Ola sees full recovery in cities, says demand to continue after festivals

 With the Indian economy opening up almost entirely, ride-hailing firm Ola said on Friday that it is seeing recovery close to pre-Covid levels, with close to 100 per cent recovery in key cities during the festive season, and the spike in demand is expected to continue. The firm had seen a massive slump during the lockdown.

The SoftBank-backed unicorn said that opening of offices, malls and more leisure travel for airports and stations has played a role in increased demand.

“People prefer cabs and autos to public transport,” said the company. “Ola has witnessed high recovery rates across all categories.”

Cities like Mumbai and Delhi have seen the demand reach close to 80- 90 per cent of the pre-Covid levels. The Bengaluru-based firm said the highest use cases are for outstation as people travel to their native places.

“Customers want hygienic and safe solutions for the movement,” said Ola.

Ola said it continues to double down on safety measures and take great care in ensuring people have a safe ride by strictly adhering to hygiene protocols.

As cities start to open, ride-hailing giant Uber’s mobility business is also seeing strong signs of recovery. For Uber, the demand varies across categories and markets, with its low-cost products like ‘auto’ and ‘moto’ leading the way. Uber Auto category is recovering briskly, with cities like Delhi and Mumbai rebounding to almost 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, followed by Jaipur and Chandigarh recovering to 50 per cent. Additionally, Delhi NCR has also emerged as a top 10 global trips market for Uber based on the number of trips taken in September with more than 1 million weekly trips.

Post lockdown, scooter sharing firm Vogo has bounced back to over 50 per cent of its pre-lockdown levels. There has been a fundamental shift in consumer needs post the Covid-19 outbreak. Safety is now a priority and people are more comfortable driving themselves rather than public transport or driver dependent commute. “It is also evident that they are now looking to rent for the longer term and get all benefits of personal ownership without actually buying it,” said Anand Ayyadurai, co-founder and CEO of Vogo.“We have also introduced a home-drop delivery service of scooters. These scooters are delivered by our field executives who are equipped with safety kits,” he said.

Post resumption of services in the unlock phase, bike-taxi company Rapido’s business has recovered 55 per cent to its pre-Covid levels. It had launched Rapido Local, a person-to-person delivery service. Here customers can request pick up and drop of food, groceries and medicine on the App, from or to another customer. Post unlock, it also launched Rapido Store, a one-stop solution for all business deliveries. The firm recently unveiled Rapido Auto in India. The aim is to offer commuters another safe and affordable option for their everyday commute, apart from bike taxi service.

When the pandemic hit, a huge problem statement for Rapido was the need for a safe and secure commute. “This became an opportunity in adversity for us, as we saw a 25 per cent spike in June and July in terms of business coming back,” said Rapido co-founder Aravind Sanka. He expects the adoption of bike taxi travelling to increase as a solution to unavailability of shared autos and last-mile connectivity gaps. “Somewhere in December, we are hoping to come back to 100 per cent of our business as before,” said Sanka.

Another scooter-sharing firm, Bounce had introduced newer services such as long term rentals, where a consumer can retain the possession of the vehicle for anytime between 7 days to 180 days. This provided comfort that a personal vehicle would offer. Bounce commenced its B2B rentals, where delivery companies could use its scooters for the last mile deliveries. Bounce also launched a rent-to-own model on new bikes, wherein consumers could take rentals of bikes paying lower than EMI and choose to purchase the bike after 12-24months.

“Increasing or reviving revenue is a priority,” said Vinay Rotti, head of corporate finance and strategic business, Bounce. “However, adapting to the new reality and being relevant in the new world has taken precedence over all other aspects.”

Ola to appeal after losing licence to operate in London over safety issues

 Indian ride-hailing firm Ola is planning to appeal and approach the court after being stripped of its licence to operate in London. The UK capital’s transport regulator Transport for London (TfL) found that the car-booking service was not “fit and proper” to hold one after it discovered a number of lapses that could have posed a risk to public safety. TfL said it has refused to grant Bengaluru-based Ola a new London private hire vehicle (PHV) operator's licence. The development comes days after Ola’s US rival Uber won a legal bid to restore its London operating licence which had also been taken away over safety concerns.

“The operations will continue as we appeal in this time, and we can continue to operate until the decision of the appeal in court. So nothing changes for customers and drivers,” said a company source. “It is important to note for riders, drivers and TfL, that all the issues have been corrected and we are confident we can demonstrate this on appeal,” the source said.

According to sources, in the course of this process, TfL has asked the firm for further reassurances, primarily around the technical operation of its databases.

“Our duty as a regulator is to ensure passenger safety. Through our investigations we discovered that flaws in Ola's operating model have led to the use of unlicensed drivers and vehicles in more than 1,000 passenger trips, which may have put passenger safety at risk,” said Helen Chapman, TfL's director of Licensing, Regulation and Charging. “If they do appeal, Ola can continue to operate and drivers can continue to undertake bookings on behalf of Ola. We will closely scrutinise the company to ensure passengers safety is not compromised,” she said.

