<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Your-Uber-Ola-rides-could-get-much-more-expensive-if-it-were-upto-the-Maharashtra-government/articleshow/55374515.cms">Pranay Jivrajka, Chief Operating Officer of Ola, </a>also half the company’s brain power along with Founder and CEO <keyword id="1553134" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bhavish-Agarwal">Bhavish Agarwal</keyword>, has seen the company grow from a call center in Mumbai to reaching 102 dynamic cities of India. Given the size of the task at hand, Pranay is always shuttling between cities at top neck speed. It is during one such dash from Bangalore to Delhi that we stole an hour from him, asking him about all the aces <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> has up its sleeves for the next year. For a company that is facing stiff competition from its biggest competitor in India, the global deep-pocketed Uber, Pranay seemed very much at ease discussing some of the finest details of Ola’s path to domination in the rather fast-growing and exuberant cab aggregator space. 
 
 
Q. Ola’s growth has been phenomenal in the past three years. What is going to be Ola’s areas of growth in the coming months? 
 
Pranay: The industry is evolving at a very fast pace. 
We had rentals and outstations as a core business and went into point-to-point and pivoted the model, saw that this is the real opportunity improve that for 3-4 years. Over the last one year, we have got 8-9 categories under the platform. We’ll have very strong focus on shared mobility and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Restaurant-Week-Dinner-at-Olive-Bar-Kitchen/articleshow/54567808.cms">local innovation in terms of how can we further improve customer and driver experience.</a> 
 
Q. What are the cities that have really done well in terms of shared mobility, which is also why I ask you why such focus on shared mobility? 
 
Pranay: In a supply constrained market and shared mobility helps you decongest at least 30, 40, 50 cars – a shared cab for a day running on Ola would serve at least 30, 40 50 customers depending upon the city. The price points at which it comes is obviously cheaper because you are sharing it with the other person and you are also in some way or the other contributing to the environment. 
 
Q. Does a significant portion of rides happen on Ola Share? 
 Pranay: The big markets are all in similar range– between 20 to 40%. All the seven big cities would be in this range when it comes to the contribution of Ola Share in the overall rides that we do in that city like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, and <keyword id="6354925" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kolkata">Kolkata</keyword>. We have OlaShare in 15 cities currently. 
 
Q. When you are talking about cities that you are present in, what is the idea or what is the criteria that you look at before you enter a city? 
 
Pranay: When we started we had a comprehensive understanding of what all is needed right from the population, the number of bridges that you have in the city, does it have an airport or a railway station. How well are those connected? Is there a public transport system? How many people use that intuitively? How are autos there? Do they run on the meter? How is the regulatory state government? What are the fuel options available? Then how many hospitals you have, how many schools you have, how many colleges you have, how many big corporates you have. So, these are like some of the parameters and eventually by mapping these parameters – we mapped more than 250 cities when we launched eventually came down to 102 cities to understand what should be the stack ranking of cities in which we are penetrating. Then we also see how is the city connected well. 
 
Q. So, with Ola Outstation facility, you have access to about 500 cities? What innovations are happening in this space? 
 Pranay. <keyword id="51958" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="YES">Yes</keyword>. Recently we started one-way trips where you don’t have to pay for the round-trip. So, if you book a cab for <keyword id="6356295" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Agra">Agra</keyword> from Delhi – so far you have to pay for the round-trip even if you are going one side , except that now we have started with one-way trips where you have almost 55% of the ride cost that you have to pay. The driver will get a business from Agra and by using navigation he can run his cab in Agra for a while and then eventually come back. This is something that we are contemplating and should be implemented by March 2017. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/In-a-first-Ola-launches-credit-for-ride-share/articleshow/55461416.cms">ALSO READ: In a first, Ola launches credit for ride-share</a> 
 
Q. There is this whole apprehension that Ola is running out of cash and it’s been written about and spoken about so many times. Please set the record straight. 
 
