Sri Lanka’s ride-hailing market is dominated by two players that have burned capital to scale, setting the terms of competition. Into this landscape steps HelaGo, a new entrant from Bhasha Lanka, proposing a new way to ride from Point A to Point B.
Instead of competing on price or algorithms, HelaGo lets drivers and passengers negotiate fares. “We wanted to challenge the existing model with a more open, fair, and transparent approach,” says Dhanika Perera, Founder and Chief Executive of Bhasha Lanka.
Bhasha’s decision to enter ride-hailing followed a May Day protest last year by drivers against existing platforms. The episode pushed the company to examine the source of dissatisfaction. “Drivers had no control over pricing, and neither did passengers,” says Dhanika. “Ride-hailing is a people-to-people service, but a technological intermediary has stepped in and taken pricing control into its own hands.”
Backed by a $1 million investment from the David Pieris Group, HelaGo is now testing whether a leaner cost structure and greater transparency can carve out space in a market where incumbency has long dictated power.
What is HelaGo and what makes it different
HelaGo is developed by Bhasha Lanka, best known for Helakuru, a Sinhala-first keyboard app that has grown into a widely used consumer platform offering payments, utilities, and other daily services. HelaGo itself launched on the 6th of January, and can be accessed either through Helakuru or via the dedicated Go app.
What sets it apart from other ride-hailing services is how fares are determined. Instead of a fixed, algorithm-driven price, HelaGo uses a driver-offer model. In practice, you enter your pickup location and destination, after which it connects you with the three nearest drivers. HelaGo sets a reference price range, within which drivers submit offers. You can accept an offer from one of them or make a counteroffer. Once a price is agreed, the ride is confirmed, and the driver proceeds to the pickup point.
Dhanika goes on to say, “What we expect is that if a trip requires more fuel or effort, drivers will price it slightly higher. If it’s less costly, they can price it lower. On the passenger side, choices will reflect priorities. Urgent trips will favour the nearest driver, while non-urgent ones favour the best price. The model is designed to let both sides make their own decisions rather than accept a single fixed fare.”
Table 01 illustrates how this driver-offer model translates into fares in practice. The routes shown simulate typical home-to-work commutes into Colombo, using well-known landmarks in residential areas as starting points and Echelon Media’s office in Kollupitiya as the destination. Prices were captured at the time of request across HelaGo, PickMe, and Uber. Where multiple HelaGo fares appear for the same route, they reflect different driver offers received for that journey.
One pattern that emerges from Table 01 is the limited availability of cars on HelaGo relative to bikes and three-wheelers. Dhanika acknowledges that car supply remains thin at this early stage, while supply is currently stronger among bikes and three-wheelers, which dominate everyday urban travel. Expanding car availability is now a priority, he says, with work underway to introduce greater flexibility so car drivers can take a wider range of hires as supply builds.
Driver Retention built on a 7% commission
At the time of writing, Dhanika shares, HelaGo has about 80,000 registered drivers, with roughly half based in the Western Province. Driver sign-ups opened through the Helakuru app in July 2025. By January 2026, more than 60,000 drivers had registered. Momentum picked up after launch. He shared that the HelaGo driver app has since crossed 100,000 downloads, with around 20,000 new driver registrations recorded in a single week.
Commenting on this growth, Dhanika states, “In practice, these are the same drivers already using other platforms. The differentiator will be retention. If drivers feel their problems are solved and the system is clear and transparent, they will stay. We are not trying to push them. We want them to recognise, instinctively, that this platform works better for them. That belief guides our approach.”
Behind the scenes, for the driver, each request for a ride on the platform begins as a question, whether the fare covers fuel, daily expenses, and commission deductions.
It’s a pattern reflected in research from the Sri Lanka Economic Journal, which found ride-hailing drivers face unstable income that “makes it difficult to manage daily expenses, save for future needs, or engage in meaningful long-term financial planning.”
For HelaGo, its driver proposition begins with a flat 7% commission across all vehicle types. Based on an analysis of driver earnings receipts shared in public ride-hailing driver Facebook groups, competing platforms typically charge between 8% and 15%, with some categories also carrying fixed daily platform fees. Dhanika says the company intends to keep this commission “forever with no additional fees,” positioning it as a long-term commitment.
