The Aussie Market has three main rideshare competitors: Uber, Didi (China) and Ola (India). In addition there is also Bolt (formerly known as Taxify) and GoCatch. The taxi industry in Melbourne was initially furious, but has since accepted rideshare companies.

This was mainly due to consumers paying a levy to help reimburse up to two $100k AUD licences per owner purchased from the Government by them. They received a lot of bad press, lost a lot of business and have since upped their game. In repsonse they developed apps for 13 Cabs and Silver Top taxis; however rides are generally more expensive.

Uber recently introduced a tipping feature into their app. None of the competitors offer pool or a tipping service. Uber takes high fees up to 30% from drivers; whilst legacy drivers enjoy a compoartively low 22.5% commision. We at Chasyr will offer a low single digit fee to drivers to cover costs.

Australian drivers are already rebelling against Uber and switching to Didi & Ola. Didi in particular only takes 5% commission, and informs the driver of the pickup and dropoff location and we will also have this type of transparency at Chasyr. This proposes a problem for Uber as no drivers take short trips on Didi, and so then Uber absorbs all the scraps. However, customers may also find it frustrating they are unable to get or utilise their free rides to try out the platform.

Ola offers the most amount of discounts; Didi also offers discounts. They are all now offering some form of discounts to incenticize riders for repeat use. Uber Pool is being mass marketed and is still cheapest service in Australia. Drivers have also mostly stopped doing Uber Eats deliveries and have left the work in Melbourne to scooters, bikes and motorcycles.

The Australian airport market faces challenges as well. for example; Melbourne was late to sort out the airport holding bays for Uber and now has a section for rideshare right beside the taxi holding bay. They resolved a similar issue quickly at Sydney airport. Drivers also have been threatened by Uber with deactivation for gaming the airport queue system, through GPS spoofing, turning off location and other forms of manipulating the app. This has led to poor relations between Uber and their drivers, we at Chasyr aim to put drivers first. Drivers generally get a ride very quickly at Melbourne airport on Uber, in comparison to other rideshare apps. The other apps will have you waiting several hours to move through the queue.

In Australia their is also a corporate app, named: GPU (Get Picked Up). These bookings require drivers to have a modern car and accept bookings in advance, then drivers are required to confirm the job 4 hours prior to the booking time. The fares are generally higher and the clients are charged more. The commission being taken by the company is apparently ridiculous, a fare could cost the client $150, and the driver would receive $80. The company is pocketing mass amounts and also charging drivers a monthly subscription fee for access to the platform and jobs. There are two plans at the moment $19 per month and $69 to be able to choose the specific suburbs you wish to work as driver in and gain more first priority points than other drivers for accepting the job when new jobs arrive. However, the points aren't returned if you decide to cancel the job (which is silly). To their credit they have driver training and a Q&A section quiz on their website to get you acquainted with the GPU system.

Didi is also well received by drivers because it shows the fare amount being generated during the trip. They are completely transparent in every way. This pleases the drivers and makes things simple for the customers who have questions, we wil also do the same at Chasyr.

The personal information specifically last name & phone number is hidden on Uber, but is available on other rideshare apps, i.e. Bolt (Taxify) and Ola.

GoCatch is doing terribly, has hardly any jobs and have resorted to charging hefty subscription fees to remain in business. They are selling guaranteed bookings to drivers for monthly, quarterly or yearly fees. These fees range in the thousands of dollars (AUD).

In conclusion the Australian market tree are many challenges for drivers and problems to solve in general , as they do not have a clear option that serves and meets their needs. We at Chasyr will implement driver transparency regarding bookings with low fees and app features which optimise the driver's experience. Companies currently in the Australian market are offering drivers features and benefits but at the expense and detriment of others. They see drivers as a part of the supply-side network that they intend to make large profits from and not act in their drivers overall interest.





by Christopher Yousseff - Creative Officer