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New Delhi, Mar 31 () Ride-hailing platform Ola on Tuesday said it will offer interest-free credit of up to Rs 3,600 to driver-partners to help them meet immediate household expenses amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under its 'Sahyog' programme, Ola will offer pre-approved credit of up to Rs 3,600 to be disbursed over three weeks using the microfinance lending platform, Avail Finance, a statement said. The amount will be offered interest-free to drivers operating auto-rickshaws, cabs, kaali-peelis and taxis on the Ola platform, it added. "The programme is expected to impact over one lakh families who are in need of liquidity for immediate household expenses. The loan will aim to supplant the incomes of hundreds of thousands of driver-partners who haven't had a steady source of income due to the nationwide lockdown," it said. The credit shall be set off against earnings on the platform over a period upon return of normalcy in business, it added. "'Sahyog' enables them to access micro-credit instantly, in their registered bank accounts, allowing drivers and their families to tide through these difficult times with much needed liquidity. "We are committed to doing everything we can to reduce the economic burden and safeguard the interests of our driver-partners and their families through these unprecedented times," Ola spokesperson said. Ankush Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Avail Finance said the company's platform will help Ola identify eligible driver partners as well as to manage disbursement of credit in real-time. With the implementation of the lockdown, the government has allowed only people in essential services like healthcare, banking and media to commute. Restricted mobility has left driver-partners of cab services like Ola and Uber with no source of income. SR SHWSHW

COVID-19: Ola offers interest-free micro credit to driver-partners

The last six months saw cab-aggregator company Ola spending much of its time strengthening its core, adding a breadth of services while also bringing on board a global rival of arch competitor Uber as its investor. This has made <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Ola-takes-its-Micro-service-to-75-cities/articleshow/52006224.cms">Ola</a> take a lead over its competitor Uber, supported by new categories of low-cost and luxury rides. 
 
Not only this, it has also increased focus on customer experience, and not to forget, it brought on board China's largest taxi-hailing service Didi Chuxing as an investor. 
 
It was in February that Ola launched a new lower-fare category and named it Micro, while also expanding to 75 more cities. This also brought a new league of customers to its portfolio, given that at least 75% of 'Micro' customers used air-conditioned taxis for the first time, as told by Ola spokesperson to ET. 
 
Ola, with 550,000 drivers registered on its platform, claims to command 70% of the market, while arch rival Uber says that it’s got a 50% share. While both Ola and Uber differ in their market share claims, none of them has been able to confirm their claims. 
 
"Ola is fully aware that it can't afford to lose market share," Jaspal Singh, founder of transport-focused Valoriser Consultants, told ET. "It will be difficult for them to get it back. Uber has a strong financial platform and is putting money (into India) aggressively. 
 
<a href="http://i.amz.mshcdn.com/3FhgkBZo0e9jngtwg9HnXbMuzSY=/2016%2F03%2F31%2Feb%2FAP_26011809.8a1e0.jpg">Image source</a>

Low-cost and luxury rides aside, Ola now has finance too to give Uber a tough competition

<keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> and <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword>, the two leading cab service providers in the country, have been in a constant battle because of their intense competition in the once fast-growing industry, and now, they have decided to further heat up the competition by launching specific services that target the value-conscious customers. 
 
Uber will be further investing in low-cost riding options like carpooling, bike taxis and auto rickshaw services so that he can appeal to a larger section of the society. "We want to make transportation available for everyone and cabs may not always be the most affordable option for all segments," said Amit Jain, VP, Uber India, about its decision to launch bikes and ricks for its customers. 
 In reply of this, Ola has come up with cheapest taxi-hailing service, called <keyword id="3291107" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola-Micro">Ola Micro</keyword>, which provides smaller hatchbacks at minimum prices. "(It) will be the most pocket friendly mode of intra-city cab travel," said Pranay Jivrajka, Chief Operating Officer at Ola. 
 
One area where these companies are constantly facing regulatory pressure is surge pricing, their commonly used tool where cost of a cab ride increases during peak hours. It was only last week that the Karnataka state government declared that surge pricing for app-based ride-hailing services would not be allowed. 
 
