Ola launches social ride-sharing feature on its app

Taxi aggregator Ola launched a new ‘Share’ feature on its app that will allow its users in the city to share rides, making their travel cheaper. The carpooling feature, which is still in the beta phase and will be rolled out to select users in Bengaluru, will be made available across 5 cities over the next three months.

The service will be available for an introductory flat fare of Rs. 50, Ola said in a statement.

“Ola has introduced the concept of social groups on its app. With groups, colleagues from a workplace and friends from a college can come together to share rides amongst themselves.

“A user can join multiple groups or simply choose to share a ride with anyone. As soon as a user requests a ‘Share’ ride on the Ola app, they will be matched with other users from their groups along their way,” it added.

Ola said most vehicles see only 33 per cent utilisation of capacities. “With ‘Share’, we not only bring economy, convenience and comfort of travelling with people in your circles, but also increased inventory utilisation of vehicles on the platform.

“This will also contribute towards significant reduction of traffic, congestion and pollution in our cities,” Ola Share Head Ishan Gupta said. Ola Share is a major step in the direction of sustainable transportation, allowing Ola to serve more people at a fraction of the cost, with driver-partners benefiting from increased revenue, he added.

A maximum of three people can share a cab together via Ola Share. Driver-partners get an option to log into the Share platform, getting instant access to increased revenue of up to 50 per cent, through continuous fulfilment of booking requests, it said. A user can join multiple groups or simply choose to share a ride with anyone.

Last month, Uber had announced the launch of UberPool, its carpooling service in India. The service is available in beta in Bengaluru.

So, Is OLA going on Uber's foot-steps? I'd say Ola please think of something much interesting!

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Uber partners with Bharti Airtel to offer free in-car Wi-Fi, payments via Airtel Money

This news is kind off old now, But I have to do my job... So here's a summary of what's happening.

In its latest announcement, Uber reveals to have teamed up with Bharti Airtel, allowing users to pay via Airtel Money.

In addition, users in Mumbai can also enjoy free high-speed Internet from Uber powered by Airtel. Starting with Mumbai, the free Wi-Fi will then be rolled out to other cities.

“Our partnership with Uber is directly in line with our commitment to offer innovative and relevant services for our customers. Now, Uber riders can enjoy the convenience of paying through their Airtel Money wallets, while also experiencing the power of blazing internet speeds with Airtel 4G on the move. We are excited that Uber has chosen Airtel to fulfill its telecom needs, and look forward to supporting the company’s rapid growth across India”, said telSrini Gopalan, Director – Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel.

Those already using ‘Airtel Money ‘will have to select “Payment” from the menu in the Uber app, tap ‘add payment’ and then tap on ‘Airtel Money’ to add to your account. Users can then select Airtel Money as the payment method when taking a ride.

The integration with Airtel Money will offer up to Rs 500 for free t new Uber riders who top up their Airtel Money wallet. Uber also plans to offer exclusive promotions, discounts and experiences to Airtel customers including Rs 500 off their first ride upon using Airtel Money.

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