This Bangalore-based blockchain project startup is decentralizing ride-hailing; no surge prices, commission or cancellations - takes on Uber and Ola.

When booking a cab, the first fear that comes to a customer's mind is if the driver will cancel the ride. For the driver as well, doubts regarding the drop location seep in.

Add to it the high commission the ride-hailing platforms charge - and the entire experience of being a cab driver gets reduced to a constant struggle to make enough money to sustain.

Now, a blockchain-based mobility project startup has entered the picture and hopes to change the face of ride-hailing in the country by resolving issues that accompany popular ride-hailing companies like Uber and Ola.

Founded in 2021 by Firdosh Sheikh, Surya Ranjith, and Mudit Marda, Drife is a Bangalore-based early-stage blockchain project that aims to leverage technology and progressively decentralise ride-hailing.

Currently, Drife is live in Bangalore. Its blue-and-white cabs are mostly around Kempegowda International Airport, Bangalore.

What sets Drife apart from Ola and Uber?

For starters, Drife does not charge surge prices. The prices on the platform are not affected by market demand-supply conditions. There is no risk of cancelled rides either.

Unlike other ride-hailing platforms, Drife charges zero commission from its driver-partners. 

In addition to that, the price for each ride is one that the driver and customer both consent to. (More on this later).

The functioning

Drife has a mobile application (Android and iOS) that has to be downloaded on phones.

• In the first step, the customer has to enter the pickup and drop locations, just like any other ride-hailing platform.
• A unique matching algorithm, as well as a search radius category, is then employed and sent to eligible drivers nearby.
• These drivers get the user request and can view it on their devices.
• Every ride has a base pay attached to it. In addition to that, each driver can adjust the price and bid for an amount lower or higher than that.
• All the bids made by the drivers can then be viewed by the customer.
• They then select a driver whose bid aligns with their preferences of price.

It is to be noted that the base pay of each ride is calculated by taking into account the tariff rate and the time and distance needed for the ride.

These extra steps may look like a lot, but the startup's aim is to let the drivers choose the price they're comfortable with. When that happens, cancellations are minimized.

Drife does not charge its driver-partners any commission and thus enables them to take more money home.

The revenue channels

The Bangalore-based startup earns revenue in two ways:

• It charges its driver-partners a subscription fee of Rupees 2,500 each month.
• Drife is working on a franchise model so that its operations can be taken to other cities apart from Bangalore. Under this, a revenue-sharing system will be employed where Drife will receive a percentage of the monthly subscription fees the drivers will pay to the franchise owners.

Drife is a blockchain project, and it features the DRF Token.

Users can trade the DRF Token on exchanges. Drife's driver-partners can also complete certain activities on the platform and earn the token.

The DRF Token can then be utilized to get discounts on the monthly subscription fees.

However, in India, Drife is following a fiat-based model and drivers, and customers use only the Indian rupee to make transactions.

As far as funding is concerned, Drife raised $2.7 million in a seed (private token) round in the year 2021.

The blockchain project is working towards decentralising the Indian mobility market and resolving the current issues that plague it.

Know more about Drife by clicking on its website.