This has happened because surge pricing makes the fare and other charges higher than the fare fixed by the government, which is against the rules. 
 
The competition has intensified also because of the demand for taxis going down, forcing the taxi app companies to increase the customer base for other products. "In order to tap customers who use public transport, there is a need to give economical and faster option for shorter distances," Jaspal Singh, founder of transportation consulting firm Valoriser Consultants, told ET.

Demand for taxis go down, forcing Uber and Ola to launch innovative services to remain relevant

New Delhi, Mar 20 () Ride-hailing firm Ola has suspended shared rides temporary in an effort to curb spread of coronavirus that has killed over 10,000 persons so far globally. "In our efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19, we are temporarily suspending the 'Ola Share' category until further notice," the company said in a statement on Friday. Ola users have an option to take ride that can be shared with other customers which costs less than standalone ride. "The temporary suspension of Ola Share services is an attempt to encourage social distancing for all cases of essential travel for citizens," the statement said. The company said it will continue to provide micro, mini, and prime as well as rental and outstation services rides. PRS HRS

Ola temporary suspends share rides

<ul><li>Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi launched public transport feature in <keyword id="66" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi">Delhi</keyword>. </li><li>The feature was launched in partnership with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). </li><li>It allows one to check schedules for the Delhi Metro, based on pricing as well as timing. </li></ul>Uber launched its public transport feature in New Delhi today. With this, India's national capital becomes the ninth city in the world and the first in Asia, to get the feature. Uber's CEO Dara Khosrowshahi launched the feature in partnership with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation. The feature allows one to check schedules for the Delhi Metro, based on pricing as well as timing. "In our first five cities in the world, half a million users have been using the public transport system in Uber app," said Khosrowshahi at a press conference in Delhi. "DMRC is embracing technology and we want to commend them for that. India is a huge opportunity to make sure its cities are built for people and not for cars," he said. In the near future, Uber also aims to have dedicated pick up spots at metro stations, charging stations for Electric Vehicles, vehicles for physically disabled, self driving cars and bikes and more. India is a fundamental part of Uber's growth story. Profitability characteristics and business in India are improving. India's market is a gateway for the rest of the developing world, said the Uber CEO. There were also mentions of its latest product--Uber bus. "Uber bus service is a new product that we have launched <keyword id="6526136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="18-months">18 months</keyword> ago. We are testing and learning to understand how the service works. As the product matures, it will be specifically marketed for cities like Delhi," said Khosrowshahi. Partnering with Delhi Metro, Uber hopes to offer seamless travel to users. In <keyword id="6361586" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Gurgaon">Gurgaon</keyword>, Uber Moto sees 25% of its trips starting from metro stations. "We have discussed that 210 metro stations in Delhi, where Uber will have a designated pick up spots. Inside the stations too, Uber will place information desks and booking facilities," said Dr Mangu Singh, Managing Director of DMRC. Sometimes car ownership is a trap that prevents innovation, says Uber CEO Micro mobility is an exciting space for Uber, informed Pradeep Parmeswaran, the company's India head. Khosrowshahi also spoke about <keyword id="129243" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nirmala-Sitharaman">Nirmala Sitharaman</keyword>’s latest comment on car sales being affected by the likes of Uber and Ola. “One of the enemies of innovation is established businesses. We are moving from a world of ownership to a world of services. The dream is now to have freedom. Sometimes car ownership is a trap that prevents innovation. India doesn't need to be trapped by these established models, India can be a trailblazer for other established countries,” he said. The Uber CEO also has big expectations from India. He said, “India is going to be a big source of innovation. One example is the Uber Lite app, was designed and built in India and moved to over 30 countries around the world.” Uber is also set to hire more in India. “We are very proud of the engineering and product talent based out of Bengaluru and <keyword id="6354552" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="hyderabad">Hyderabad</keyword>. We have a goal to double the headcount in these offices and have 1,000 people to build innovative products out of India,” said Manik Gupta, Uber's chief product officer.

