Using Organic Maps as an offline-first ride-hailing SDK

[texitp]

Context

I'm a developer from Cuba. In 2022, I started driving a taxi and discovered that local apps relied on Mapbox/Google Maps. The costs were high, and the dependency on constant internet was a real limitation here.

I wondered if it was possible to build a ride-hailing app with offline maps and routing, using Organic Maps as the core.

What I built

After a long process (with help from AI tools), I created a functional taxi app on top of Organic Maps. Key results:

• Reduced the Cuba .mwm from ~70MB to 26MB by removing unnamed polygons and irrelevant data.
• Customer/driver app with the map of Cuba embedded in less than 70MB total.
• Built an offline search index (no Nominatim needed).
• Modified the app to work offline: maps on device, routes via OSRM, sync every 10 seconds (<1.5MB/hour).
• Server costs: $13/month.
• Field test: 18,322 real rides in Havana (July 2025 – Jan 2026), generating ~3.5M CUP in revenue.

The idea

If one developer can do this, Organic Maps could offer an offline-first SDK for ride-hailing, logistics, or any mobility service. The infrastructure savings vs. Google Maps/Mapbox would be enormous, and the offline capabilities would open markets with poor connectivity.

What I'm proposing

I'd like to discuss whether the Organic Maps community is interested in exploring a reusable SDK. I'm happy to share my code, insights, or a demo.

Demo video (Spanish, but YouTube subtitles work):

https://youtu.be/9p4DItNzGWk

Thanks to everyone who made Organic Maps possible, and especially to Borsuk for the early encouragement.

Ing. Leonardo Texidó Quintana
texitp@gmail.com