Hop, a new transportation service, has officially launched after a successful test phase that saw 350 drivers sign up in the first week and almost 2,000 passengers use the service.

Founded by 20 year old Australian Zeryab Cheema, Hop is a new ride-sharing application using Hertz rental cars, offering fast, efficient transport solutions for passengers, enabling them to make a street booking with one of the HOP’s Ushers or booking fast and on-demand via the Hop app. With a drastically different offering from its competitors, the benefits for the passengers are numerous, but best of all it sees them paying 40 per cent less than a taxi, (while paying 100 per cent of fares to the driver).

Cheema said, “Internationally, there are many ridesharing choices. We know consumers are always looking for choice and flexibility. From my experience in transportation services, we looked to pivot our current solution into something different for the Australian market, by offering customers more quality and choice, with greater flexibility, at a better price.”

Hop drivers rent well-maintained vehicles from one day to three months, with insurance and maintenance included in the car rental price. The affordable rental price also covers up to 200km per day. This means drivers can rent a car without owning a car, while earning 100 per cent of the fare.

According to Cheema, as a HOP customer you will pay less than other ride-sharing services, there will be no surge pricing like other companies and up to 40 per cent less than a taxi.

Payments and all financial transactions are straightforward as Hop has also aligned with the innovative cashless payment device, Square, allowing drivers to accept payments with a card reader on mobile phones. Square is safe, convenient and adds another level of consumer service to their Hop travel.

When using Hop to make bookings for large numbers of people, there is a reservation number system that helps to coordinate the cars for special events or VIPs.