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi launches its public transport feature in Delhi, its first for Asia

For the first time ever, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> brings ‘Auto-Connect Wifi’ to the <keyword id="2761557" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola-auto">Ola Auto</keyword> category. Launched in 2014, Ola Auto allows people to book, track and pay for auto-rickshaw rides through their Ola app. Following the massive popularity of <keyword id="5936524" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="ola-auto-connect-wifi">Ola Auto-Connect Wifi</keyword> for the Prime category, Ola had expanded this offering to other categories including Mini, Lux, and Micro. Given that commute in an Indian city is an average of around 40 minutes, ‘Auto-Connect Wifi’ and Ola Play are properties that are distinctive and make the company differentiated from its biggest competitor in the country, <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>. By tapping into commute options like Auto for the everyday Indian, Ola is depending on this category to make the difference in the long run. How does it work Wifi connects seamlessly to internet for existing Ola customers as soon as the trip starts. First time users need to connect to the Wifi through a one-time authentication key on their phones and enjoy the seamless auto-connect experience, every time they book a new ride. Piloted in major cities and towns, Wifi internet connectivity will soon be brought to Ola Autos across 73 cities in the country.

Now you can use free ‘Auto-Connect Wifi’ in Auto-rickshaws in India

You must have by now heard about Ola and Uber planning to raise their fares. This comes as real bad news for all the commuters who had started relying heavily on Ola and Uber taxis for their daily commute, owing to their economical pricing over the exorbitant fares charged by local taxis and autos. However, it seems commute is going to be a big problem all over again. 
 
Both cab aggregators have announced they are increasing their prices in the lowest category of cabs - the bracket used mostly by the middle and upper- middle class commuters. 
 
In Delhi, where Ola was charging Rs 6 per km apart from the base fare of Rs 40 for its Micro cabs, it will now be charging almost double - Rs 12 per km after the first 20 km. 
 
Same is the case with Uber. In Delhi for instance, an UberGo commuter will now have to pay Rs 12 per km after the initial 20 km against Rs 6 per km they were paying before. 
 
In Pune, the cost has been fixed at Rs 15 per kilometre for UberGo rides beyond the first 15 km. For Vizag it’s Rs 12 per kilometre after first 15 km and for Kolkata, it is Rs 12 per km after first 10 km. 
 
Similarly the Ola commuters in Bangalore would also need to shell out Rs 12 per km as compared to Rs 6 all through the journey earlier. 
For Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, the fare scheme for Ola Micro is same as Bangalore. 
 
Both Ola and Uber have taken this move to earn profits, as per the news reports. However, this price war also poses the right opportunity for rivals like Meru Cabs to grab their share in the market. 
 
Interestingly, Meru is already giving discounts to customers. It has recently introduced Exactometer, a system where the rider needs to pay exactly the fare estimated before the start of the trip, to counter the disruptive fare rates of Ola and Uber. 
 
It remains to be seen how this steep fare hike will go down with customers, and who really will have the last laugh.

With fares almost
doubled, riding an Ola or Uber will no longer be your cheapest bet

<keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> announced today its launching the auto-rickshaw service in 12 new cities across India. Ola Autos is now available in a total of 24 cities across the country. The company targets to serve at least 2 million daily rides by end of 2017. 
 The new cities that were launched today are Tier II markets of Bhopal, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Kota, Surat, Madurai, Guwahati, Coimbatore, Nagpur, Jodhpur, Visakhapatnam and Udaipur. The24 cities in which <keyword id="2761557" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="OLA-AUTO">Ola Auto</keyword> will be present currently has over 3 million auto-rickshaws, and does over 30 million rides per day. 
 
Nitesh Prakash, Senior Director, Operations at Ola said, “We are widening the choice of urban mobility for citizens over and above our current offerings like Micro and Mini in these markets, taking us closer to our mission of building mobility for a billion Indians.” 
 
The Ola app for auto-drivers is currently available in 8 Indian languages including English, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Tamil and Telugu. The company has over 100,000 auto rickshaws registered on its platform across 24 cities and plans to launch in more cities in the coming months. 
 