ALSO READ: Ola Autos to now have protective partition screens, mandatory fumigation

Ola has been operating in London since February 2020. It recently made TfL aware of a number of failures that had potential public safety consequences. These included historic breaches of the licensing regime that led to unlicensed drivers and vehicles undertaking more than 1,000 passenger trips on behalf of Ola. There was also a failure to draw these breaches to TfL's attention immediately when they were first identified.

“At Ola, our core principle is to work closely, collaboratively and transparently with regulators such as TfL.

We have been working with TfL during the review period and have sought to provide assurances and address the issues raised in an open and transparent manner,” said Marc Rozendal, MD, Ola UK. “Ola will take the opportunity to appeal this decision and in doing so, our riders and drivers can rest assured that we will continue to operate as normal, providing safe and reliable mobility for London," he said.

ALSO READ: Ola Electric to hire 2,000 people; launch electric two-wheeler soon

TfL said applicants have a right to appeal a decision not to grant a licence to a magistrates' court within 21 days. Ola can continue to operate pending the outcome of any appeal process.

TfL's regulation of London's taxi and private hire trades is designed to ensure passenger safety. Private hire operators must meet rigorous regulations, and demonstrate to TfL that they do so, in order to operate. Before granting a licence, TfL must be satisfied that an operator is fit and proper to hold a private hire operator's licence.

Ola was granted a 15-month licence on July 4, 2019, which expired on October 3, 2020. The Private Hire Vehicles (London) Act 1998 includes provision to appeal a licensing decision within 21 days of it being communicated to the applicant.

Ola serves over 250 cities across India, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. The firm launched its operations in the UK starting with Cardiff in August 2018. It had been steadily expanding across the country and was serving millions of users across Birmingham, Liverpool, Exeter, Reading, Bristol, Bath, Coventry, and Warwick.

Besides Uber, Ola competes with players such as Free Now and Bolt and traditional black cab drivers in the London market. Last year in November, Uber lost its licence to operate in London. TfL had said that Uber will not be given a new licence in London after repeated safety failures. A key issue identified was that a change to Uber's systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips - putting passenger safety and security at risk.

Ola was granted a 15-month licence on 4 July 2019 to operate in London.

This expired on 3 October 2020.

Ola has been operating in London since February 2020.

Ola recently made TfL aware of a number of failures that had potential public safety consequences.

These included historic breaches of the licensing regime.

That had led to unlicensed drivers and vehicles undertaking more than 1,000 passenger trips on behalf of Ola.

There was a failure to draw these breaches to TfL's attention immediately when they were first identified.

TfL refuses to grant Ola a new London private hire vehicle (PHV).

Ola plans to appeal in the court.

Ola launches London operations with over 25,000 drivers signed up

Indian ride-hailing company Ola launched its services in the UK capital on Monday, with over 25,000 drivers registered on its platform.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company said it is fully operational in London across three categories of Comfort, Comfort XL and Exec ride classes and said its focus would be on drivers, safety and a collaborative approach with local authorities and regulators.

"We are thrilled to now be live in London. This is a major milestone for our business and represents the next step in our ambitions to connect people in cities throughout the country," said Simon Smith, Head of Ola International.

"We are proud of the progress Ola has made in the UK and we look forward to building on our success by offering a differentiated service to Londoners, focused on quality, safety and reliability," he said.

The company, which entered the UK market in 2018 starting with Wales and then south-west England, said its London drivers joining the platform will benefit from six weeks of zero commission and market-leading commission rates thereafter, so they can keep more of their earnings.

The company said: "Ola's commission commitment ensures drivers always receive the best commission rate in each market.

"Ola will continue its collaborative approach with Transport for London and local authorities, as well as its clear focus on safety, drawing on industry-leading and global best practices."

Ola also unveiled three partnerships aimed at driver standards across the market as it teamed up with DriveTech (Part of the AA), Mercer and Pearson in “ground-breaking initiatives” to offer Ola riders in London the highest standard of driving skills, and driver customer service and communication.

Ola's partnership with DriveTech will involve their driving risk assessment to improve the level of driving skills and knowledge of all drivers on Ola in London.

Each driver has completed a risk assessment and is given complimentary E-Learning modules to further accelerate their professional development. On completing these modules, they will receive a DriveTech Permit to Drive, attesting to their skills.

In addition, every Ola driver in London has passed the Versant spoken English test, from education experts Pearson plc, ensuring a high level of communication in English.

They have also successfully completed Ola's Customer Service Test, developed with global selection experts Mercer, ensuring they have the skills and mindset to deliver a great experience to their passengers.

"Ola is raising the standards of safety in the UK ride-hailing industry and bringing global best practice to the market.

"In a number of pioneering moves for the UK, Ola is launching its flagship global safety feature, ‘Guardian', which uses AI and machine learning to automatically detect irregular vehicle activity, a ‘Start Code' feature to ensure customers and drivers are correctly matched, 24/7 voice support for riders and drivers, and a cap of six penalty points for drivers on its platform,” the company said.

