[Flyer]

Indian ride hailing firm Ola announces it's plan to enter the UK market, to take on Uber.

Homegrown cab aggregator Ola announced that the company has obtained licenses to operate in South Wales and Greater Manchester, in the United Kingdom and will launch operations in South Wales within the next month. According to the company, Ola will be the only ride-hailing app in the UK market that will offer passengers the option of PHEVs and Black Cabs through one consumer-friendly platform, which will see additional transportation options incorporated for greater passenger choice. The biggest challenge for Ola comes from Uber, which entered the UK market only two years back and has close to three million drivers and operates in over 600 cities in close to 65 countries.

Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, Ola said, "Ola is excited to announce its plans for the UK, which is a fantastic place to do business and we look forward to providing a responsible, compelling, new service that can help the country meet its ever demanding mobility needs. We look forward to our continued engagement with policymakers and regulators as we expand across the country and build a company embedded in the UK."

Ola's entry into the UK follows its launch in Australia in February 2018, where it now operates in seven major cities. The company says that over 40,000 drivers across Australia have already registered with Ola since its launch in February and have completed millions of rides. Ola conducts 1 billion rides each year globally, with more than 1 million driver partners and 125 million customers in over 110 cities.

Source: NDTV Car & Bike

[GTO]

Thread moved to the International Scene. Thanks for sharing!

[libranof1987]

I read this in the news yesterday and am a little surprised. Not about Ola's intention to go to UK but the fact that they got the permission to operate in the UK. Considering this:

LONDON TAXI DRIVERS shut down London Bridge for hours today as their protest against lift sharing app Uber continues.

http://www.thejournal.ie/london-brid...05353-Jan2018/

There's been quite some sentiment against app based ride sharing apps across the world; clearly, the UK Govt. thinks otherwise.

[binand]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

There's been quite some sentiment against app based ride sharing apps across the world; clearly, the UK Govt. thinks otherwise.

The anti-Uber protests are in London but Ola is entering through Welsh cities (Cardiff, Newport & Glamorgan). In UK each city council can decide how to license taxis.

One thing I found funny is that they have advertised drive.olacabs.com as the site to sign up for Welsh drivers, but it shows Australian cities:

[venuvedam]

Originally Posted by binand

The anti-Uber protests are in London but Ola is entering through Welsh cities (Cardiff, Newport & Glamorgan). In UK each city council can decide how to license taxis.

One thing I found funny is that they have advertised drive.olacabs.com as the site to sign up for Welsh drivers, but it shows Australian cities:

Attachment 1788621

It is probably checking where you are accessing the page from. For me, it shows the UK cities.

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by venuvedam

It is probably checking where you are accessing the page from. For me, it shows the UK cities.

Interesting. So the first requirement is Private Hire license - does that imply "minicab"? If so, I don't think OLA will face much resistance. They seem to be aggregating existing minicab drivers/operators.

[blackasta]

Ola starts Auto Rickshaw service in UK.

The India-based ride-hailing company Ola launched its Liverpool operations with a fleet of Bajaj and Piaggio auto rickshaws. The ride-sharing taxi app started off its promotional launch event in Merseyside County with drivers wearing neon-green jackets ferrying passengers in same coloured Bajaj and Piaggio "tuk-tuks" free of charge around Liverpool city centre.

http://overdrive.in/news-cars-auto/b...-in-liverpool/

[sidzzone]

Originally Posted by blackasta

Ola starts Auto Rickshaw service in UK.







http://overdrive.in/news-cars-auto/b...-in-liverpool/

Is this real? It's surprising that they'd allow auto rickshaws to ply (even if it's for promotion) around the city centre. I can understand Ola's promotion here, being from India and having tuk tuks on the road - but it's still unsafe.