<a href="http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories/ola-autos_650_123014024245.jpg">Image source</a>

Ola Auto launches into 12 more cities; Target up to 2 million bookings a day by 2017

<keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> Cabs has promised to invest Rs 100 crore over three years into the training and <keyword id="6418027" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Skill-development">skill development</keyword> of over one lakh drivers. 
 
In a statement, the company explains that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to that effect. 
 
Manish Kumar, MD and CEO, NSDC said, “We are extremely happy to work alongside Ola, driving this campaign that has the potential to significantly improve livelihoods and contribute to the economic growth of lakhs of Indians. Such initiatives will go a long way in promoting skill development and creating an environment of entrepreneurship for the people of the country.” 
 
Ola claims to see “phenomenal growth” in the mobility sector and seeks to “empower” people from all walks of life. The money will be invested in the training of drivers and the requisite skills. The MoU was signed by Ola co-founder and CEO Bhavish Agarwal and Kumar, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Rajiv Pratap Rudy and dignitaries. 
 Reportedly, NSDC and Ola will <keyword id="657095" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="work-together">work together</keyword> to identify people and then train them to be drivers, or “driver entrepreneurs”, as Ola calls them. 
 “The mobility sector in the country is witnessing phenomenal growth and has the potential to <keyword id="3974885" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="empower-aspiring-individuals">empower aspiring individuals</keyword> from all walks of life to become entrepreneurs. We are extremely excited to partner with NSDC to invest in the training and skilling of drivers as this would help us in realising our objective of nurturing micro-entrepreneurship,” Aggarwal said.

OLA to invest 100 crore into training one lakh drivers

Cab aggregator <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> posted a consolidated loss of over Rs 2,311 crore -- about Rs 6 crore a day -- during fiscal 2015-16, on account of heavy advertising and promotional expenses and high employee cost, as per a news report by PTI.The Bengaluru-based firm, which is locked in an intense battle for leadership with US-based Uber, has seen its losses widen about three times from Rs 796.11 crore in 2014-15, Ola said in a filing with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.<keyword id="2200842" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ANI-Technologies">ANI Technologies</keyword> -- which runs Ola -- did see its revenues registering a stellar growth at Rs 758.23 crore during 2015-16 compared to Rs 103.77 crore in the previous fiscal.Emails by PTI sent to Ola remained unanswered.<keyword id="2385099" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anchal-Agarwal">Anchal Agarwal</keyword>, co-founder of research and analytics firm <keyword id="4159482" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tofler">Tofler</keyword> said while the absolute amount of losses have indeed widened, the loss margin has "reduced considerably"."They spent almost Rs 8.5 for every rupee earned in 2014 -15. That number is down to almost Rs 4 for every rupee earned for 2015-16. With the pull-back in incentives etc in recent months, it's possible this has now dropped to levels at par with e-commerce companies that spend roughly Rs 2-3 for every rupee earned," she added.The consolidated numbers include financials of ANI Technologies, Ola Fleet Technologies (leasing business), <keyword id="1062211" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Serendipity-Infolabs">Serendipity Infolabs</keyword> (Taxi For Sure) and Zipcash Card Service (46 per cent ownership).In August 2016, Ola shut down the TaxiForSure (TFS) business, about 18 months after acquiring the rival for USD 200 million.As per the filing, Ola's losses were widened on account of employee related expenses rising over five-fold to Rs 461.60 crore in the said fiscal from Rs 85.16 crore in 2014- 15. Similarly, Ola expanded its advertising and promotional expenditure to over Rs 437.89 crore in 2015-16 from Rs 99.84 crore in the previous year.Both Ola and Uber have loosened their purse strings to bring more riders and driver partners on board, offering them discounted rides and incentives, in a bid to wrest control of the lucrative Indian market.Over the last few years, the explosion of smartphones in India the world s second largest telecom market in terms of subscriber base has made it more convenient for consumers to book a cab on the go through apps and secure payment options.Companies like Ola and Uber have made booking a taxi ride as easy as a couple of quick taps on the phone screen.Since ANI Technologies is not a publicly-traded company, it is not obligated to disclose quarterly performance. It has raised investments of over USD 1.5 billion from investors, including <keyword id="163404" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Softbank">SoftBank</keyword> Group, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Steadview Capital, <keyword id="270604" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia">Sequoia</keyword> India, Accel Partners US and Falcon Edge.In November, Ola raised about USD 250 million from SoftBank, albeit at a lower valuation of USD 3 billion (compared to USD 4.5 billion earlier). The company's Board has recently approved a proposal to raise another USD 100 million from investors, which it said would be "primarily to fund its expansion plans".Ola, which has a presence in 110 Indian cities compared to Uber's operations in 29 cities, has been aggressively expanding its portfolio of services. It has a number of offerings like Micro (affordable), Mini, Prime (sedan), Lux (luxury), Outstation, Share (shared rides), Auto, Rentals, Shuttle (buses) and e-rickshaw. Ola, which claims to have over 6,00,000 vehicles across cabs, auto-rickshaws and taxis, is also placing big bets on new technologies like electric vehicles to stay ahead of competition

