[samabhi]

Voted for Uber Primarily. I book Uber cabs everyday for my dad. Initially used to choose OLA, but the pathetic quality of the cars made me to choose UBER over the years. Add to that, I get 20% cashback on every ride using SCB Credit Card. However recently, getting a cab at times through Uber has been a challenge. And at the same time, I get OLA cab easily. Uber service is no more what it used to be and the new app update is horrible to say. I still prefer Uber as the first option and choose OLA only when I dont get a cab through Uber.

[deepfreak15]

OLA drivers had this irritating habit of making the rider cancel the booking after accepting. Once the pickup was accepted they would come up with weird excuses like puncture, caught by police etc (I strongly feel the drivers are paid by # of accepted pickups than actual trips). Have not used OLA for more than a couple of years now

[RocketRaccoon]

Voted for Uber.
Reasons:
1) The drivers are more professional than Ola.
2) The mobile app is more polished and easy to use.
3) Cancellations by drivers are less frequent when compared to Ola.
4) Easy refund process in case you have been overcharged by the driver.

Till date I have had two bad experiences with Uber. During the first incident the Uber driver did not "end" the ride and I was overcharged. I used the app to itself to lodge a complaint and was refunded the amount that was overcharged to me (calculated based on location). During the second incident, the driver was abusing other commuters on the road and despite me telling him not to do so he kept at it. Gave him a 2 star rating and lodged a complaint, got an email from them saying appropriate action has been taken against the driver.

[dark.knight]

Uber has so many different pronunciations

Me : Ooober (I suppose that's the closest to its Germanic origin)

A male friend : You-ber

A female friend : Oo-bear

A total wannabe friend : Ooo-bah

[ankan.m.blr]

I don't know about other cities, but here in Bangalore, most of the cabbies (except those who have their vehicle financed with Ola/Uber directly) have enrolled themselves with both Ola and Uber. When Uber pays less incentive, they switch to Ola and vice versa. So vehicle condition or driver attitude towards the passenger remains same whether you choose Ola or Uber.

[ascension]

Voted both equally and I seem to be in the minority. I feel each platform has some pros and cons for each city with one or the other dominating the mind share and customer preference usually. I have personally experienced this as I have lived in 4 cities in the last 4 years. My primary drivers have been availability and price in that order. Driver experience and car quality I felt were equally bad in each platform.

I was in Chennai last year and my trips were 90% Ola; 10% Uber. I moved to Bangalore this year and the ratio has reversed. Hyderabad two years ago - 40% Ola; 60% Uber. Ahmedabad three years ago- 50% Ola; 50% Uber.

[Anuruddhs]

It depends on price and availability, but always prefer uber as they have better rates in NCR for long distances and drivers are better, I agree that most of them shift between uber and OLA based on incentives but Uber pays almost no incentives so Uber driver refuse less trips compare to OLA.

[DCEite]

Voted for both in equal measure.

Infact, the perception that Uber is more upmarket/chic comes from the fact that its an international brand, and many of us might have traveled Uber during our international stays as well.

But the fact is, in India, both Uber and Ola have similar kind of drivers. I do not think Uber does give any behaviour/courtesy/driving training to its driver partners. Ditto with Ola.

However, as far as shared ride services go, Uber lags behind Ola by a good margin, atleast in Delhi-NCR. Both in terms of coverage and supply.

[Vitalstatistiks]

Voted 'Primarily Uber', though i would have clicked on 'only Uber' if it was an option.

Very similar reasons to what many other have suggested. However, my Uber usage has come down, and will continue to go down for a reason. The new pricing strategy of Uber. I explained the new strategy in the Uber thread- pasting the link for ease of reference- http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ervice-61.html

[Uthappa]

Voted 'primarily Uber'.

I tried OLA a few years back when the apps had first become options and had a miserable experience, with the UBER experience much more pleasing. I think first experiences count for a lot in such cases and I deleted OLA from my phone and didn't go back. I used UBER exclusively, until recently, when in a pinch there were no UBERs available. So I hailed an OLA and was pleasantly surprised.
I found the UI and the overall experience much better than my first experience. This could be due to OLA learning and evolving constantly over time as an organisation and implementing better practices. Additionally, a lot of drivers actually drive for both companies, so there is an inevitable rise in quality on the OLA front.
That said, old habits die hard and I almost unconsciously fire up the UBER app every time I need a ride.

