New Delhi, Dec 17 () Cab hailing platform Ola on Tuesday said over 10,000 drivers in London have signed up ahead of the launch of its services in the city.
In November, Ola had announced that it was entering the London market. The development came just days after rival, Uber was stripped of its London license.
"...in just three weeks, over 10,000 PHV drivers in London have registered to drive on the platform," Ola said in a statement.
It added that it will not charge commission from drivers for the first two months after the launch, allowing them to retain 100 per cent of their earnings from the platform.
"Going forward, Ola will continue to offer the best revenue share for drivers, allowing them to keep more of their earnings, in line with the company's unique driver-centric approach," it said.
The company said drivers in London have signed up both online and offline to drive with Ola, completing the required checks to drive on the platform.
Drivers' documents have been verified and mandatory training modules, created by Ola, will help ensure that drivers are ready to use the platform when it launches in the coming weeks, it added.
"Every interaction with drivers in the city has presented us with an opportunity to create a platform that best serves their needs, as well as those of consumers. We are also very excited that a large number of these registrations have occurred through referrals and word of mouth amongst drivers," Ola Head of International Simon Smith said.
In November, the transport regulator had stripped Uber of its licence following several breaches that placed passengers and their safety at risk. The US-based company has appealed against the decision.
Ola - which also operates in India, Australia and New Zealand - has expanded rapidly across the UK since its launch last year, operating in 27 local authorities.
Cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick have seen more than double-digit growth in rides in the last quarter, the company said, adding that till date, Ola has provided around three million rides with over 11,000 drivers operating on the platform outside London.
All drivers on the Ola platform are private hire vehicles (PHV) license holders, authorised to drive and extend their services to consumers by Transport for London (TfL).
This includes mandatory verification of documents, an 'enhanced' criminal records check, Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) training and medical examination amongst other TfL requirements.
Drivers will also have to go through a mandatory training module from Ola that familiarises them with customer service, app and platform usage, safety features, as well as various avenues of support available to them from the company, Ola said. SR BAL

Over 10K drivers in London register on Ola ahead of launch

<ul><li><keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ola">Ola</keyword> began services in <keyword id="84362" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Perth">Perth</keyword>, Australia in February.</li><li>Ola's global expansion began after receiving investment from China's Didi Chuxing.</li><li>The company says it already has 7000 registrations in Perth.</li></ul>In its quest to take on Uber on a global scale, <keyword id="6362049" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ola-Cabs">Ola Cabs</keyword> is now serving customers in Sydney. The company announced today, that it has hired a local team and "driver-partners" in the city. This is the second city Ola is covering in Australia, having launched in Perth earlier. According to the company, it already has 7000 registrations in that city. The homegrown ride hailing company began its global expansion after receiving investment from China's Didi Chuxing. Ola also has investments from Japanese Softbank, which owns over 30% stake in the company. As it begins expanding to other countries, Ola is still battling Uber as its main competitors. The American ride hailing company is present in 23 cities in Australia and New Zealand and serves many more countries as well. While Australia is the first country Ola is serving after India, the company has also set up teams in Colombo and Dhaka, though it's yet to start services there. Furthermore, Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola, had <a href="http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/ola-plans-to-go-down-under-eyes-australia-and-new-zealand-for-expansion-118010901351_1.html" data-type="tilCustomLink">met</a> <keyword id="6354968" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="London">London</keyword> Mayor Sadiq Khan, during his India visit in December. Starting business in London may be difficult though, given the issues Uber has already been facing there. If Ola is able to establish its service there, it might be a big boost for the company's overseas plans.

