Cab-hailing app Ola has now rolled out Ola share in Chennai and Kolkata. Ola has recently launched the Share feature wherein up to three users can share an Ola cab ride. The user can either choose to ride someone from a pre-created social group or with anyone, on the same route, using the Share option.
There has been an influx of concerns about rising number of vehicular raffic and pollution in the metro cities and transport startups are rolling out many features to help the situation. Cab sharing, on-demand shuttles like Zipgo and private car ride sharing by Uber under UberPool are some of the most notable initiatives towards the end.
The comfort of a cab at 50% of Mini fares! Ola Share is now available in #Kolkata & #Chennai! Start #Sharing today! pic.twitter.com/ABT1gr377j
— Ola (@Olacabs) January 22, 2016
Ola is the largest taxi-hailing operator in India with operations in 150+ cities. Of late, Ola has launched a number of new features like the Ola prime, Ola for corporate and Ola share. Ola valued at $5 billion, is in a stiff slugfest with rival Uber for the number one marketshare in the cab race.
Meanwhile, the launch of Ola share should come as a good news for the residents of Chennai who regularly lament about the difficult auto drivers. The city already has an auto-sharing arrangement, albeit in an unorganised way.
After Bengaluru, Chennai is the second biggest market for Ola. During the floods that ravaged the city last month, Ola had partnered with local vendors to provide Ola-boats in the city.