Uber faces new rival as Didi rolls into Wellington

Monday, 14 July 2025

Didi has been operating in Auckland since 2020 and is hoping steep discounts will help it get a foothold in the capital.

Ride-hailing service Didi will begin competing with Uber in Wellington by expanding its service to the capital on Monday week.

Conventional taxis aside, Uber has enjoyed a near monopoly in the capital after rival app-based services Ola and Zoomy shut up shop in 2023 and 2024.

But Didi’s arrival means Wellington could soon have three competing services once again.

Estonian-owned company Bolt is also planning to expand its service from Auckland, by opening up its app to drivers and passengers in Wellington and Christchurch in the coming months.

Getting new ride-hailing services off the ground becomes increasingly difficult the more drivers and passengers have already signed up to a service.

“Critical mass” is important in part because the time taken for a driver to arrive is a key consideration for passengers, potentially creating a “chicken and egg” problem for new entrants.

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But both Didi and Bolt appear to be seeking to overcome that hurdle by charging drivers less and offering passengers steep opening discounts.

Didi, which has been operating in Auckland since 2020, said it would offer Wellington passengers up to $540 in savings in the four weeks following its launch in the city.

Those will come in the form of one free ride valued at up to $15 every Wednesday and Saturday, along with daily discounts, both of which will be available up until August 17.

When Bolt opened in Auckland last month, it offered passengers up to seven half-priced rides, capped at a $12 saving on each trip.

Didi spokesperson Dan Jordan said Wellington drivers were “craving a choice of platforms and greater earning opportunities in what is a difficult time in the current cost-of-living climate”.

Court rulings currently being appealed by Uber at the Supreme Court have raised the prospect that many ride-hailing drivers could be retrospectively entitled to employee benefits such as holiday pay and sick pay.

However, the Government has tabled a law change that would confirm “gig economy” workers as independent contractors — subject to a limited number of checks — from the time that new legislation took effect.