Source: Sri Lanka Economic Journal (2025)
The report from the Sri Lanka Economic Journal also shows that three-wheelers account for 53% of all ride-hailing vehicles. The same study found that “62% of respondents work full time in ride-hailing and delivery”, while “38% engage in gig work on a part-time basis.” It also reports that, “71% do not have another source of income beyond gig work.” In this context, commission levels shape daily livelihoods, particularly for three-wheeler drivers.
Tackling the “Cash or Card” friction
Beyond commissions, HelaGo also aims to address the classic, ‘Cash or Card?’ problem plaguing ride-hailing apps. In the early days of ride-hailing, drivers avoided card payments because slow settlements made it difficult to cover daily expenses, including fuel.
Settlement speeds have since improved. Since 2016, PickMe has settled card payments to drivers within 24 hours, but Uber processes card earnings on a weekly cycle, according to its support page. On HelaGo, “Payments from card hires are credited to the drivers’ bank accounts in real-time. They can take their cash at any time,” said Dhanika.
As settlement speeds improved, the source of friction shifted. It now lies with the mechanisms of how cash and card payments are settled.
Consider a three-wheeler driver, Sunil, who accepts a hire priced at Rs.1,000. When the passenger pays in cash, Sunil receives the full amount immediately. The platform’s 15% commission of Rs.150, isn’t collected at the end of the trip. Instead, it is recorded as a running balance on his account to be recovered later.
When Sunil later accepts a card hire, the platform uses it to clear outstanding commissions before crediting any balance to him. On a Rs.800 card trip, the platform takes its 15% commission of Rs. 120 for the hire and recovers the Rs.150 owed, leaving Sunil with Rs.530. If he has a large outstanding commission, then a card hire may not pay him at all and instead go towards clearing his balance.
This settlement approach is used across PickMe, Uber, and now HelaGo too. Dhanika says the model was chosen instead of relying on manual top-ups to settle commissions.
He refers to how other platforms allow drivers to settle pending commissions in cash. One option is eZ Cash, a mobile money service operated by Dialog Axiata, where drivers visit a retail outlet displaying the eZ Cash logo, hand over cash, and have the amount credited to the ride-hailing platform’s account. Pay&Go offers another option, allowing drivers to clear dues either in cash through self-service kiosks or digitally via its mobile app.
On some platforms, these methods become necessary once outstanding commissions cross a certain threshold, as drivers can be temporarily blocked from receiving new rides. Uber notes on its support page that when cash payments exceed electronic earnings, drivers must settle the difference separately before continuing.
On HelaGo, drivers can accumulate up to Rs. 2,000 in unpaid commission from cash hires. After this limit, the platform will only offer them card hires or the option of setting their balance through an in-app payment using a debit or credit card. The aim, Dhanika says, is to remove the need for physical top-ups while still recognising how drivers manage their earnings day to day.
Beyond this cap, HelaGo’s response focuses on flexibility rather than enforcement. Drivers can switch to a cash-only mode when needed. ‘Drivers don’t need cash all the time, only at certain times of the day, typically in the morning when they need to pump fuel and when buying groceries on the way home,’ Dhanika says.
Through these efforts, Dhanika expects, “This card or cash problem will be solved for passengers. Many driver grievances stem from confusion over earnings. We’ve reduced it through transparency.”
Beyond earnings: insurance and pensions
Beyond payments, HelaGo has also built a welfare layer for its drivers. Each driver receives a life insurance policy from FairFirst Insurance worth Rs. 500,000, which includes hospitalisation cover of up to Rs. 200,000 and a daily allowance of Rs. 2,000 for up to 14 days during hospital stays.
“We’re giving this exclusively for HelaGo drivers at no cost,” says Dhanika. By contrast, with most ride-hailing platforms, the cost of such insurance is borne by the driver. On PickMe, for instance, insurance costs are recovered through a per-ride deduction of about Rs.5–10.
In addition, the platform is introducing a voluntary pension scheme for drivers in partnership with the Sri Lanka Social Security Board. Drivers can opt in and select a target pension payout after age 60, with contributions set according to age and a chosen contribution period of 20, 40, 50, or 60 years.
Entering a Competitive Market with $1 Million from David Pieris
The move into this market marks a shift for Bhasha itself. Unlike its earlier products, such as Helakuru, which launched as the first Sinhala keyboard, and PayHere, the country’s first non-bank payment gateway, ride-hailing is a competitive market with two well-established players that have burned capital to scale.