Pranay: We are reasonably capitalized, well capitalized at the moment. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/The-pros-and-cons-of-e-wallets-like-Paytm-Freecharge-and-Mobikwik/articleshow/55437683.cms">There are certain speculations out in the market that Ola is raising funds or Ola has raised some funds. </a>But I would say that these are speculations and it will be hard for me to comment on that. If you ask me are you looking for funds or not, then I would say it is a constant journey, and if the opportunities arise and the market is hot obviously regardless of whether you need money or not, you will go ahead.

EXCLUSIVE: Ola’s COO talks about all the aces the company has up its sleeves to take on competition from Uber in 2017

<keyword id="2621589" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Taxi-aggregator">Taxi aggregator</keyword> <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> has decided to pull off a <keyword id="319719" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Myntra">Myntra</keyword> and go app only from next month. 
 
"From just about 20% of booking requests on the app at launch, Ola (now) receives as much as 99 per cent of its bookings through the app at the current scale," an Ola official said. 
 
The company claims that even in Tier II and Tier III cities, more than 95% of bookings come through the app. Its call centre number would serve as the customer support and assistance number. 
 
Additionally, Ola has rolled out an enhancement in its update this week that will allow swift loading of the app on a 2G network. This will allow users to save data while using the app and enjoy a seamless experience even with weak connectivity. 
 
"It's clear that our users prefer the seamless app experience to any other mode of booking. This will allow us to deliver a consistent one-touch booking experience as well as improved ride experience across all aspects like navigation, payments, safety and feedback," Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka said. 
 Ola launched its <keyword id="6369871" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mobile-app">mobile app</keyword> in 2011. It is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Ola
to go app only

<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

Much like the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Flipkart&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Flipkart</a>-<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Amazon&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Amazon</a> tussle in India’s <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=e-commerce&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">e-commerce</a> space, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a>-<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> battle in the online cab aggregation sector is also heating up. 
 
Looking to dominate India’s $9 billion industry, both taxi-hailing apps are promising hundreds of millions in new investment, and are willing to go that extra mile to offer Indians a ride, and more. The battle for the Indian market has even been dragged from the streets to the Court. 
 
Here are a few grounds where <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> locked horns, just to get a bigger piece of the Indian pie: 
 
Raw Money Power: 
Looking at the lack of adequate public transport in Indian cities, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> have together promised an hefty investment of over $2.25 billion in India. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> reportedly plans to pump over $500 million by June in India. This is over and above the $1 billion already committed over the past nine months. That is some serious money. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> hasn’t been left wanting either. It has promised to add another 2,000 cars to its existing fleet of 26,000 in the nation’s capital. It is backed by the likes of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=SoftBank&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">SoftBank</a>, and some of the most cash-rich VCs in the world. 
 
WiFi in Autos? 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> both began offering in-car WiFi last year. 
 
However, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> has been pulling out all its stock to go up against <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a>. The company plans to launch WiFi services in the budget cab segment, and even its auto-rickshaws. 
 
Some wonder how that's humanly possible at the current cost. 
 
Legal Battles: 
Interestingly, both taxi aggregators have been in legal wrangles. 
 
In October 2015, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> filed a legal petition, accusing <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> of flouting a Supreme Court order demanding app-based taxis in New Delhi switch from running on diesel to using CNG (compressed natural gas). 
 
A few months on, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> recently sued <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> for allegedly creating 93,000 fake <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> accounts, and tampering its businesses. The company has been seeking around $7.4 million in damages. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> claims <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> employees used bogus accounts to book and cancel a whopping 400,000 rides over the last six months. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a> allegedly had to pay high cancellation charges to drivers due to this. It claims around 20,000 drivers quit the platform in frustration. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Ola&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Ola</a> officials 'categorically deny’ <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Uber&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Uber</a>'s allegations of fraud. Senior officials Anand Subramanian and Rahul Maroli told Business Insider they 'stand by' their statement. 
 
Accusations: Both <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> and <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> have been accused of wrong-doing. 
 
