Transportation app Ola today said it has expanded its affordable service Micro to six more cities, including Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Bhubaneswar, as it looks to overtake rival Uber in terms of number of rides.
Micro, which is Ola's most affordable, offering economy AC cab ride for Rs 6 per km, is now available in 13 cities across India, Ola said in a statement.
"Ola Micro is now available in 13 cities across India, viz. Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Pune, including Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Guwahati, which were launched today, after a phenomenal response from customers in other cities," it added.
Ola Micro fleet will comprise cars like Datsun Go, Maruti Alto and Hyundai Eon, among other compact cars.
"By bringing Micro to fast growing tier-II markets, Ola is making an AC cab ride affordable for millions of Indians who will potentially take their first cab ride with this category.
"In cities like Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Guwahati, which are popular tourist and economic centres, affordable yet reliable mobility options are limited," said Raghuvesh Sarup, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Categories, Ola.
Ola said Micro alone, in its first three weeks since the launch, crossed the daily bookings that Ola as a platform did in three years and is estimated to be well over 50 per cent the size of competition in such a short span of time.
Ola also wants a review of the rule that makes it
mandatory for an operator/aggregator to have 50 per cent fleet with above 1,400-cc engines.
"Fleet composition should be best left to the choice of drivers which is done according to the demand from consumers," Jivrajka said, adding Mumbai does not need so many premium taxis.
Ola is present in 102 cities and claims over 4,50,000 drivers on its platform with cabs, auto-rickshaws, taxis and bike taxis (in Gurugram).
Uber too had sought review of these norms while welcoming the rest of policy proposals.
According to Uber, the proposed stipulation that more that 50 percent of the vehicles on ride-sharing platforms should be over 1,400cc would result in disappearance of economical and fuel efficient vehicles from the platform.
"It also takes away the freedom and flexibility of drivers to have the vehicle of their choice, forcing them to buy more expensive cars which will in turn increase fares," Uber had said, adding that capping pricing prevents market forces from determining lower fares when possible.