After Perth, Ola is now ready to serve Sydney

<ul><li><keyword id="225032" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sachin-Bansal">Sachin Bansal</keyword> is said to be preparing a $100 million investment in the cab-hailing firm, according to a report in the Economic Times. </li><li>Last month, Ola raised raised $50 million from a state-backed Chinese investment fund and a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, giving it a valuation of over $4 billion. </li><li>Ola is looking to raise fresh capital to facilitate its overseas expansion plans and boost its domestic food delivery business. </li></ul>Raising capital for expansion plans doesn’t seem to be a problem for Ola. Barely a month after it <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Home-Page/hjEZYQ3lV0p1LXuSOUoiGK/Ola-raises-50-million-from-new-Chinese-investors-at-43-bi.html">raised $50 million</a> from a state-backed Chinese investment fund and a Hong Kong-based private equity firm, <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/sachin-bansal-may-back-ola-with-100-million-investment/articleshow/66156948.cms">a report </a>in the Economic Times states that the Indian ride-hailing firm could receive up to $100 million (₹7.4 billion) from Sachin Bansal, one of the co-founders of <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>. The $50 million investment last month gave Ola a valuation of over $4 billion. It came as part of the ride-hailing firm’s plan to raise $1 billion in fresh capital to facilitate its overseas expansion plans as well its boost its food delivery business and continue its domestic rivalry with <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword>. It recently commenced operations in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/uber-ola-launch-melbourne-2018-4">several Australian cities</a> and<a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/Gb1LhciheDr9j4waCCOgSO/Ola-launches-services-in-UK.html"> the UK </a>and is set to launch in New Zealand this month. The UK launch in August 2018 was speculated to be a precursor to an eventual expansion into other European markets. The company plans to be operational <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/ola-plans-to-reach-50-global-cities-by-2019-hunts-for-investors/story/284236.html">in 50 major cities </a>across the world by next year. Meanwhile, Bansal is flush with cash and is looking for ways to spend it. While the Ola investment represents a change of pace from his relatively modest investments in the past, he is said to be mainly interested in taking significant stakes in early-stage companies at the moment. The 37-year old earned close to $1 billion from the sale of his 5.5% stake in Flipkart to <keyword id="80487" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="walmart">Walmart</keyword>. The transaction was completed in August. Bansal left the Indian e-commerce company shortly after Walmart’s takeover of Flipkart was finalised in May. According to media reports, Walmart <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/features/sachin-bansal-quits-flipkart-as-walmart-wanted-only-one-founder-on-board/articleshow/64103047.cms">was not keen</a> on retaining both of Flipkart’s co-founders, hence one of them had to leave. Ola will reportedly facilitate Bansal’s investment through the issuance of new shares and in smaller measure, the sale of existing shares. The deal represents a melding of two of India’s foremost entrepreneurs - Bansal and Bhavish Agarwal, the CEO of Ola. Agarwal has reportedly been <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/xBREbzT0x6b0ighbICzMiJ/Ola-boardroom-row-pits-SoftBank-against-Bhavish-Aggarwal.html">engaged in a tussle </a>with the cab service’s main investor, Softbank, since May for control of the company. Bansal is likely an ally in this regard, as Agarwal needs fresh funding but doesn't want to raise it from Softbank, because that will increase the Japanese company's stake.

One of the co-founders of Flipkart could be readying a $100 million investment in Ola

<ul><li>While the total number of daily rides has increased this year, the growth in daily rides at <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> and <keyword id="6354720" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> has declined to 20% on average so far in 2018, according to a report by ET. </li><li>The average number of daily rides is 3.5 million in the year so far, compared to 2.8 million in 2017, 1.9 million in 2016 and around 1 million in 2015. </li><li>The decline in the growth of daily rides is largely due to a reduction in driver <keyword id="29962" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="incentives">incentives</keyword>, higher fares and a subsequent drop in rider demand. </li></ul>After exponential growth in the last few years, it seems that the Indian taxi-hailing market is slowing down. While the total number of daily rides has increased this year, the growth in daily rides at Uber and Ola has declined to 20% on average so far in 2018, according to a report by the Economic Times. The average amount of daily rides stands at 3.5 million across three segments- cars, three-wheelers and motorcycles, compared to 2.8 million in 2017. The average number of daily rides rose 47% in 2017 and 90% in 2016, when the average number of rides was 1.9 million. While this consistent decline in daily ride growth is likely a result of various factors, it seems that the problem has more to do with the <keyword id="46639" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="supply">supply</keyword> of <keyword id="44435" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="drivers">drivers</keyword> and than consumer demand. Interestingly, these two seem to be interlinked. In a bid to cut their operating losses, both Ola and Uber have dialled back the incentives they give to drivers and charged higher commissions, which has resulted in a decline of as much as <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/ola-uber-supply-drops-by-25-as-drivers-leave-due-to-lack-of-incentives-117061900635_1.html">60% </a>in driver incomes. In turn, a lot of drivers leaving the platform- with some estimates of a 25% reduction in drivers. As a result of the decline in supply of drivers, surge pricing has become more frequent which has led to a hike in average fares. This has suppressed demand from <keyword id="6369997" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Riders">riders</keyword>, something that Uber and Ola have tried to counter through loyalty programmes. In addition, the increase in fuel prices in the last year has also driven a rise in fares, exacerbating the decline in rider demand. Uber and Ola have also shifted focus slightly from their core ride-sharing operation and have been diversifying into other operations such as food delivery. As rider demand in its home market declines, Ola has been expanding its overseas operations. The Indian cab hailing company recently launched operations in New Zealand, its third foreign market after the UK and Australia. Meanwhile, Uber has ramped up its investments in India after winding down its operations in Southeast Asia. The country reportedly accounts for 10% of Uber’s global rides on a daily basis.