To understand the scale of the market, it helps to look at PickMe. As a publicly listed company, it is one of the few ride-hailing platforms that lay out its scale, economics, and cost structure in detail.
Its latest annual report states that in FY25, its Gross Transaction Value (GTV) reached Rs.56.8 billion. The figure represents the total value of transactions processed on the platform before commissions, serving as an indicator of overall activity and scale. In the same period, roughly 10% of this value, Rs.5.8 billion, was captured as revenue, with ride-hailing accounting for most of it.
Dhanika acknowledges, “This is the first time we are entering a red ocean. Our earlier products operated in blue oceans, where we innovated first. So we focused on strengthening existing capabilities. By launching through Helakuru, we begin with an established passenger base. Building the driver’s side required a slower, more deliberate approach. That is why, for the first time, we partnered with an established player with roots in the mobility industry.”
He refers to the $1 million (Rs.309 million) investment by the David Pieris Group for a 25% stake in HelaGo, structured as an independent entity now valued at $4 million. In Bhasha’s 15-year history, this marks the first time the company has taken external funding.
The David Pieris Group is a leading mobility conglomerate, best known as the sole distributor of Bajaj three-wheelers and motorcycles. With three-wheelers and bikes forming the backbone of ride-hailing supply, that footprint gives the group deep access to the drivers HelaGo needs as it scales, alongside an island-wide retail and service network built over decades.
The $1 million figure Dhanika shares, “was not a random number, but set through proper calculations and revenue forecasts.” While declining to share specific metrics, he said the company has exceeded its initial forecasts, and if the momentum continues, “We won’t need further funding. We can become self-reliant from then onwards.” He added that HelaGo is working towards a longer-term plan that includes a potential IPO within 5 years.
In contrast, PickMe raised almost Rs.1 billion through private fundraising over 3 years. Its first seed round in May 2015 brought in Rs.43.9 million. It was followed by Rs.100 million that October from investors, including MAS Capital and Hirdaramani Investment Holdings. A third round in May 2016 added Rs.170 million. PickMe’s largest private investment came in June 2018, when the International Finance Corporation invested about $2.5 million, alongside Rs.308 million from existing shareholders.
PickMe also recorded its first profitable year in 2018, three years after launch. After a period of losses due to external economic shocks and the pandemic, the company returned to profitability and went public on the Colombo Stock Exchange on 13th September 2024. The IPO, which offered 13.04% of the company, raised Rs.1.5 billion. At the time of writing, the stock has risen 322.50% since its listing.
With plans to raise only about 30% of the capital PickMe once did, HelaGo is betting on a leaner path to market, aiming for an IPO in five years rather than nine.
How HelaGo Plans to Compete Against the Incumbents
Every ride-hailing platform begins by solving a two-sided challenge: ensuring there are enough drivers to meet passenger demand. On the supply side, HelaGo’s strategy centres on retention through its flat 7% commission. “The only doubt in the market is whether it’ll be sustained long-term. We can guarantee it,” insisted Dhanika. He says charging less depends on accepting that some costs are unavoidable, while keeping controllable expenses low and using David Pieris’ capital to fund growth, passing the savings on to drivers.
The Cost of Technology at Scale
According to PickMe’s Annual Report, technology-related expenses remain the largest component of its cost base. Server infrastructure accounted for roughly 36% of total operating expenses, amounting to about Rs. 627 million in FY25, which is a 4% YoY increase. Mapping costs also increased, with Google Maps charges climbing to approximately Rs. 171 million from Rs. 129 million. Alongside this, IT subscriptions rose to around Rs. 280 million.
PickMe also invested in its software, capitalising roughly Rs. 680 million in new software during the year, taking the net book value of software assets to about Rs. 1.18 billion as at March 2025. “These targeted investments are critical for scaling and sustaining the platform’s performance and reliability as PickMe continues to gain traction with greater adoption rates and wider geographical reach,” the annual report notes.
When asked about this, Dhanika argues that HelaGo is structured very differently. Rather than operating with a standalone engineering team, the platform relies on shared, in-house technology and payments infrastructure across Bhasha’s wider product ecosystem, including Helakuru and PayHere.
Engineering is treated as a pooled capability rather than allocated to individual products. This, he says, “gives us the freedom to make changes at any time. Developers work across products, and not every platform requires constant new development. PayHere, for instance, is now a mature product, requiring little beyond specific integrations such as Google Pay. So it’s a shared cost, not a dedicated one, and that flexibility matters.”