Recently, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Paytm&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Paytm</a>-backed online transportation app <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Jugnoo&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Jugnoo</a> alleged Ola has adopted unethical practices against it. In a blog post, the company claims Ola employees made fake bookings, and tried to hamper its operations. 
 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Jugnoo&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Jugnoo</a> CEO Samar Singla has said his team saw a sudden surge in bookings and cancelations. According to him, around 20,000 cancelations were made through 800 accounts over a 10-day period earlier this month. In December, the auto-rickshaw aggregator had accused Ola of poaching employees and driver database in Chandigarh. 
 
Uber has made similar claims against Ola. Ola spokesperson <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Anand+Subramanian&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Anand Subramanian</a> maintains this to be Uber’s way of ‘payback’ for the legal petition Ola filed, accusing Uber of flouting a Supreme Court order. 
 
Interestingly, Uber’s rivals <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Lyft&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Lyft</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Gett&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Gett</a> had in 2014 complained against the aggregator of making false bookings, and recruiting Lyft and Gett driver partners for its own service. 
 
Experiments gone wrong: 
In an attempt to find new battlegrounds, Ola and Uber both launched their bike-taxi services in India’s Bengaluru on the very same day. 
 It seems both knew of each other’s plans and neither wanted to be left behind. However, neither was fully ready. Several users claimed not a single <keyword id="3149752" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bike-taxi">bike taxi</keyword> was visible. 
 
Both were offering extremely competitive rates. Ola has a per km rate of Rs 2, and a minimum fare of Rs 30. Uber has a per km rate of Rs 3 and a minimum fare of Rs 15. 
 
However, Ola was forced to roll back its service a few days later after the Karnataka state government said that India’s Motor Vehicle Act doesn’t have a provision for two wheelers to be used as taxis. Simply put, the bike taxi services were illegal. 
 
When asked about the same, Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka refused to comment on the issue. 
 
However, Uber bike taxis continue to ply on Bengaluru’s (earlier Bangalore) roads. 
 
This isn’t the first time this has happened. As rival Uber was turning up the heat, Ola started experimenting with hyper-local food and grocery delivery. 
 
It was later forced to shut these and focus on serving its core business. Although, it went on an overdrive, introducing new categories like Micro, Prime, a shuttle bus service and carpooling in a very short span. 
 
Regulatory hassles: 
While Uber has been facing regulatory hassles worldwide, and has the muscle to lobby for friendlier policies, Ola is still pretty new to such complications in business. 
 
Recently, Indian state Karnataka stood firm on not allowing surge pricing for app-based ride hailing services such as Ola and Uber. In the state, online taxi aggregators operate as ride-hailing service under a license obtained under the Radio Taxi Scheme, 1988. 
 
The policy says the charged fare cannot be higher than the fare fixed by the government. That means transport apps have to charge within a band where the upper limit is capped. Ola COO <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Pranay+Jivrajka&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Pranay Jivrajka</a> told BI the company's 'working together' with the state government to find a feasible solution. 
 
Way back in August, in a major setback to Ola Cabs, the Delhi High Court dismissed its plea challenging a single-judge order upholding Delhi government's ban on such taxi services. 
 
While Ola argued that non-app based taxi organizations also come under the Radio Taxi Scheme, and that Ola doesn’t own these vehicles anyway, the Delhi government had said the All India Tourist Permit (AITP) vehicles that operate under Ola brand are meant for tourist destinations and not point-to-point service in city. 
 
Online taxi aggregators were finally legalized. 
 
Chest Thumping 
Ola and Uber have both thrown around numbers that hardly make sense if put together. 
 
In a recent interview, Ola’s Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Categories Raghuvesh Sarup said, "In three weeks, we have put up a category (Ola Micro) which is already 50% of all of Uber's daily bookings in the country. The rate at which Micro is growing, it will be larger than their entire brand within a month." 
 
On the other hand, Eric Alexander, President of Uber's Asia business, in an interview said his company was on the verge of overtaking Ola in India. "In January last year, we were at five per cent market share. Now, we are right at the edge of 50 per cent. Within next 30 days, we would beat them (Ola). We will surpass them very, very shortly." 
 
