Indian Ride-Share Company Ola Has Launched in Brisbane

Another day, another international ride-share company driving around the streets of Brisbane and the Gold Coast. 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 rival Taxify hit Australia last year, Ola has been making its way around the country, following up its launches in Perth, Sydney and Melbourne by zooming into Queensland. It also started operating in Canberra, should you be in that neck of the woods anytime soon. In total, Ola has 30,000 driver-partners registered across the nation.

To entice Brisbanites into giving it a go, it's also offering one free ride up to $20 for new users. You'll have to get in fast, however, as the free trip is only available for a week after sign-up — and the offer is limited to a short period, although Ola haven't announced when it'll end.

The company counts its driver-partner focused approach as its main point of difference, hoping to tempt Australian drivers with incentives and upskilling opportunities. As Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Aggarwal explains, that should result in a more competitive industry all round. "With a strong focus on driver-partners and the community at large, we aim to create a high-quality and affordable travel experience for citizens and look forward to contributing to a healthy mobility ecosystem in Australia," he said.

Ola plans to launch in Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart soon.