Ola venturing into Car Pooling and Shuttle Services
Companies like Uber are concentrating to expand their business into other countries while Ola can be seen to be keen in focusing in its home market as they might be aware of the fact that India has the largest population of 1.3 billion and smartphones are being sold out here more than any other country. The fast economical growth shown by the country is one reason for which many giant companies are getting attracted more.
Uber is currently busy in establishing their market in China, Indian based rival Ola is giving a tough competition to them in India. Being supported by an efficient software company the Ola is able to compete with its US based rival.
Ola has announced officially that it would be providing shuttle services in the country and would be available initially in two important cities Bangalore and Gurgaon where IT companies are established large in numbers. The service will be offered around the IT corridors at first and then down into the other areas. However the company has planned to launch the service in all the cities of the country and reach people in a better way.
What does the VP of Ola says?
Sundeep Sahni, VP of New Initiatives at Ola, says that the shuttle service will target commuters who might otherwise opt for taking their own cars, bikes or auto-rickshaws. Rides will cost less than $1 (66 rupees), compared to the average $4-$6 price of a ride in a private taxi. However in turn we have to share the space with 15 more people. To make the riders comfortable the company has planned to launch the service with vehicles that have air conditioner, wifi, television, et.,
He also adds that there are millions of people in the country who take their own vehicles to office and get exhausted with traffic, pollution by the time they reach the office or their home back. For them the company has planned to offer the service which would be comfortable and reliable. For all these they just have to tap a button in their phones through the apps. They have planned to provide shuttles in the ration of 5:1 for every one single route. Unlike the usually Ola terms of adding suppliers this would be restricted to sole-traders with their own vehicles or limited fleets from outfits significantly smaller than Ola that will link into Ola’s app to find passengers. Passengers, in turn, can use the app to track shuttles on the map, book their seats and pay for the ride.
The new service, led by Sundeep Sahni, VP of New Initiatives at Ola, comes at a key time for the company which is when the company raised $400 million Series E round. The total funding of the company comes out at around $680 million following this round. The rounds are being utilized aggressively to scale the company. According to Sahni, nearly $50 million will be invested in the new shuttle service.
Finally he said that there isn’t anyone in the country operating shuttle services in India so far. He also claims that their organized shuttle service will be the first of its kind and because of that they would hold the huge first-mover advantage.
Current Ola App
The current Ola app already covers taxis, autorickshaws, outstation vehicles and all other services that serve people. It is said to be operated in 100+ cities throughout the country where in offering job opportunity for more 2 lakhs people. By taking new initiatives and expanding their services the company manages to register upto 1000 drivers every day. The numbers looks amazing as all these in turn pave ways for the growth of the country by improving individual people living standard.
Ola’s total share of vehicles on the streets today works out to around 80% says Softbank, putting it well ahead of its closest rival Meru at 12%, giving the company the US based company Uber bigger platform to seize whatever opportunity there may be to target India’s.
There are other companies who offer car pooling services like Meru, Taxiforsure and BlaBlaCar in India for the past two years. But for Shuttle Service, Ola would be the first to launch.
New Services offered
Ola is all set to launch motorcycle taxis the latest in a string of services the company is building around its core taxi-booking business to establish its business in a wide range by offering too many commuting services in India’s vast online commuter market. India’s No.1 cab aggregator is also set to add a car-pooling feature on its mobile application and launch a shuttle bus service, although these and the motorcycle taxis could these would take time to crash into the market as legal frameworks and regulations do not exist for them currently. Ola already runs an auto-rickshaw aggregation service which holds a set of regulations.
The motorcycle-taxis business, how much ever interesting move it might be, it has to undergo and navigate the regulations. A top official at Delhi Transport Department said the state was framing a scheme for a motorcycle-taxi service but there were issues to consider. “As of now it will be deemed illegal. We were planning to launch such a service in Delhi but have put it on hold due to safety concerns,” he said. Instead, Delhi launched a scheme for renting self-driven motorbikes earlier this year.
Author Bio :-
Anand Rajendran is the CEO and Co-Founder of Gacie, one of the best mobile app development firms in Chennai. He is also associated with digital marketing industry who offers internet marketing solutions to various business firms. Rideyo, a mobile app that is built with Uber clone script enables taxi owners to manage their business easily from anywhere.