India’s largest taxi-hailing app, Ola, plans to roll out its service across the UK in a continuous bid to take on Uber around the world. The company has a global presence with 125 million customers across 110 cities. Ola, founded in 2011, is kick-starting its UK launch with plans to operate in South Wales and Greater Manchester.
Ola Offers Alternative App Service
In comparison to Uber, Ola will offer its service on both private hire vehicles and black taxis providing users with a choice. Ola says its UK service will commence with operations in South Wales over the next month. The introduction of Ola will see the UK market leading taxi-hailing app Uber face its first major rival. Founded two years prior to Ola, Uber has three million drivers and operates in 600 cities in 65 countries. Operating only in two countries, the move to the UK will be Ola’s third after beginning its first overseas expansion in Australia earlier this year.
The increasingly recognised “ride-hailing” or “ride-sharing” apps were designed to link drivers, via a mobile phone app, with people they would offer a lift to, in exchange for money towards petrol. As taxi app services expand, concerns have been raised over passenger safety and the treatment of its drivers. Uber has come under scrutiny in recent headlines over such issues while being engaged in court battles as to whether they’re an employer or just an app. The app has been banned from some cities and has fought to operate in London with questions raised on how much it should regulate its drivers and be held responsible for passenger safety.
Ola To Challenge Other UK Taxi-Hailing Apps
“The UK is a fantastic place to do business and we look forward to providing a responsible, compelling, new service.”
While there are apps in the UK, including Gett and Mytaxi, connecting passengers with black taxis, Ola will be the first to link both including drivers who offer private hire.
Steve McNamara, General Secretary of The Licensed Taxi Drivers’ Association, said: “The LTDA welcomes fair competition in London and would expect to see Ola play by the rules if granted a license to operate in the capital. Ola says that it’s committed to raising safety standards in the UK’s private hire industry from the get go, unlike Uber.”
Founder and Chief Executive of Ola, Bhavish Aggarwal, previously worked for Microsoft after studying computer science in Mumbai. In 2001, Mr Aggarwal was 26 years old when he founded Ola. He said: “The UK 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.”