The problem we started with
A visitor lands at Bandaranaike Airport and is quoted a price for the drive to Kandy. They have no way to tell whether it is fair, because they have nothing to compare it against. The driver knows this. The gap between what a Sri Lankan pays and what a tourist pays for the same journey is not a rounding error — it is routinely several times over.
The usual answers do not fix it. Fixed-rate taxi apps set one price and take a cut. Hotel desks add a margin. Haggling at the roadside rewards whoever is most willing to push. In every case the traveller is negotiating alone, against someone who knows the market far better than they do.
Our answer: stop asking the traveller to guess the price. Let the market quote it. When several verified vehicle owners bid for the same journey, the number they converge on is the real one.
How Let's Ride works
A tourist — or a hotel or travel agent acting for a guest — posts a trip: where they are going, when, how many passengers, what kind of vehicle. It can be a single airport transfer or a two-week itinerary across the island. Verified vehicle owners see the request and submit a bid for the whole thing. The traveller compares the offers side by side, looks at each owner's vehicle photos and profile, and picks one. A private chat opens between the two of them, and the trip is theirs to arrange from there.
See the four steps in detail →
What we are, and what we are not
- We are a marketplace. Let's Ride connects travellers with vehicle owners. We do not own vehicles, employ drivers, or operate transport services.
- We do not set prices. Every price on the platform comes from an owner bidding for a specific trip. We do not set, cap, or take a percentage of it.
- We do not handle payments. Money is settled directly between the traveller and the vehicle owner. Nothing passes through us.
- We are free for travellers. Tourists, hotels and travel agents pay Let's Ride nothing — no booking fee, no service charge. See ourTerms of Service for the current position on vehicle-owner fees.
Verification is the part that has to be real
A marketplace that lets anyone bid is worse than no marketplace at all, because it puts a stranger in a car with someone who trusted the platform. So every vehicle owner clears the same checks before they can place a single bid:
- National Identity Card (NIC) details, verified
- Vehicle registration details, checked against the vehicle
- Recent photographs of the actual vehicle — minimum two, maximum five
- A valid driver's licence for the category of vehicle operated
- Manual review and approval by our team before the vehicle goes live
Owners who misrepresent a vehicle, demand more than their accepted bid, or repeatedly cancel confirmed bookings lose their account.
Who uses Let's Ride
- Travellers planning anything from an airport transfer to a multi-stop tour of the island — one owner, one price, for the whole route.
- Vehicle owners who want consistent demand without depending on an airport permit or a hotel connection. Every approved owner sees every published trip.
- Hotels and travel agents arranging transport for guests without keeping a fleet, and setting their own rate to the guest.
The company
The platform is operated by Let's Ride (Private) Limited, registered in Sri Lanka, and governed by Sri Lankan law. The website, the mobile apps for iOS and Android, and the vehicle-owner tools are all built and run by our own team.
Talk to us
Questions about the platform, a partnership, or a trip already booked — every way to reach us is here. If you are mid-journey and need help now, theSupport Center is the fastest route.