New rideshare service to boost region’s options

Competition is coming again to the local rideshare market, with DiDi launching more services across the southeast today

COMPETITION is coming again to the local rideshare market, with DiDi launching more services across the southeast today.

DiDi Express will launch on the Sunshine Coast from Monday, September 23.

The service currently operated in Melbourne, Geelong, Newcastle and launched in Brisbane in July.

It will join the likes of Uber and Ola locally, in offering residents and visitors transport options.

Drivers were set to be offered a 5.5 per cent service fee, and those signed up and approved before September 23 would receive a zero per cent service fee for four weeks.

The service will run from Caloundra and Beerwah in the south to Noosa in the region’s north.

A DiDi driver hub will open in Maroochydore from September 9.

Michael Bradshaw, 34, said he’d be driving on the Coast of a weekend, having driven in Brisbane for the past few weeks for DiDi.

“Usually it’s pretty good up there of a weekend,” he said.

“I thought they (DiDi) should expand to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.”

He said he’d noticed surging increase with Uber in Brisbane since DiDi launched, to try and ensure drivers didn’t make the switch to the new platform, so enticing was the new service.

He expected school holidays would be bumper times on the Coast for DiDi drivers, with many Brisbane families heading north for the break.

DiDi Australia general manager Lyn Ma said the service had been warmly received in Brisbane, which had given them the confidence to take the service to the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.

“We aim to offer AI-powered technologies with local and global operational expertise to the community, and we are eager to listen to users’ feedback to improve the product and experience with the aspiration of becoming the preferred ridesharing service in Australia,” Mr Ma said.