Indian Ride-Share Company Ola Has Launched in New Zealand

Another international ride-share company has hit the streets of New Zealand. This time, it's an Indian-born platform called Ola, which we're told operates in over 110 cities, hosting a whopping one billion annual rides worldwide. That's over two million trips each day, and growing fast.

After launching across the ditch earlier in the year, Ola today rolls out across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. To entice Kiwis into giving it a go, it's also offering new users 50 percent off all rides for their first month — you'll just need to sign up by November 30.

The company counts its driver-partner focused approach as its main point of difference, hoping to tempt New Zealand drivers with incentives and upskilling opportunities. Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal explains, that the company sees "a real opportunity in New Zealand to provide a fair alternative for both customers and drivers."

Safety features include an in-app emergency button which enables customers to share information, such as ride tracking, location coordinates and vehicle and driver information with friends, family and emergency services.