OLA has introduced a new feature of offline booking on its mobile app that will enable passengers to book Ola cabs without using an active internet connection. This gives the Ola a key competitive advantage over its rival Uber. The launch of Offline booking in Ola can act as a major step in the direction of building innovative technology as data connectivity is still considered as the biggest infrastructural challenge. This feature will allow the users to send their location details via SMS and it will get automatically activated when the users go offline. Users will be provided with the details or steps on how to make a booking and a text message will be delivered to them that will contain the details of the cab. After the booking is confirmed by the passenger, another text message will be delivered to the passenger with details of the driver. From the last few months, Ola has instantly shifted its focus on differentiated India-focussed technology innovation with the launch of many different categories and consumer experience initiatives for maintaining its market leadership. In India, users are more vulnerable to running out of data as most the users are more inclined towards prepaid mobile services. 4G and 3G coverage accounts for the fair amount of data connectivity issues. This booking service is similar to traditional Phone- based cab booking service that Ola used to offer until the middle of last year. Later, in July 2015 Ola went app-only and stopped the website and phone-booking as it reported that it was receiving 99% of the booking through the app.
Aim to cover 102 cities
Ola aims to expand its offline booking service feature to 102 cities, where currently Ola is operating through the fleet of 450,000 vehicles. This is the new strategy of Ola to face the stiff competition of Uber. This five billion dollar company is India’s third most valuable start-up and it’s the biggest competitor Uber is the world’s most valuable start-up. Both Uber and Ola are fighting hard for the dominance of India’s $7 billion dollar cab business.
Ola Hotspots feature
In July Ola announced the Ola Hotspot feature that suggests the landmark closest to users as a hotspot and sends it to the Ola cab drivers in areas like a mall where there are multiple gates for entry and exit and thus users spend a lot of time to find the driver.