New blockchain taxi DRIFE helps drivers and riders reclaim power in broken ride-hailing industry
Set for IDO on the 6th of August 2021 DRIFE disrupts Uber and Lyft’s broken, unfair model, empowering drivers to take home 100% of fares and passengers to pay using bitcoin
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM / ACCESSWIRE / July 30, 2021 / DRIFE, the world’s first decentralised ride-hailing platform, has today announced the opening of its Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on 6th August 2021. Powered by blockchain, DRIFE’s disruptive taxi platform empowers both drivers and riders, bringing fairness and transparency to ride-hailing services for the first time – alongside crypto-progressive Bitcoin payment options in the future.
DRIFE is already in discussions with representatives from El Salvador – which will recognize Bitcoin as legal tender from 7th September 2021 – to determine next steps for registering in the country. Could more passengers around the world soon be riding a ‘crypto cab’ and paying with bitcoin before we know it?
CEO and founder Firdosh Sheikh explains why the current ride hailing model is so broken: “The global ride-hailing market is worth $113b and is predicted by many experts to grow to over $350b by 2025. Brands like Uber and Lyft have become household names, but despite their size and value, these platforms are all struggling ethically and with profitability. The value they receive does not trickle down to the drivers and riders generating the value. With commission anywhere from 15-20% and upwards and with roughly 74% of drivers earning less than minimum wage after costs and fees, once drivers join these centralised transportation networks, they are beholden to their owners and very much at their mercy. On the flipside the black-boxed fare calculations and hidden multipliers in centralised ride-hailing companies are geared to exploiting riders.”
With drivers and riders begging for an alternative to the big players DRIFE’s blockchain-enabled auction mechanism is geared towards market dictated pricing, with no more commission to the middleman, no more fare manipulation and the freedom to choose/ride flexibly.
To date, DRIFE has 2,000 registered drivers and 20,000 riders ready to ride in Bangalore, India with a target of 10,000 active drivers by Q3 2021. It is also in advanced stages of gaining operational approval in Brazil, France and Dubai, with plans for EU, US and Asian market expansions to follow.
Built on public blockchain technology DRIFE brings much-needed transparency into the ride-hailing industry, ensuring fairness in the way the platform is operated and creating an open, transparent and free marketplace for exchanging rides. Blockchain technology has also enabled DRIFE, for the first time, to tokenize the ride-hailing economy using various on-chain digital assets of both fungible and non-fungible nature. DRIFE enables riders to directly connect with drivers through the decentralized platform, reducing the additional costs incurred due to the involvement of too many unnecessary intermediaries. Replacing legacy systems and record-keeping infrastructure with an immutable tamper-proof distributed ledger also helps in reducing costs. Finally, by removing the need for third parties to manage transactions, DRIFE massively reduces transaction fees.
DRIFE offers an innovative franchisee model, enabled by non-fungible token (NFT) technology, that will help the network scale internationally very quickly. This model enables franchise operators to tap into a highly efficient and transparent blockchain-powered taxi service anywhere in the world without worrying about the platform infrastructure. DRIFE’s open governance model enables franchise owners to govern local operations. Being a local entity, franchisees can work with the best interests of drivers in mind and make the best decisions for the community. The platform itself is governed by a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) where everyone can participate in decision making.
DRIFE’s franchise model allows entities that own large amounts of the native tokens ($DRF) to make bids for a franchise spot in their respective jurisdiction. The winner of the bid has their tokens staked (locked up), granting them rights to run the jurisdiction for three years (barring special agreements/amendments) and earn a percentage of the revenue generated from the transactions on the platform. Other users are able to contribute their own DRF tokens on behalf of the entity of their choice, meaning members of the jurisdiction can support the bids of their favourite representatives with their tokens, further strengthening the innovation of DRIFE’s decentralized governance models.
Firdosh Sheikh concludes: “When two parties are sharing value amongst themselves, they should also be sharing the rewards. I didn’t come from a blockchain background but when I saw first-hand the human impact that the vicious cycle of centralized ride-hailing platforms has on drivers I made it my mission to break that cycle and create an opportunity that no others could for drivers and riders to reclaim their power.”
About DRIFE
DRIFE is a decentralized ride-hailing platform powered by blockchain with the intent of empowering the drivers, riders, and community developers. DRIFE plans to disrupt the existing business model and remove the corporate intermediaries involved in the transactions. The company is backed by Master Ventures, 18 Ventures, AU21 Capital, GD10 Ventures, FBG, Everse Capital, AE Ventures, AVstar Capital, Space Capital, BTA Ventures, Squares Capital and has successfully raised 2.7 million in funding so far ahead of its Initial DEX Offering (IDO) on August 6th.
A detailed whitepaper on DRIFE’s proposition and its technology architecture is available here.
Follow Drife’s media channels to stay up to date with the latest news:
Official website: https://www.drife.io
Telegram – https://t.me/Drife_officialchat
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Drife_official
Medium - https://blog.drife.io
LinkedIn - https://in.linkedin.com/company/drifeofficial
Media Contact: RTC Media@RT.Capital
Website: https://RT.Capital
SOURCE: Drife
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