- Flat 50% discount on fares in the launch phase to encourage users to share rides
- Plans to launch Ola Share in 20 cities across the country over the next 6 months
Kolkata, January 22, 2016: Ola, India’s leading mobile app for transportation today announced the launch of Ola Share, India’s first social ride-sharing platform in Kolkata. Ola Share will allow users who travel on the same routes to share their cab rides with users from social groups they are part of, starting today. This makes for economical fares and reduced congestion, since a ride can now be shared by up to three people at any point in time. Customers in Kolkata stand to benefit from a flat 50% discount on Ola Share fares over the coming month. Launched already in Bangalore, Delhi NCR and Mumbai, Ola Share has received tremendous acceptance from customers and driver partners in the city. All of Ola’s safety features including Track your Ride, Share Ride Details, SOS, Emergency Contacts, 24×7 Customer Support and In-trip feedbackare available on Ola Share as well. Driver-partners get an option to log onto the Share platform, getting instant access to increased revenue of up to 50%, through continuous fulfilment of booking requests.
Ola launched its services in Kolkata in November 2014 and has since transformed the way people travel within the city. With an extensive range of on-demand transportation solutions Ola compliments the existing transport infrastructure in Kolkata, as the largest mobility service provider. With the launch of Ola Share, the Company is now adding a whole new dimension to city commute, where customers can choose to share rides with members of social groups they are part of, without having to share their ride with strangers.
Ishan Gupta, Category Head – Shared Mobility said, “After seeing tremendous adoption and response for Ola Share in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore, we are thrilled to bring Ola Share to Kolkata. As one of India’s most populous cities, Kolkata can benefit immensely from shared mobility options. Ola Share helps make transportation within a city more affordable and helps reduce pollution and on-road congestion. It also gives users the option to travel in the comfort of social groups they are part of, with convenient access from the Ola app. With Ola Share, we are enabling access for more citizens than ever before and furthering our mission of building mobility for a billion people.”
Ola has introduced the concept of social groups on its app through which colleagues from a workplace or friends from a college can come together to share rides amongst themselves.A user can join multiple groups or simply choose to share a ride with anyone. Users can also request creation of groups with due email verification. As soon as a user requests a Share ride on the Ola app, they will be matched with other users from their groups along their way.
Ola plans to take Ola Share to 20 cities across the country over the next six months, making urban transportation economical and efficient. With better utilisation of vehicles on the road, many more cars can be taken off the road every single day. This will go a long way in making our cities cleaner and greener by reducing pollution and congestion on road.
How does Ola Share work?
Ola Share appears on the Ola app as a separate category. On sharing the drop location, the Ola app uses advanced algorithms to match users from common social groups, looking for a cab on the same route, in real time. When additional usersen-route are identified, the driver’s device gets an alert with navigation to their pickup location within minutes, to join the ride. A maximum of 3 people can share a cab together via Ola Share. All of Ola’s safety features including Track your Ride, Share Ride Details, SOS, Emergency Contacts, 24×7 Customer Support and In-trip feedbackare available on Ola Share as well. Driver-partners get an option to log onto the Share platform, getting instant access to increased revenue of up to 50%, through continuous fulfilment of booking requests.
About Ola:
Founded in Jan 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola (formerly Olacabs), is India’s most popular mobile app for transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfilment. Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 102 cities can book from over 350,000 vehicles across cabs, auto-rickshaws and taxis on its platform. The app is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. Ola recently acquired TaxiForSure, India’s second largest cab aggregator, which continues to operate as an independent brand. Please visit www.olacabs.com for more information.