What Is Opoli? Short answer: It's a transportation app. Long answer: It's a transportation app that aims to disrupt the ride-sharing business from the side of the consumer as well as the service-providers. When selecting a ride, Opoli provides customers with the ability to choose their price, their driver, and their vehicle on their own schedule. This allows for more control for both the drivers and riders. And Opoli says that makes their services up to 40% cheaper than other luxury transportation apps in the LA market.
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“The Opoli point of difference centers on commercially insured, professional drivers who offer a safer and better alternative,” said Opoli founder and CEO Rattan Joea in a story on VentureBeat. “Opoli riders can choose from town cars, SUVs, a Tesla or even a Bentley, depending on what they need and the occasion. Comparing our premium service to others, riders are appreciating Opoli’s professionalism, lower price within the black car market and the fact that all of our drivers are licensed for airport pick-ups, in style, of course.”
For riders, Opoli provides a real advantage when it comes to pricing. First, drivers bid for your ride and you see their bid in real time - and can choose which one you prefer. There’s no surprise or surge pricing, and riders will know the final fare before accepting the transaction. Riders can also make reservations, view driver ratings and choose their driver and vehicle, something other transportation apps do not allow.
So how is this disrupting the ride-sharing business on the other side? Leveling the platform? For a little background, services like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar take a 20-30% cut of every fare, in addition to claiming the ability to set fare pricing. In contrast, Opoli charges drivers a monthly fee and allows a free market to set the price as the riders and drivers negotiate through the app.
“We’re trying to be a little more personal to the driver and understand their perspective,” CTO Bobby Gibson said in the Daily Breeze. “It’s not going to be me kicking you out. If you only have one star, nobody’s going to pick you.”
According to Opoli, however, their vision goes far beyond transportation. At the core of Opoli is a commitment to leveling the playing field for service providers. They aim to provide service providers the ability to compete against competitors of any size on the basis of service and quality, as opposed to economies of scale. By removing the barriers of entry into service industries, they strive to provide a channel in which consumers and providers can conduct business one-on-one without the need of a middle man.
For more information about Opoli or to download the app, visit www.opoli.com.