The statistics are even more confusing. Ola claims it holds 75% of the Indian app-based taxi-hailing market, with over 350,000 driver partners on its platform across the country, while Uber claims otherwise. 
 
As the cut-throat fight between Uber and Ola continues, some say it’s reminiscent of Uber’s tussle with Lyft in the U.S. The two San Francisco-based rivals were constantly undercutting each other’s tariffs, poaching each other’s drivers and duplicating services. 
 
Let’s just say its the same war, but with some Indian masala.

The Ola-Uber rivalry in India – when
competition became ridiculous

BANGALORE: The fight to win over the Indian taxi passenger has intensified with aggregator Olacabs and cab hailing app Uber slashing prices by a fourth in Delhi—a development that is likely to force rivals to follow suit. 
 
While Ola has cut rates in its lowerend car business—Ola mini—to Rs 10 /km, Uber has cut prices for its premium segment Uber BLACK. Separately, the San Francisco-based taxi hailing app also announced that it will be launching its affordable ride service UberX in three more Indian cities: Mumbai, Chennai and Pune. “We are pushing our efficiency system to the maximum,” said Shailesh Sawlani, general manager of Uber in Mumbai. "We see this as a daily commute option for our riders and plan to maintain these prices if customers ride with us as much as we anticipate." 
 UberX Mumbai fares are Rs 15/km with a minimum base fare of Rs 50 and total minimum fare of Rs 125. The latest moves come after Uber cut its prices in Bangalore by 25% last month. Ola also reduced fares to Rs10/km for its <keyword id="2210965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ola-Mini">Ola Mini</keyword> service in the Garden City. “We have been able to optimise our inventory,” said Pranay Jivrajka, vice president of operations at Olacabs. 
 
According to industry estimates, taxi companies are struggling to keep pace with the rising demand and on average cannot accommodate a fifth of the bookings. To address this problem Ola said it will increase the number of cabs available on its mobile app by about 35% to 3,200 in Delhi alone. Ola’s total fleet size is about 15,000. 
 
“These price cuts are just a starting point to acquire customers and establishing the brand image till the time you hit a critical mass,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of Technopak. “At Rs 10/km Ola is making losses on each Ola Mini ride,” said a source directly familiar with the matter. Same is the case with Uber, according to another source. Uber’s price drop in Bangalore is, however, for a limited duration. 
 The company has not specified the timeframe. Other competitors like TaxiFor-Sure are focussing on discount codes to expand the customer base instead of cutting prices. “We keep doing event-related promotions and offer discount vouchers from time to time,” said Aprameya Radhakrishna, founder and chief executive of <keyword id="1428790" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="TaxiforSure">TaxiForSure</keyword>. 
 
“Till the time, taxi aggregators will not face pressure to turn profitable, the freebies will continue,” said Jaspal Singh, cofounder of Valoriser Consultants, which provides market research services for transportation companies. “These companies are looking to build valuation by expanding geographic reach, recruiting more number of drivers and attracting bookings to increase revenue.” 
 However other aggregators like <keyword id="108722" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Meru-Cabs">Meru Cabs</keyword> and Savaari cabs feel that price cuts is not sustainable long-term. “Meru does not believe in price wars,” said Siddhartha Pahwa, CEO of MERU Cabs. “Consumers will not take a cab because it’s cheap but for its reliability, safety and professional service.”

You Searched For "Pranay Jivrajka" and got 5 results

EXCLUSIVE: Ola’s COO talks about all the aces the company has up its sleeves to take on competition from Uber in 2017

Tanya

Debdatta

Ola to go app only

BI India Bureau

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

BI India Bureau

The Ola-Uber rivalry in India – when competition became ridiculous

Saikat Pyne

Win For Customers as Taxi Companies Like Olacabs, Uber Cut Fares In Delhi, Others May Follow

Economic Times