Build 3-Platform Ride Booking App (Rider, Driver, Admin) — Phase 1 MVP

I'm building Xuros, a chauffeur/ride-booking platform for NYC, and need Phase 1 of a 3-part system built: BUSINESS MODEL (important — this shapes the payment logic): - 0% COMMISSION. The platform takes NO cut of ride fares or of Partner-to-Partner job payments. The driver/partner keeps 100% of the fare/job value (minus only the pass-through processing fees below). - Chauffeurs pay a flat $49.99/month subscription to use the platform — this is the ONLY revenue the platform takes from them. Build this as a recurring subscription (e.g. Stripe Billing), separate from the ride/escrow payments. - ALL payment processing fees and taxes are passed through to the PAYING side (customers on rides; the posting partner on Partner-to-Partner jobs). The platform and the receiving driver never absorb them. - INTRODUCTORY PERIOD: the app is FREE to use until December 31, 2026 — the $49.99/month subscription is waived for all chauffeurs until then, and billing begins January 1, 2027. Make this free-until date configurable. 1. CUSTOMER APP (iOS + Android) - Sign up / log in - Reserve a ride in NYC, choosing from 4 vehicle categories: Black, Black SUV, Reserve, Signature - Two booking types per category: Point-to-point (pickup to drop-off) and Hourly (minimum 2 hours) - ALL reservations require a minimum of 24 hours advance notice — the app must block/reject any booking attempt inside that window (e.g. show "earliest available time" rather than letting the request submit) - See ride status and basic ride history - Payment via Stripe (I will provide a Stripe TEST account — no live payments in Phase 1) 2. DRIVER APP (iOS + Android) - Sign up / log in, get approved by admin — includes setting the driver's HOME REGION (e.g. "NYC") during onboarding - See and accept ride offers, filtered to their OWN region only: - "Partner to Consumer" offers = customer bookings (NYC only, since the customer app currently only serves NYC riders) - "Partner to Partner" offers = jobs posted by other drivers — these can be posted for ANY region worldwide (the poster picks the job's region at posting time), but only show up as acceptable to drivers whose registered home region matches that job's region - IMPORTANT: when a driver POSTS a Partner-to-Partner job, they must pay for it upfront at posting time. That payment is held in ESCROW (authorize/hold the funds, do not release them) until the job is marked complete by both sides — only then does the money release to the driver who did the job. If a job is cancelled/disputed before completion, the held funds must be refundable, not already paid out. 3. ADMIN PORTAL (web) - Login for me only, with owner-level access - Approve/reject drivers, including setting/verifying their region - View all bookings and assign/reassign NYC-based drivers - View driver-posted (Partner-to-Partner) jobs across ALL regions, see escrow/held-funds status, and resolve disputes (release funds to driver, or refund poster) - Manage chauffeur subscriptions (see who is subscribed/free-period, the $49.99/month status) - Basic reporting (bookings, revenue, active drivers, by region) PHASE 1 SCOPE (this job): core flows above, working end-to-end with TEST payment data — including the escrow hold/release logic and the subscription billing (in test mode) — but not production-ready polish, App Store submission, or live payments. Phase 2 (submission, live payments, polish) will be scoped as a separate job once Phase 1 is delivered and reviewed. TECHNICAL APPROACH (open to your recommendation, but to hit this timeline I expect): - React Native (Expo) or Flutter for the two mobile apps, so they share code and build fast - A backend-as-a-service (Supabase or Firebase) rather than a custom server, to move quickly with built-in auth/security - Stripe in MANUAL CAPTURE mode (authorize funds now, capture/release only on job completion) — this is what implements the escrow requirement above; do not simply charge and hold money in a separate ledger without Stripe's own hold mechanism - Stripe Billing (or equivalent) for the recurring $49.99/month chauffeur subscription - A simple React (or similar) web app for the admin portal WHAT I NEED FROM YOU: - Proven experience shipping a mobile app with a real backend (not just UI) - Direct experience with Stripe's manual-capture / authorize-then-capture flow (this is the core of the escrow feature — please confirm you've built this before, not just standard checkout) - Experience with Stripe recurring subscriptions / Stripe Billing - Experience with real-time or near-real-time data (an offers board that updates) — Supabase/Firebase real-time or similar - Clear async communication in plain English — I'm non-technical and need milestone-by-milestone updates I can understand and approve before you continue BUDGET & TIMELINE: $1,000 fixed price for Phase 1, 1 week, paid via Upwork milestones (released only after each milestone is reviewed and working). If your estimate is more than 1 week/$1,000 for the full scope above, tell me what you CAN deliver in that budget/time and we'll scope Milestone 1 accordingly — I'd rather get a smaller working piece than a rushed, insecure one (especially since this handles money). SECURITY REQUIREMENTS (non-negotiable): - All backend/API keys, database credentials, and payment keys are TEST/sandbox only for this phase — no production secrets exist yet - Code lives in a private GitHub repo I own; you get collaborator access on a feature branch, not admin/owner access - No secrets, keys, or credentials may be hardcoded or committed to git — environment variables only - I review every pull request before merging to main - Standard Upwork IP assignment applies — all code becomes my property on payment; no reuse of this code for other clients TO APPLY, include: 1. A mobile app you've built with a real backend (link or screenshots), ideally something involving payments or a two-sided marketplace 2. Confirmation of hands-on experience with Stripe manual capture / held-funds flows AND recurring subscriptions (not just standard one-time charges) 3. Your honest assessment of what's realistically deliverable for $1,000 in 1 week, including the escrow and subscription pieces, and what you'd propose cutting or phasing MILESTONES (how the $1,000 is split — I fund and release one milestone at a time via Upwork, only after I see it working): - Milestone 1 ($150): All 3 apps run; sign-up/login works for customer, driver, and admin, with roles kept separate; code is in my private GitHub repo, test keys only. - Milestone 2 ($250): Customer app booking — 4 categories (Black, Black SUV, Reserve, Signature), point-to-point + hourly (2hr min), the 24-hour advance-notice rule enforced, Stripe TEST payment, and ride history. - Milestone 3 ($350): Driver app single "Offers" tab with Partner-to-Consumer + Partner-to-Partner labels (region-matched); accept a ride; post a P2P job with pay-upfront funds HELD in escrow, released on completion, refunded on cancel/dispute (Stripe test). - Milestone 4 ($250): Admin portal (approve drivers, view/assign bookings, resolve held-funds disputes, basic reporting) + $49.99/month chauffeur subscription on Stripe test (waived until Dec 31, 2026); clean handover. For each milestone I'll want a short screen-recording of it working plus a test build I can try myself before releasing payment. If your realistic estimate exceeds $1,000/1 week, propose which milestone(s) you can complete first and we'll scope from there.