[bijuiser]

I stay close to city-center and have equal availability of both- Ola and Uber. But I prefer primarily Uber because I also feel 'Uber experience to be more polished' as quoted by GTO.
I dislike: Uber App is very slow to fire-up. Ola drivers many times insist on getting paid in cash, most of the auto drivers will ask you to cancel the booking and pay the fair in cash.
I observed: Uber fare estimates are mostly lower than OLA. Mostly during rush hours and late nights, I have find Uber far more economical than OLA.

[TKMCE]

I prefer Uber mainly for easily availability in Kochi which is the city I use the most. In Trivandrum, Ola is better than Kochi in terms of availability but still not as much as Uber.

Once to catch an early morning train, there were no Uber available when I tried in Trivandrum. So booked Ola and the driver did not sound very enthusiastic when he called back saying he is some distance away which was true. I offered to pay him an additional 50 Rs (I had no choice ) and he said yes. Then again after 10 minutes he innocently called back asking for the verification code Ola sends saying it is needed for him to come to pick me up. This was a lie- if I had given that to him then - he would fake the trip - and I told him so. Finally the driver turned up and I made it and had to pay the additional amount. Complained to Ola -mainly for the driver trying to scam me into disclosing the verification code before he reached me - till date never received a reply.

Compare this to the experience I had in Uber again in Trivandrum. It was a trip to go to go to the airport and I was going out of the country for two months. The driver was on his first day with Uber , Polite guy. But when I reached the airport he informed that the trip did not start at all because he made a mistake(I had switched off my phone by then). He then asked me to pay what I usually pay and he accepted that without question. Two months later I returned to the same airport booked another Uber and got home. The fare seemed abut 1/3 higher than normal but I paid up as the same amount showed in the driver's phone and my phone. Later when I checked the detailed bill after an hour I found I was charged 50 Rs as cancellation fee for my previous trip two months back where the driver didn't start the trip.

I didn't have much hope about getting the money back but still sent a mail to Uber customer care at 10 PM the same night explaining what had happened. Within an hour I had a reply from Uber saying that the 50 Rs charge was already reversed and will show as a credit in my account to be used on the next trip. Now - that is what I call customer service!.


I do get cancellations - primarily because the pick up location I use Uber in Kochi is near the airport and some of the drivers particularly early in the morning would have come from the other end of the town and would have been waiting in the airport que for 2 to 3 hours or more. In such cases if they express their inability after hearing my destination (which is usually in the opposite direction to where these guys would be hoping to get a trip) I have no objection provided they cancel- they also have to make a living! In this connection it would have been great if Uber allowed the users to choose a cab if multiple ones are available. In my case the cancellations usually happen because I end up getting allocated cabs waiting in the airport queue and I myself know that these guys particularly early in the morning have a higher tendency to cancel.

[MS_Auto]

Uber it is.

My views:

1. Uber app has the option to book in advance
2. Pricing (have found Uber to be cheaper in comparison to Ola for the same parameters)
3. Availability of cabs: Now this one is a bone of contention...nonetheless, the probability of getting a cab is higher with Uber as against Ola

Also, cancellations from drivers after accepting the booking is also higher with Ola. Again this one is my experience. Other members may have different views / experience.

[freakmuzik]

I voted for 'Both in equal measure'. I use these services extensively whenever I visit Chennai (where I travel to the most) and have used them in Calcutta, Mumbai,Delhi, Banglore, Coimbatore, Kochi and Trivandrum. Most of the times, I've just opted based on the availability + fare combo.

Uber over Ola -
1. Better maintained cars and mostly newer ones
2. Often get cars of the next segment (I get a sedan while booking Uber Go)
3. Consistently lower fares compared to similar Ola offering (not much though)
4. Easier to use the App in comparison to Ola
5. Ease of use with Paytm
6. Much better customer interaction

Ola over Uber
1. More number of cars means easier availability
2. Generally have found their drivers to understand places easier
3. Multiple choice of cars including Autos (though mostly its been a disaster)
4. Have received more offers through Ola

Speaking of negatives, Ola has some poorly maintained cars and lots of drivers who simply waste the customers time by accepting the ride and not turning up/ cancelling at the last moment or try to negotiate the point of pickup. These aspects really irritate me. Uber has typically been smoother to use. If I remove the aspect of offers from Ola and their easier availability around Koyambedu, I would prefer Uber anyday but as of now, I use them both in equal measure.

Cheers!

[Shreyas Agarwal]

I voted for Primarily Uber because of the following reasons

1. Uber has better cars than OLA

2. Uber drivers are more professional than OLA drivers.

3. Uber drivers follow speed limits. I had one incident in which an OLA driver crossed 140 and he said that 140 is normal speed!