Ride-sharing company Ola is set to launch in 11 new locations each in Australia and New Zealand, taking its total presence to 33 cities in the region. With over 85,000 driver-partners signed up, Ola aims to double its scale by 2021, the company said in a statement.

“We have seen a phenomenal response to our services across Australia and New Zealand since our launch in February last year. Today, Ola leads the global rideshare industry by enabling higher driver earnings, demonstrating our driver-focused approach to mobility. We are excited to increase our presence in the region,” said Simon Smith, Head of International, Ola.

Australia and New Zealand are key markets for Ola, where a majority of the population living in metropolitan cities is dependent on ride-sharing services for mobility. Ola has differentiated itself by focussing on driver benefits and by charging industry-low commission rates of 15 per cent in Australia and 18 per cent in New Zealand that has increased earnings for drivers, added the statement.

Consequently, the presence of a large number of cars has improved the customer-booking experience by decreasing the average wait-times. Drivers have served over 160 million kilometres with Ola across Australia and New Zealand since launch last year, the company said.

Global foray

Ola began its global foray last year with Australia being the first country to launch. Within a few months, it expanded its services to the UK and then New Zealand, the statement said. Recently, Ola was granted a Private Hire Vehicle licence by Transport for London and is subsequently starting to onboard drivers ahead of launching its service in the British capital.

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