Carpooling service BlaBlaCar introduces monetization for Ukrainian users.
Starting from November 2018 the possibility to book a car for passengers will be paid. After the user has selected the route and the driver, he/she will be required to pay to make a reservation: one-day reservation will cost 49 UAH, one-month reservation will be 59 UAH. The payment option is accessible on the website, as well as in-App (iOS, Android). New rules would not apply to the rides less than 120 km long, their booking is available free of charge.
Basing on the results of monetization in other countries, as well as many surveys and interviews with Ukrainian BlaBlaCar users, such format of access is the most popular and optimal. The main advantage of the approach is that every user can choose the specific payment option which is right for him/her and suits him/her depending on frequency of rides. For instance, if a person travels once a month, the best option would be an access for one month. In case a couple of rides is needed – it is better to get an access for one day.
The payment rules were left unchanged – you need to pay in cash. However, the company has confirmed that they are considering cashless payments, “as one of the available options”.
For drivers themselves the service remains free of charge. The company says that they continue to monitor the amount of compensations – using BlaBlaCar implies partial compensation of transportation costs, and not earnings.
In Ukraine, where BlaBlaCar first appeared four years ago, taking over the startup “Podorozhniki”, and now there are over 4 million users. All of them will receive 3 months of free booking, which must be activated until November. Also, one month of free booking will be given to all new users.
Now BlaBlaCar works in 22 countries worldwide, there are 65 million users, 20 millions of which travel quarterly. Mobile app audience of BlaBlaCar consists of 30 million users. In late September, the company announced that it became profitable