Bleeding bad: Ola roughly spent Rs 4 for every rupee earned during 2015-16

<keyword id="3590566" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="RNT-Capital">RNT Capital</keyword> Advisers, a venture fund set up by <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ratan+tata&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ratan Tata</a>, is likely to lead an investment round of $100 million, or Rs 650 crore in India’s top ride hailing app <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a>. 
 
Tata may invest $60 million, while rest will be invested by New York-based hedge fund <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=falcon+edge+capital&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Falcon Edge Capital</a>. Besides, <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> is also in talks with other investors and looking get funding of $200 million. 
 
If the deal goes through, Ola's valuation will rise to $3.5 billion. 
 
"This new $100 million commitment (will happen) at a higher valuation,” ET quoted sources as saying. 
 <keyword id="6360722" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="ratan-tata">Ratan Tata</keyword> has invested in 30 startups earlier in his personal capacity and this Ola’s investment will be the first major transaction by RNT Capital. RNT Capital has set up a $250-million corpus with University of California Investments (UC Investments) to invest in Indian companies. UC Investments manages a corpus of $100 billion across endowment and pension funds, and announced the venture with Tata in February 2016. 
 
Ola is also planning to work with the Indian Government and introduce electric vehicles in the top cities in the next three months. 
 
ET quoted analysts and employees at Ola, saying Ola clocked about six million weekly rides on an average between September and December 2016, across all its offerings-cabs, auto rickshaws and shuttle buses. “The major source of revenues for both Ola and Uber-around 70-75% - comes from their economy services including Ola Micro, Mini and UberGo,” analysts told ET. 
 
Ola is leaving no stone unturned to fight out the increasing pressure from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a>. 
 "Since <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> has been operational for 2-3 years, investors will start asking questions related to profitability,” an analyst tracking the space told ET on the condition of anonymity.

You Searched For "Ola Micro" and got 11 results

COVID-19: Ola offers interest-free micro credit to driver-partners

PTI

Low-cost and luxury rides aside, Ola now has finance too to give Uber a tough competition

BI India Bureau

Demand for taxis go down, forcing Uber and Ola to launch innovative services to remain relevant

BI India Bureau

Ola temporary suspends share rides

PTI

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi launches its public transport feature in Delhi, its first for Asia

Sanchita Dash

Now you can use free ‘Auto-Connect Wifi’ in Auto-rickshaws in India

BI India Bureau

With fares almost doubled, riding an Ola or Uber will no longer be your cheapest bet

Suchayan Mandal

Ola Auto launches into 12 more cities; Target up to 2 million bookings a day by 2017

BI India Bureau

OLA to invest 100 crore into training one lakh drivers

BI India Bureau

Bleeding bad: Ola roughly spent Rs 4 for every rupee earned during 2015-16

BI India Bureau

Ratan Tata likely to lead $100 million funding round in Ola; valuation may touch $3.5 billion

BI India Bureau

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