Ola to launch auto services in Chandigarh

Ola, India's most popular mobile app for personal transportation announced the launch of auto-rickshaws on its app, in the city of Chandigarh here today.

After immense success of Ola's Auto booking service in six cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune since October 2014, Ola is now gearing up for expansion in more cities.

With over 1,000 Autos already registered on the platform in Chandigarh and over 75,000 across the country, the company makes the experience of hailing, tracking and payment, seamless for users.

Customers can book Auto-rickshaws straight from the Ola app, which will now feature an Auto category. Available autos around the pickup location are seen on a map in real-time and on booking, a customer can track their auto-rickshaw coming towards them on the map.

A base fare of Rs. 14 will be applicable for the first one km and Rs. seven per km hereafter. An additional convenience charge of Rs. 10 will be payable to the auto driver over and above the fare along with a ride fare of Rs. one per minute.

Night charges would be 1.25 times the normal fare. Customers can choose to pay their fare in cash or through Ola Money. Ola intends to on-board over 2500 Autos in the next six months in Chandigarh.

Each auto on the Ola platform is powered with a smartphone having the Ola app, which enables driver-partners, access to continuous demand from customers around them.

Auto driver-partners are notified of booking requests on their smart phones and are given navigation to reach the customer's doorstep on accepting a booking request.

The GPS enabled smartphone also helps customers track their ride in real-time. On completion of the ride, customers shall pay the driver the metered fare and an additional convenience charge of Rs. 10.

Customers are allowed to share their ride details with loved ones, use Ola's in-app SOS tool as well as share feedback on their ride at any point in time.

All auto driver-partners on the Ola app go through rigorous training across behavioral, etiquette, routes and technology to make the ride experience seamless and consistent for customers.

"We are excited to bring Ola autos to Chandigarh. Users in the city will now be able to book an auto with a single tap on the Ola app, just the way they are used to booking a cab now. Ola's technology will help Auto-rickshaw driver-partners with access to increased and consistent revenue opportunity, and better utilization of their time and inventory," said Senior Director- Marketing Communications, Ola, Anand Subramanian.

"Autos are the most ubiquitous mode of personal transportation in India and Ola's technology makes it convenient and efficient for both customers and Auto drivers. Our success in redefining personal transportation in Chandigarh is testament to the value created for citizens and partners alike and furthers Ola's mission of building mobility for a billion people," added Anand.

For the first Ola auto rickshaw ride between December 24th and 27th in Chandigarh, customers will avail cash-back of up to Rs. 50 on their ride.