Uber has competition in India. Homegrown cab and car rental service, Ola Cabs today announced its roll-out of Ola Luxury. The service is currently live in Bangalore and Mumbai with a fleet of Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar cars.
The fares are quite similar to what Uber charges in Delhi. The first two kilometers are charged at Rs 250, which is the minimum rate followed by Rs 20 per kilometer and Rs 2 per minute. Uber charges a base fare of Rs 70 followed by Rs 20 per kilometer and Rs 2 per minute in Delhi and a minimum fare of Rs 200. Uber is expected to launch its services in Mumbai soon. The press release follows.
Mumbai gets its first luxury point-to-point cab service Olacabs launches ‘Ola Luxury’ in the city
Commuters in Mumbai can now hire luxury cars at the click of a button.
For the first time luxury cabs in Mumbai can be hired just for point to point city use.
Mumbai January 8, 2014: Olacabs, India’s largest aggregator of car rentals and point-to-point cab services, today announced the launch of its luxury cab service ‘Ola Luxury’ in Mumbai. This is the first time that luxury cars will be available for point-to-point pick up and drop within the city. Ola’s fleet includes premium vehicles like Mercedes, BMW, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic amongst other top end sedans and SUVs. The cabs can be booked through Ola’s Android / iOS mobile app and their location can be tracked in real time till they reach the customer’s pickup address, making the entire experience highly intuitive and convenient. Customers can also book their luxury car by calling on the contact centre at 022-33553355.
Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-founder and CEO, Olacabs said, “Mumbai is the business capital of India and we see great potential for luxury cars as a customer utility. There are people who would like to travel in comfort and class but they do not have access to hiring a top-end car for point-to-point use. With a one-touch app booking and strong integration of technology at every level, we expect Ola Luxury to become an indistinguishable, yet essential part of their lifestyle. Our aggregation model also allows luxury cab owners to make the most of their idle time by logging on to the Ola platform for increased business.”
The intent behind Ola Luxury in Mumbai is to make Luxury more accessible to those who would like to enjoy a premium ride for city travel. At a minimum fare of Rs 250 and Rs 20/km, Ola luxury brings availability, comfort and a top class driver and in-car experience that Ola has always stood for.
Ola has been an integral part of Mumbai’s travel ecosystem for over 2 years now and the city is where it all began. While Ola has grown rapidly in the mid and compact categories, it sees a sizeable opportunity in aggregating the luxury car market in Tier 1 cities. Olacabs is present in Mumbai, Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Pune, Chennai and Goa and has over 6500 cabs on its platform. Olacabs also has full day rental services across luxury SUVs and sedans across all cities of its operations since the start. Point to point luxury service has been available in the city of Bangalore since last September.