Go Buggy is an Australian-owned company with a strong regional focus that is already operating in Coffs Harbour and Port Macquarie

Founding director Simon Robinson said their decision to begin servicing Wagga came after an insider from the local taxi industry reached out to share some of their frustrations.

“We received information from Wagga in relation to the wait times that customers were experiencing – apparently, on a weekend, it's not uncommon to be waiting two to three hours for a taxi,” Mr Robinson said.

“Go Buggy is guaranteed to be cheaper than the taxi fare rate.” 

For those worried about the legitimacy of ridesharing services, Mr Robinson stressed that safety is Go Buggy’s number one priority. 

“Our recruitment standard is quite vigorous – we had 17 applications for drivers in Coffs Harbour and we only took one – people who work for us have to be quite exceptional with their customer service standards,” he said.

“They've got to do a criminal history check, they've got to get their authority from the NSW Government to be able to drive, and, on a more personal level, we research their social media, we look at their connections and associates, and we look at any news reports on the individual to thoroughly review their background.”

For those looking to take up driving and make a bit of extra money, Go Buggy is also promising competitive rates for their driving staff.

“We also pay our drivers twice what Uber does, and we're all about making sure that the drivers work under a fair system,” Mr Robinson said.

“The service fee we charge our drivers is 15 per cent, whereas the cabbies get charged 50 per cent – so even though they’re using their own vehicle, they're clearing quite a bit of money – our drivers in Coffs can make up to $2000 a week.” 

Go Buggy will have a $10 minimum fare, a $3.95 booking fee, and will charge $1.99 per kilometre when they start servicing Wagga later this month.