Uber launches scheduled rides in India as it vies to beat Ola

President of Uber India said riders can use this feature to book a ride from 15 mins to 30 days in advance

App-based ride hailing service Uber has introduced its 'Schedule a Ride' feature in India allowing users to book rides as much as 30 days in advance as it looks to better take on local rival Ola.

Uber, which for long called the feature redundant, claiming it went against the idea of its on-demand model, began rolling it out in global markets this June. Ola, a firm which was modelled around Uber, has had a similar feature 'Ride Later' which has been around since its inception.

"Riders can use this feature to book a ride from 15 mins to 30 days in advance. For our driver-partners, it minimises idle time and for riders it is an additional comfort of knowing your Uber will be there when it's time to head out," said Amit Jain, President of Uber India, in a statement.

The biggest target for Uber with the new ride scheduling feature are business users and is giving select access to users who use either the company's Business Profiles or Uber for Business services. While Uber had kept its plans of boosting business by partnering with corporates under wraps, earlier this week it announced that the service had been on offer in India since the start of 2016.

Uber says scheduled rides offer assurance to customers that their cabs will be there when they're ready to travel, even if they schedule it to arrive in the next 15 minutes. On the other hand, Ola offers the service to all its users and says a large number of its rides get scheduled while not revealing the exact figure.

After losing out in China to Didi Chuxing, Uber has sharpened its focus to win India at all costs. The company recently said a substantial portion of the $3.5 billion it raised from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would be invested in India. Moreover, the company is looking at all ways in which it can outdo Ola in terms of the services it offers and the cost of rides.

To keep itself ahead, Ola, the lesser funded of the two companies, has been experimenting with several new ideas while Uber has been tailing it in India. From accepting cash payments, to utilising its cabs to deliver groceries, Ola has been been bringing more features to users in India while Uber usually tests products abroad before bringing them to India.

However, to build innovations for the Indian market, Uber has setup a development centre in Bengaluru and has hired Apurva Dalal, the former CTO of Urban Ladder to head it. Some of the products being built out of India are today being used in other global markets.