kotlin-based Android architecture.
Smooth integration with Careem’s wider ecosystem and user identity services.

Client review

Blink22 has helped to improve development capabilities. They hold themselves to high standards, which has enabled successful collaboration. Upon joining the engineering board, they have augmented resources to help execute the platform.

Helal Ismail • Former Head of Engineering, CareemCheck on Clutch

Featured Work

Let’s Build Together

Tell us what you’re building. One of our experts will be in touch within 2 business days to talk through scope, timeline, and the right team.

Direct contact

Send a direct email

Referral program

Earn a 3 to 5% commission for every signed client you refer.

Refer a client