HORSHAM residents will soon have another way to get around.
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Ride-sharing service Ola announced on Wednesday it would launch a service for Horsham and surrounds in the next six weeks.
Ola is a ride-sharing service that is considered an alternative transport option to taxis.
Horsham was one of four Victorian areas announced in Ola's latest regional roll-out, with Shepparton, Warrnambool and Surf Coast also due to receive the service.
Ola Australia head of operations Wolf Aron said Horsham could expect the service to launch "within four to six weeks".
"We haven't got an actual date yet. We're announcing it now to get the drivers on board and once we are ready, we'll switch it on for the region," he said.
"(The service area) will include the city and surrounding towns. The radius would be about 30 to 50 kilometres (from Horsham)."
Mr Aron said Ola had been in Victoria for about 24 months.
"We get inquires from people all the time asking when are we coming to their town. People might use us when they go to the city or other places we've already got services, and we've had a lot of interest from drivers and riders in Horsham," he said.
He said Horsham Ola drivers who completed their registration before the service launch would keep 100 per cent of the fare for every ride they took for four weeks. New users will receive 30 per cent off all rides for the first two weeks from sign-up.
Mr Aron said Ola would "actively recruit" drivers from the Horsham area in the coming weeks.
Ola already has services in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, the Central Coast of NSW, Melbourne, Ballarat and Bendigo.
Speaking to the Mail-Times last year ahead of Uber's launch in Horsham, Horsham Taxis owner Russell Carter said rode-sharing services would impact his business.
"As time goes on, they will get the choice of jobs and our business will drop off. We have local 26 families who rely on this business for their livelihoods. This could mean losing cars and drivers," he said in February 2019.
"I don't know why Uber would choose to launch in a town the size of Horsham; I can see 12 months down the track, when Uber starts losing drivers, that we will be the ones to pick up the slack.
"Our business supports the local community; we know the people who we are picking up, and they know us. I'm happy for a bit of competition, but only as long as it's a level playing field - which this is not."
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