The growing Wagga market for ride-share apps is set to welcome a new party, with DiDi Australia announcing plans to launch in the city in August.
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DiDi will be the third ride-share app to expand to Wagga in under two years, with Ola launching earlier this year after Uber made the move in early 2019.
As part of an expansion through Australia and regional NSW, the service will be offering incentives for drivers and riders to sign up ahead of its launch on August 10.
DiDi spokesperson Dan Jordan said Wagga had a "small but very strong ride-sharing industry" and the company aimed to provide an affordable alternative.
"We're up to 10 per cent more affordable than the other ride-share services ... in addition to that we have an industry leading service fee, to be able to provide our 10 per cent service fee to all of Wagga's ride-share drivers we see as a very exciting prospect," Mr Jordan said.
He said riders and drivers alike often used multiple ride-share platforms, and the company hoped to retain customers with lower prices and drivers with a higher return.
Wagga Shuttle owner Peter Rex said if DiDi timed its launch correctly and had done their due diligence, he believed they could find success in the city.
"I think any competition is healthy, and I've always found in life and in business that competition is healthy for the consumer and other business operators because it makes us better as well," he said.
He said this was a challenging time to launch, with COVID-19 affecting industries across the world.
Mr Jordan said while the pandemic was a difficult time for the ride-sharing industry, there was also opportunity while people were more conscious about their spending.
"We have seen a strong trend nationally that we're going through a strong recovery phase," he said.
"As it does recover we see a great opportunity there to do all we can to increase the earning potential for Wagga's ride-share drivers and ride-share drivers across the nation."
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