Report on DiDi Australia: Enhancing Accessibility of Ride-Sharing Services in Australia

Research and analysis: consolidated findings and new insights from the literature

The sharing economy is based on activities, which are facilitated through the use of the digital platform, that enables peer-to-peer access to goods and services. Also, the ride-sharing market has transformed the traditional taxi market (Abd Elmeguid et al. 2018;373). Furthermore, the ride-sharing concept is based on innovative mobility solutions, including on-demand mobility services and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), where the main focus is on the need of the travellers and building a sustainable transportation medium (Mitropoulos et al. 2021). Today, a ride-sharing service has become an important service, due to many reasons, including: affordability, convenience, security, traffic, and eco-friendly factors. This means that users are motivated to use ride-sharing services due to economic, social, environmental, and technological factors (Sijabat, 2019). It also helps in minimizing negative impacts related to emissions, congestion, and travel costs (Mitropoulos et al. 2021).  Similarly, the demand for ride-share service providers has increased rapidly in Australia (IBISWorld, 2023). Public authorities and regulatory bodies are exploring new laws and rules to enhance the service quality of existing public transport networks, including on-demand transport services (ODT).

Moreover, in Australia, the demand for ride-sharing services has increased, due to rising urbanization, more cars, and a lack of car parking facilities in most areas (Vij et al. 2020). The key players in the Market are Uber Australia, DiDi Australia, and Ola Australia and there is a high market share concertation in this sector, which shows that the key players hold 70% of the market revenue, where Uber is the most dominant market player in Australia (IBISWorld, 2023). Now, ride-sharing is legal in the whole of Australia. In 2018, customers showed a positive attitude toward this service and showed a willingness to pay for hassle-free care-sharing services (Vij et al. 2020). Furthermore, in 2024, the growth rate of the ride-hailing market continues to look promising and growing for Australia (Statista, 2024). The market of ride-sharing is divided based on small vehicles (83%), large vehicles (14.7%), and carpooling 2.3% (IBISWorld, 2023) (Appendix-chart 2). This report will focus on DiDi Australia. DiDi Global Inc. is a leading mobility technology platform that provides a variety of services in different markets and countries (DiDi, 2024). In 2023, 75000 users downloaded the DiDi Rider App, which shows its popularity and usability in Australia (Statista, 2024). Even though, the rise of ride-sharing is said to be remarkable, in the field of transportation, still there are many challenges and related implications for the players in the market (Faster Capital, 2024). Similarly, despite the ride-sharing service and DiDi’s popularity in Australia, DiDi still faces problems with accessibility by its users, when using this platform for ride-sharing.

Based on primary and secondary reviews in the previous assessment revealed that customers of Didi face unequal access to ride-share services, due to different reasons, including: geographical disparities, social disparities, and other demographical factors. For example, ride-sharing services are more available in urban areas, rather than in rural areas (Mitropoulos et al. 2020). People living in rural or remote areas, who have no access to a car are dependent solely on public transport. Therefore, there is a lot of potential for ride-sharing and carpooling services in remote areas (Harz, and Sommer, 2021). Hence, DiDi Australia needs to improve the availability and performance of ride-sharing services in remote and rural areas, to enhance accessibility, and availability, and promote sustainability. This will enhance customer satisfaction and increase the customer base of the company.

Furthermore, low-income populations rely more on public transportation and have less access to technology and modern ways of transportation. The alternative is walking, and bicycling, which can be dangerous and time-consuming, due to the lack of infrastructure and roads to support them (Fleming 2018). Moreover, customers experience, cultural barriers, due to awkwardness and social exclusion, which make them avoid ride-sharing with different drivers. For example, language is a significant cultural barrier (Sovacool and Griffiths, 2020). Another identified reason is due to fear of unequal treatment, based on race, ethnicity, and gender. For example, research has revealed that ride-sharing drivers discriminate based on the demographic profile (user names), for example, some drivers avoid Africans and Muslim travellers, which causes accessibility problems for passengers of different religions and ethnicities (Abramova, 2022).  Additionally, different cities in Australia face problems with traffic and less parking (Vij et al. 2020). Where, ride-hailing can be a solution for many social and economic problems of the customers, including: less traffic, fewer parking issues, lower vehicle emissions, fewer accidents, time-saving, etc. (Schaller, 2021). The identified issues are some problems that are acting as key challenges or wicked problems for DiDi Australia and need suitable and sustainable and suitable remedies based on the needs of each customer segment.