Ride-hailing company Ola is witnessing green shoots emerging for its overall business amid the Covid-19 pandemic which has pounded the transportation industry. The company said it is now serving about 50 per cent rides in most of the major cities as compared to the pre-Covid phase.
After nearly five months of restrictions and reduced activity, the inter-city travel segment is seeing a resurgence for the SoftBank-backed company as more people are stepping out. The Bengaluru-based company said that, over the last few weeks, 80 per cent of its outstation bookings on the platform have been for one-way trips. Ola said the recent trends have shown that the ‘one-way’ trip offering is popular with users, which provides a more economical option as opposed to traditional taxis which charge for a round-trip as a standard practice.
Across the country, people are choosing’ Ola Outstation’ which the company said offers a safe, hygienic and convenient mode of inter-city travel. Insights from the ride-hailing giant reveal that people in both large metropolitans and tier-2 cities are preferring to travel via cabs which allows them to travel to the destination of their choice while maintaining social distancing.
"We have been witnessing a positive growth trend over the past months both nationally and globally, as cities are opening up and economic activity is restored,” said an Ola spokesperson. “In many of the major cities that have opened up, we are already serving up to 50 per cent rides as compared to the pre-Covid phase.”
Ola is witnessing an uptick in the business after it announced laying off 1,400 employees, or over 33 per cent of its workforce, in May, due to the impact of the pandemic on the mobility industry.
Ola Outstation is India’s largest smart inter-city mobility solution that covers over 11,000 destinations across the country. Adapting to the new normal of inter-city travel, the company said Ola outstation offers the highest levels of safety and hygiene. This includes sanitized cars, specially trained drivers who undergo temperature and health checks, and mask-recognition technology to ensure drivers wear masks at all times amongst other options.
Ola said these measures, coupled with instant booking, widespread availability of cars, have made Ola Outstation a very popular alternative to long-distance public transport options. Avoiding crowded transit hubs and mass transport solutions while steering clear of other passengers, citizens are preferring Ola Outstation, which allows them to avail services at their doorstep making travel convenient and hassle-free for all.
While Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai have been the major sources for booking requests, Tie-2 cities including Patna, Jaipur and Indore are also seeing a large number of requests for out-of-town travel. The inter-city travel can be accessed by Ola’s total user base of over 200 million users and 2 million driver-partners.
Since the lockdown opened up Ola’s rival Uber has also resumed operations in more than 70 cities in the country. “We are seeing green shoots and most importantly the recovery is strongest in our auto product,” Nandini Maheshwari, director, business development, Uber APAC, said recently in an interview.