Here’s why Uber and Ola are experiencing a decline in their daily ride growth

India spinner Ravichandran <keyword id="17006" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ashwin">Ashwin</keyword> was <keyword id="24" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="award">award</keyword>ed the <keyword id="6355164" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICC">ICC</keyword> Player of the Month award for <keyword id="47317" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="February">February</keyword>, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday. Ashwin beat England captain Joe Root and West Indies' Kyle Mayers to the award thanks to his all-round performances for India in their home series against England. Ashwin, 34, played a crucial role with bat and ball as India raced to a 2-1 lead over England in their four-match Test series in February before eventually winning the series 3-1 in March. He was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 32 scalps and scored a century in the second Test in Chennai. Meanwhile, England opener Tammy Beaumont won the ICC Women's Player of the Month for February. Beaumont was the overwhelming winner after she played three ODIs in February against New Zealand where she passed fifty in each of these, totalling 231 runs. She beat her teammate Natalie Sciver and New Zealand's Brooke Halliday to the award. "Ashwin's consistent wicket taking, even in helpful conditions have helped to put his team ahead in a very important series. His century in the second Test was as critical as it came when England were trying to claw their way back into the match. That knock ensured that India shut the door on the opposition," said former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop, representing the ICC Voting Academy. "Three half centuries of which two were in helping her team win the match was outstanding from Beaumont. Particular emphasis on the fact that two of the knocks were unbeaten innings, and coming inevitably, on two occasions whilst having lost her opening partner early on, she had to see things through for her team, which was incredible," said Bishop. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/ola-loses-another-founding-member-as-pranay-jivrajka-leaves-the-ride-hailing-giant/articleshow/81404690.cms">Ola loses another founding member as Pranay Jivrajka leaves the ride-hailing giant</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/moto-g30-review-a-decent-budget-phone-with-a-bloat-free-user-experience/articleshow/81407278.cms">Moto G30 review – a decent budget phone with a bloat-free user experience</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/gold-prices-are-falling-and-the-worlds-biggest-market-for-the-yellow-metal-is-hoping-for-more-shoppers/articleshow/81406658.cms">Gold prices are falling and the world’s biggest market for the yellow metal is hoping for more shoppers</a>

Ravichandran Ashwin wins ICC Player of Month award for February

<ul><li><keyword id="2502101" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber-India">Uber India</keyword> head <keyword id="2672999" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pradeep-Parameswaran">Pradeep Parameswaran</keyword> now has a bigger role.</li><li>Parameswaran will now lead Uber in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. </li><li>Parameswaran’s larger role comes at a time when <keyword id="3284833" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="ride-hailing">ride hailing</keyword> businesses across the world have been hit because of the coronavirus pandemic. </li></ul>Uber India head Pradeep Parameswaran now has a bigger role – he will be leading the Asia Pacific region for the company. Parameswaran will now lead Uber in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. “After capably leading our India and South Asia business since 2018, I know that he will continue to inspire Uber’s next phase of growth across this key region,” said Andrew Macdonald, Uber’s Senior Vice President of mobility and business operations in a statement. This follows a similar trajectory as Uber’s former India lead – Amit Jain, who currently works with Sequoia. Pradeep Parameswaran took over Amit Jain as India head while Jain was elevated to be the Asia Pacific head for the ride-hailing app. Parameswaran, a former Mckinsey executive, had joined <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/2QNE7hb0T6aFqvLn6T0rwN/Uber-appoints-Pradeep-Parameswaran-as-its-new-India-head.html">Uber</a> in January 2017 to head operations and in June 2018 was promoted to be the India head. Under his leadership, in FY19 Uber India posted a year-on-year profit jump of 63% to ₹43 crore. “There is huge potential to serve more Uber customers and continue innovating in APAC, whether that be taxi partnerships in North Asia and new products like Uber Rent in Australia. In India, we will continue to leverage the power of our platform to provide safe and affordable mobility options. We will also expand our Auto and Moto categories across many more Indian cities to create additional employment opportunities and reignite economic growth,” Parameswaran said about his appointment. Parameswaran’s larger role comes at a time when ride hailing businesses across the world have been hit because of the coronavirus pandemic. While Uber has resumed its services in India, users are still skeptical about using ride hailing services as the fear of the virus still looms. As a part of its massive global layoff of 6,700 employees, Uber India too had laid off 600 employees in India. Globally, Uber lost $2.9 billion in the first three months of the year because of the coronavirus pandemic. "I won't sugarcoat it. COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on rides, with the business down globally around 80% in April,” said <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/uber-earnings-q1-161-million-loss-ridership-falls-3-percent/">CEO Dara Khosrowshah</a>i during the conference call for its earnings. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/akash-ambani-was-the-one-to-choose-facebook-the-next-big-investments-for-reliance-jio-and-the-ideas-sold-to-investors/articleshow/76316650.cms">EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Reliance Jio deals – Akash Ambani was the one to choose Facebook, the next big investments and the ideas sold to investors</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/zoomcar-ceo-says-people-wont-book-uber-or-ola-and-wont-buy-cars-soon/articleshow/76188254.cms">Zoomcar CEO is betting on people not taking Uber and Ola⁠— and not buying cars in a hurry</a>

