Ola's self-driven car-sharing service registers sharp demand after launch

The average number of kilometers and hours pre-booked by customers has also quadrupled for the upcoming holiday season

Following the launch of Ola's first self-driven car-sharing service in Bengaluru, app-based cab aggregator on Friday said it was experiencing a sharp spike in demand for 'Ola Drive' in the run up to Christmas and the new year.

Since its customer pilot launch in October, the category has seen a steady rise in the number of bookings, with a growth of over 100 per cent in day-to-day demands scheduled for holidays vis-a-vis regular weekends, it said in a release.

The average number of kilometres and hours pre-booked by customers has also quadrupled for the upcoming holiday season.

Majority of the bookings made are for road trips and short holiday getaways, averaging 800 km per trip, with nearly 40 per cent of the bookings topping 1000 kms, it said.

Ola Drive has been initially rolled out for users in Bengaluru with Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi to follow shortly, the company said.

To build and scale up the service across several Indian cities, Ola intends to host a fleet of 20,000 cars by 2020, the statement added.