2. OlaCabs, popularly known as ola, is a mobile app for
personal transportation in India. Ola started as an online
cab aggregator in Mumbai, now based out of Bangalore and
is among the fastest growing businesses in India.
It was founded on 3 December 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal
(currently CEO) and Ankit Bhati. By 2014, the company has
expanded to a network of more than 200,000 cars across
85 cities. In November 2014, Ola expanded to incorporate
autos on-trial basis in Bengaluru. Post the trial phase, Ola
Auto expanded to other cities like Delhi, Pune and Chennai
starting December 2014.
3. Ola provides different types of cab service ranging from
economic to luxury travel . The cabs are reserved through a
web browser or a mobile app.
This cab service supports both cash and cashless payment
options with Ola money.
It claims to clock an average of more than 150,000 bookings
per day and commands 60 percent of the market share in
India.
4. It raised $330k in its initial round of funding on April 21,
2011. The company received Series A funding of $5 million
from Tiger Global Management; Series B funding of USD 20
million from Matrix Partners and Tiger Global; Series C
funding of $41.5 million from Stead view Capital, Sequoia
Capital and its existing investors.
In Series D round of funding on Oct 25, 2014, it raised
$210 million from Soft Bank Internet and Media Inc. and
its existing investors.
5. OlaCabs bought TaxiForSure or TFS on 1 March 2015, for about
$200 million. From the 25th of June 2015, Ola users have
gained access to TFS cabs via the Ola mobile application.
6. Ola Cabs has tied up with Avanti Learning Centers for a good
cause. The drivers who are associated with Ola can get their
children studying in the ninth and tenth standard to the
learning center and avail free education.
Ola Gurukul will start off with a batch of 500 students in
Mumbai. The initiative will be extended to provide free
stationary, books and other apparatus for the top performing
students. The student’s program will be held after school so
that the students get the much needed attention while also
saving on tuition classes costs.
7. Technology:
Ola Cabs' technology came under criticism
regarding the security of its mobile app. The API calls could be
replayed to top up its wallet. Ola Cabs fixed the glitch much
before this came out in the open.
In August 2015, a privacy breach had occurred when intended
customers' details such as names, phone numbers and addresses,
in Bengaluru, were received as SMS messages by an individual in
Chennai. Although these unanticipated messages were reported
to Ola, the company had chosen to ignore them, even under the
threat of being reported to the TRAI. The issue was reportedly
fixed three weeks later after receiving considerable media
coverage and social media attention.
8. Over billing and transparency in billing:
The refund
policy of Ola Cabs has been criticized because of billing
errors caused by technical glitches in their system. Hackers
have claimed that they have been able to hack Ola Cabs
system and access customer data including credit
card/debit card information. Ola Cabs have categorically
denied that their system was hacked.
9. Driver Credibility :
The Delhi Transport authority in early
2015 questioned the credibility and required verification of
drivers plying Ola cabs, along with other competitors like
Uber and Taxi For Sure. The inquiry has revealed that
approximately 80% of drivers amongst all services did not
possess permits to ply commercial transport services in Delhi.[