But as with other ride-hailing apps, mapping is one of the external technology costs HelaGo cannot fully avoid. For this, Dhanika says the platform opted for a hybrid approach. It uses Google Maps only where high positional accuracy is essential, such as turn-by-turn navigation, while relying on open-source mapping solutions like OpenStreetMap in other parts of the app to contain costs.
The Marketing Costs to Build and Sustain Usage
Building a ride-hailing platform goes beyond matching drivers and passengers. In a competitive market, staying visible at scale, Dhanika argues, “requires sustained awareness campaigns targeting both drivers and passengers alike.”
PickMe’s annual report shows selling and distribution expenses rose 20% to Rs.386 million, driven largely by a 35% increase in advertising and promotional spending to Rs.155 million. The company says it “invested in brand-awareness campaigns to leverage increased usage of its platform.”
That investment translated into scale and repeat usage. As of September 2025, PickMe reported about 1.34 million monthly active users, from a base of over 3 million registered users. Each month, it facilitates an average of 6.4 million trips and adds roughly 250,000 new consumers. While a monthly unique consumer frequency of 6.6 times reflects how often users use the platform.
Asked about user engagement and in response to PickMe’s reported money average transaction frequency, Dhanka responded, “We think we can achieve even more, because we’re always looking to satisfy user preferences.” One example he cited was the decision to launch a dedicated app, shaped by feedback from a two-month pilot in which early users expressed a clear preference for it.
At launch, usage skewed towards the standalone HelaGo app, which generated roughly twice as many rides as Helakuru. While declining to share absolute ride volumes, Dhanika said the pattern reflects user behaviour in the Western Province, where users are accustomed to using multiple apps. He added that this balance may shift as HelaGo expands into rural areas.
How HelaGo Is Putting Its Capital to Work
With scale still to be built, a share of HelaGo’s funding from the David Pieris Group is being channelled into marketing, which Dhanika describes as unavoidable in a market with entrenched players. Unlike Bhāsha’s earlier products, HelaGo is investing across both online and offline channels, from television and radio to outdoor advertising and event sponsorships.
Those efforts also include spending on incentives, which he frames as a response to competition rather than a long-term strategy. “Competition should not be through incentives,” Dhanika argues, pointing instead to solving problems for drivers and passengers as the basis for sustained retention.
Beyond marketing, HelaGo is using the partnership to keep operational costs lean while building on-the-ground support. “We don’t have plans to physically open offices. We’ll leverage the David Pieris network to build brand visibility and customer touch points in a cost-effective way,” Dhanika explained.
He refers to the David Pieris Group’s 2000+ sales, service, and spare parts dealerships. These outlets will include ‘HelaGo touchpoints’, giving the platform immediate physical reach as it expands within and beyond the Western Province.
In a market dominated by three-wheelers and, followed by, motorcycles, David Pieris’ near-monopoly in these categories gives the partnership practical weight, aligning HelaGo with the vehicles most ride-hailing drivers actually use.
Measuring Success for HelaGo Beyond Launch
At its core, HelaGo’s proposition on both sides is choice. “You are not locked into an algorithmic match. Instead of being told who to go with, you have the choice,” Dhanika says, referring to its driver-offer model. He continues that solving drivers’ pain points feeds directly into the passenger experience. “When drivers feel fairly treated, and their problems are addressed, they provide a better service. That reduces friction for passengers and leads to a more comfortable ride, without disputes.”
For now, HelaGo operates in the Western Province, with plans to expand islandwide by the end of 2026. That rollout is anchored to Helakuru’s base of more than four million active users, which Dhanika says extends beyond urban, tech-savvy audiences. “We have a diverse user base across the country,” he notes, framing it as a foundation for wider adoption as the service scales.
Alongside expansion, HelaGo plans to introduce a female-driver programme, branded “Yeheli”, in the coming months. Dhanika notes that female drivers remain rare, citing ongoing safety concerns. The programme is designed to address those first. Under Yeheli, female drivers will be able to offer rides exclusively to women and children, with participating drivers clearly identified on the app. Where available, female passengers will have the option to choose a woman driver.
The longer-term plan includes a potential IPO within five years, with both HelaGo’s founding team and its investor aligned around that goal.