After testing the roads of Australia and the UK, Ola has now launched in 3 cities in its third commonwealth country: Middle Earth. Oh, sorry, Hobbiton.. Umm.. Bag End? Erm, yeah, nah, sorry, I mean New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington). It has appointed Brian Dewil as its country manager for NZ, who says that “Kiwis have had too little choice when it comes to rideshare.” Having lived in NZ for a while, I can attest to the fact about little to no choice when it comes to private transport services in the country. New Zealand is quite a small market (population 4.5 million) and has traditionally operated with radio cabs which charge a bomb to go both small and large distances. Ola’s competitor Uber launched in NZ in 2014 and is currently available in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Tauranga Dunedin and Queenstown. Uber claims to have 5,000 drivers and 400,000 users in the country. Uber’s ride in New Zealand has not been without hiccups, akin to its global foray. It has faced issues like: Fines, warning letters and cessation of service from the NZTA for not following rules (and part 2 of the same story) (in depth coverage here) Protests against illegal operations and flouting rules in Christchurch Taxi owners’ loss of wages due to the Wellington airport deal No guarantee of passenger safety due to lack of in-car cameras Data breach affecting NZ users False advertising NZ regulations of the taxi industry; Uber’s threat to the government In…
