Ola to start its London journey next week. Touch competition for Uber?
2 min read . Updated: 07 Feb 2020, 10:12 AM IST- Last year, Ola made its first international debut in Perth, Australia
- London will be Ola's 28th city in the United Kingdom
The ride-hailing company Ola is all set to commence its international trip in London this month. With more than 20,000 registered drivers, Ola is ready to give a tough time to Uber's status in the capital city of the UK.
Ola will start its operation in London from February 10, the company confirmed. London will be Ola's 28th city in the United Kingdom following expansion across other cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick. Ola has so far provided over 3 million rides with more than 11,000 drivers in the UK, the Indian unicorn said.
In July, 2019, Ola received a 15-month license to operate in London. As an inaugural offer, Ola drivers will retain 100% of their earnings for the first six weeks, Softbank-backed firm said. Ola’s passengers will also receive £25 worth of ride credit for signing up in the first week after the launch, according to a company statement.
Last year, Ola made its first international debut in Perth, Australia. Within few months, Ola expanded to seven cities in the country with over 40,000 drivers.
"We are working closely with drivers to build a high quality and reliable service for Londoners. Launching in London is a major milestone for us and we are keen to offer a first class experience for all our customers," Simon Smith, Head of Ola International said.
Ola plans to enter London at a time when Local taxi regulator Transport for London (TfL) declined to renew Uber’s license over safety concerns. In a first, the ride-hailing company today launched three new safety features in the UK for both the rider and driver. Ola rolled out 'Guardian', an artificial intelligence-enabled safety feature in the UK. Ola's 'Guardian' feature uses real-time to detect any irregular trip activity, including prolonged stops and unexpected route deviations, the company said.
Ola also introduced its 'start code' feature in the UK market. 'Start code' is a security feature that sends riders a unique four-digit passcode after booking a ride. The rider needs to share the security code with the driver and the driver must enter the code to commence the trip.
Third feature includes that the drivers will not be permitted to drive on the Ola platform if they carry more than six penalty points on their driving license
