Overview
Yet another ridesharing service is throwing its hat into the ring in Sydney, with China's DiDi platform set to launch across the city next month.
The move comes almost two years after the platform first landed in Australia, launching in Victoria back in May 2018. It has since expanded to Newcastle, Perth and Queensland, and is finally heading to the Harbour City on Monday, March 16.
The new app promises locals "a safe, reliable and value-for-money rideshare service", as DiDi goes head to head with the likes of Ola and Uber. It'll launch in Sydney with two of its services — Express and seven-seater Max — but not its carpooling service, Share. Uber has that covered, though.
And it's sweetening the deal with some pretty tempting launch incentives, for both riders and drivers. Riders who sign up to the service before March 16 will enjoy a tidy 50 percent discount on all DiDi rides for four weeks, and will receive a $20 credit every time they introduce a friend to the platform. If you're a driver and you sign up two or more friends as fellow drivers before March 11, you'll get to keep 100 percent of trip fares for four weeks.
The company's promising 24/7 support to both drivers and riders, an itinerary sharing feature for those riding, and a strict driver vetting process. And, it's saying trips can, on average, be up to ten percent more affordable than other Sydney rideshare services.
DiDi Chuxing launched in China in 2012 and has quickly become a huge player in the global ridesharing game — it has since bought out Uber's Chinese operations and has stakes in numerous companies, including Ola, Taxify, Lyft and Grab. It'll be interesting to see how its services stack up to what's already on offer and how many drivers will be available at any one time.
The DiDi app is now available to download from the app store, with services starting on Monday, March 16. Don't forget to sign up before then if you want to snag a month of half-price rides.