Ola Launches Social Ride-Sharing Platform In Chennai

Ola  announced the launch of Ola Share, a social ride-sharing platform, in Chennai. Users who travel on the same routes can now use Ola Share to share their cab rides with other users from social groups.

Ola Share has been designed to enable people to share their cab rides and help reduce pollution and congestion in their city. Ola Share makes for economical fares, since a ride can now be shared by up to three people at any point in time. Customers in Chennai stand to benefit from a flat 50% discount on Ola Share fares over the coming month, the company said.

The cab-sharing company launched its services in Chennai in 2013. The city is the second fastest growing market for Ola after Bengaluru.

Anand Subramanian, senior director of marketing communications at Ola said, “Ola Share helps make transportation within the city more affordable and helps reduce pollution and on-road congestion. It also gives users the option to travel in the comfort of social groups they are part of, with convenient access from the Ola app.”

Customers can choose to share rides with members of social groups they are part of, without having to share their ride with strangers. Using social groups on the Ola app, colleagues from a workplace or 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. Users can also request creation of groups with due email verification. 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.

The company plans to take Ola Share to 20 cities across the country over the next six months.

How does Ola Share work?                                                                  Ola Share appears on the Ola app as a separate category. On sharing the drop location, the Ola app uses advanced algorithms to match users from common social groups, looking for a cab on the same route, in real time. When additional users en-route are identified, the driver’s device gets an alert with navigation to their pickup location within minutes, to join the ride. A maximum of 3 people can share a cab together via Ola Share.

Drivers get an option to log onto the Share platform, getting instant access to increased revenue of up to 50% through continuous fulfilment of booking requests.