Taxi Manager: Firebase-Powered Real-Time Backend Architecture for Cross-Platform Fleet Management

Efficient real-time data synchronization and secure backend architecture are critical requirements for mobile fleet management applications operating in low-connectivity environments. This paper presents the backend architecture and cloud infrastructure design of "Taxi Manager," a cross-platform mobile fleet management application for small taxi operators in India. The proposed system leverages Firebase as a complete Backend-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform, integrating Firestore for real-time NoSQL data synchronization, Firebase Authentication for phone-number OTP-based passwordless login, Firebase Storage for driver document management, and Firebase Cloud Functions for serverless push notifications and automated nightly financial report aggregation. A dual-layer Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) architecture is implemented, combining Expo Router client-side routing with Firestore server-side security rules to enforce strict data isolation between Owner and Driver user roles. A hybrid data fetching strategy — using real-time Firestore snapshot listeners for high-frequency data and one-time fetch operations for reference data — minimizes Firestore read costs while maintaining sub-500 millisecond update propagation. The complete system operates within Firebase's free Spark tier, demonstrating zero-cost backend operability for small fleet operators. The application is actively deployed at GM Taxi Service, Behror, Rajasthan. Evaluation across 15 test cases yields a 100% pass rate with booking creation latency under one second and push notification delivery within 2–3 seconds