Ola, Uber compete on cutting user cost

Cab aggregators are cutting down on customer cost through various products and features

E-commerce players are not the only ones fighting for online traffic this festive season through discounts and offers. Cab aggregators Ola and Uber, though under the scanner of the Competition Commission of India, are also cutting down on customer cost through various products and features.

It helps them that the number of rides and customer base often determine the valuation of these companies.

Social ride-sharing is the latest offering from Ola, which has an estimated 80 per cent market share along with TaxiForSure, which it acquired recently. With this, a ride can be shared with up to two other users from social groups that a user is part of. OlaShare, as the product is called, has been launched in Bengaluru at an introductory fare of Rs 50, and would go to five more cities in the next three months. The idea is that one can travel with users from social groups (available on Ola app) that they choose to be a part of, rather than with strangers.

Uber, too, has brought its internationally-known product—UberPool—to Bengaluru, with other cities to follow. Bengaluru is the sixth city in the world to get UberPool, where the company matches the ride of passengers opting for the service with others going in the same direction. New York, Paris, San Francisco are among the other cities which have UberPool.

Uber had earlier introduced the split fare feature where a user could travel with another person and divide the bill.

Ishan Gupta, head of Ola Share, said in addition to bringing economy and convenience to people traveling in the same social circles, it would also increase inventory utilisation on the platform. “This will also contribute towards reduction of traffic, congestion and pollution,” Gupta said.

American taxi aggregator Uber, too, talks of a mix of economics and environment.

“It adds only a few minutes to your trip, and you save big — as much as up to 35 per cent on each pool trip,” the company said in a mail. “Help take away an extra car off the road and reduce congestion…,” it added.

Autorickshaws is another category that Ola introduced a few months ago to make “the preferred mode of transport for a lot of Indians” accessible and organised through technology. The company already has around 70,000 autos on its platform across six cities—Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Pune—and has plans of going to 25 cities by April 2016.

The company claims around 700 auto additions are happening on a daily basis on the Ola platform. The app helps auto drivers receive bookings from customers in seven languages and assists them with navigation.

UberAuto is competing with Ola on the auto front, too, but is only available in Delhi as of now. It would decide on expansion after assessing the results.

“Using the power of innovative, smart technology our goal is to provide high-quality, safe and affordable transportation alternatives,” an Uber spokesperson said.