Uber India head Pradeep Parameswaran will now lead the Asia Pacific region for the $60 billion company

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Joshua Lott/Getty ImagesElon Musk.</div></div></div>Good morning! This is the tech news you need to know this Tuesday.<section><section><ol><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-asks-employees-help-delivering-30000-cars-end-quarter-2019-3">Tesla is asking employees to volunteer and help deliver 30,000 cars before the end of the quarter</a>. Sanjay Shah, a senior vice president at Tesla, asked employees to help deliver 30,000 cars over the last 15 days of the quarter.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/netflix-apple-tv-service-2019-3">Netflix says it won't be joining Apple's upcoming TV service</a>. "We prefer to let our customers watch our content on our service," CEO Reed Hastings told reporters at the company's offices in Hollywood. "We have chosen not to integrate with their service."</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-new-ipad-air-ipad-pro-compared-2019-3">Apple launched a faster new iPad Air on Monday that supports Apple Pencil and Apple's Smart Keyboard</a>. The 10.5-inch iPad Air starts at $499 and runs on the same A12 Bionic processor found in Apple's latest iPhones. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/lyfts-bankers-are-trying-to-compare-the-ride-hailing-app-to-grubhub-and-farfetch-2019-3">Bankers will compare Lyft to "marketplace" companies, such as the food-delivery service Grubhub and the luxury-fashion retailer Farfetch, in their pitch to investors as the company gears up to go public next week, sources said</a>. They'll also pitch Lyft as comparable to high-growth internet companies, such as Netflix, as well as "platform" companies, such as Square and Facebook.</li><li><a href="https://venturebeat.com/2019/03/18/ola-bags-300-million-from-hyundai-and-kia-for-mobility-solutions-and-electric-vehicles/">Indian Uber rival Ola has raised $300 million from car maker Hyundai and Kia for electric vehicles and mobility solutions</a>. The deal includes the car maker giving Ola's drivers customised vehicles and financial support to lease cars.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-benched-humans-and-used-ai-to-deal-with-christchurch-massacre-2019-3">YouTube said videos of the mass shooting at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, were being uploaded at an "unprecedented" speed last Friday</a>. YouTube's Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan told The Washington Post that his team removed human moderators, instead letting AI unilaterally block videos.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sec-responds-to-elon-musk-in-contempt-of-court-claim-2019-3">The Securities and Exchange Commission says a tweet Elon Musk sent in February claiming that Tesla would produce 500,000 vehicles in 2019 was a "blatant violation" of a court settlement between himself, Tesla, and the agency</a>. Among other things, that settlement requires Tesla to appoint a "Twitter czar" who vets Musk's tweets for information material to Tesla before publishing.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/zte-axon-v-has-protruding-selfie-camera-to-avoid-iphone-style-notch-2019-3">The Chinese smartphone maker ZTE's upcoming smartphone has a selfie camera that sticks out from the main body of the phone</a>. It's a novel design solution to avoid using the divisive notch that was popularized by Apple's iPhone X and adopted by numerous other Android phone makers.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-project-stream-gaming-logo-revealed-2019-3">The name for Google's highly anticipated gaming announcement at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Tuesday apparently starts with an "S."</a> A photo of the never-before-seen Google gaming logo was first tweeted by 9to5Google inside San Francisco's Moscone Center where GDC is taking place this week.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pewdiepie-lost-youtube-crown-to-t-series-2019-3">PewDiePie briefly lost his crown as the biggest YouTuber on the planet</a>. The Bollywood channel T-Series edged ahead for more than two hours on Monday morning.</li></ol>Have an Amazon Alexa device? Now you can hear 10 Things in Tech each morning. Just search for "Business Insider" in your Alexa's flash briefing settings.</section></section> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aston-martin-lagonda-electric-all-terrain-suv-geneva-motor-show-2019-3">Aston Martin's new fully-electric Lagonda could be the future of SUVs</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

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Over 10K drivers in London register on Ola ahead of launch

PTI

After Perth, Ola is now ready to serve Sydney

Prasid Banerjee

One of the co-founders of Flipkart could be readying a $100 million investment in Ola

Dilsher Dhillon

Here’s why Uber and Ola are experiencing a decline in their daily ride growth

Dilsher Dhillon

Ravichandran Ashwin wins ICC Player of Month award for February

IANS

Uber India head Pradeep Parameswaran will now lead the Asia Pacific region for the $60 billion company

Sanchita Dash

10 things in tech you need to know today

Shona Ghosh