To celebrate its London launch, Ola said its first few passengers will benefit from up to 25 pounds worth of ride vouchers for signing up in the first week after launch.

Ride-hailing firm Ola to start in London on Feb 10 with over 20,000 drivers

Bengaluru-based ride-hailing firm Ola on Friday said it will launch its service in London on February 10, 2020. The platform will be fully operational from day one, with over 20,000 drivers who have registered on the platform since it began onboarding a month ago. The SoftBank-backed company said it aims to offer a differentiated experience on the platform with features such as 24/7 helplines for drivers and customers and an in-app emergency button. The company said it would be providing the best quality of service through its large network of drivers across the city of London.

“The overwhelmingly positive reception to Ola since launching in the UK in 2018 illustrates the significant demand from drivers, riders and communities,” said Simon Smith, Head of Ola International. “We are working closely with drivers to build high quality and reliable service for Londoners. Launching in London is a major milestone for us and we are keen to offer a first-class experience for all our customers.”

Ola said it will maintain its differentiated focus on drivers, safety and a collaborative approach through its launch in London and beyond. Drivers joining the platform will benefit from six weeks of zero commission and market-leading commission rates thereafter. Ola said its commission commitment ensures that drivers always receive the best commission rate in every market that Ola operates in. The company said it will continue its collaborative approach with regulators and local authorities, as well as its clear focus on safety, drawing on industry-leading and global best practices.

Earlier last year, Ola received an operating licence from Transport for London (TfL), the UK Capital’s transport regulator. Late last year Ola’s US-based rival Uber lost its licence to operate in London. TfL had said that Uber will not be given a new licence in London after repeated safety failures. A key issue identified was that a change to Uber's systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips - putting passenger safety and security at risk.

Ola has expanded rapidly throughout the United Kingdom (UK) since its launch in 2018 and will now operate across 28 local authorities. Cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick have seen more than double-digit growth in rides in the last quarter. To date, Ola has provided over 3 million rides with more than 11,000 drivers already operating on the platform in the UK.

In just 3 weeks, over 10,000 London drivers register on Ola ahead of launch

Bengaluru-based ride-hailing firm Ola said that in just three weeks, over 10,000 PHV (private hire vehicle) drivers in London have registered to drive on the platform. In addition, the SoftBank-backed firm said that it has extended a first of its kind offer that enables drivers to enjoy 0 per cent commission for the first two months after the launch, allowing them to retain 100 per cent of their earnings from the platform.

“We are very pleased with the overwhelming response from drivers across London. Every interaction with drivers in the city has presented us with an opportunity to create a platform that best serves their needs, as well as those of consumers,” said Simon Smith, Head of International, Ola. “We are also very excited that a large number of these registrations have occurred through referrals and word of mouth amongst drivers, reiterating their trust in the Ola platform and the attractiveness of our offer. We look forward to working closely with drivers in building a high quality and reliable mobility service for Londoners.”

Going forward, Ola said it will continue to offer the best revenue share for drivers, allowing them to keep more of their earnings, in line with the company’s unique driver-centric approach. Over the past three weeks, more than 10,000 London drivers have signed up both online and offline to drive with Ola, completing the required checks to drive on the platform. Driver documents have been verified and mandatory training modules, created by Ola, will help ensure that drivers are ready to use the platform when it launches in the coming weeks.

Ola has expanded rapidly across the UK since its launch last year, operating across 27 local authorities. Cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick have seen more than double-digit growth in rides in the last quarter. To date, Ola said it has provided around 3 million rides with over 11,000 drivers operating on the platform outside London.

Ola received an operating licence from Transport for London (TfL), the UK Capital’s transport regulator earlier this year. Last month Ola’s US-based rival Uber lost its licence to operate in London. TfL had said that Uber will not be given a new licence in London after repeated safety failures. A key issue identified was that a change to Uber's systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips - putting passenger safety and security at risk.

Ola said all drivers on its platform are PHV license holders, authorised to drive and extend their services to consumers by TfL. This includes mandatory verification of documents, an 'enhanced' criminal records check, disclosure and barring service (DBS) training and medical examination amongst other TfL requirements. Drivers will also have to go through a mandatory training module from Ola that familiarises them with customer service, app and platform usage, safety features, as well as various avenues of support available to them from the company.

Ola restructuring business ahead of IPO; move may impact over 250 roles

Ride-hailing major Ola is undertaking a restructuring exercise ahead of its planned IPO and the move could impact up to 250 roles, according to sources.

The company, which has been focussing on profitability along with building up scale as it expands into international markets, will accommodate some of these employees in other business units like food, electric and financial services, sources close to the development said

When contacted, an Ola spokesperson said the company's "organisational redesign aims to rightsize all our operations as well as leverage skills sets and experience of mobility employees in available positions in new business verticals".

The spokesperson, however, did not comment on the number of employees that could be impacted by the exercise.

Ola is estimated to have about 4,500 people on its payrolls.

"The resultant working model will form the foundation of the next chapter in Ola's growth journey as the company continues to grow its businesses. We also continue to attract the best talent across the board to support our growth and ambition," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson added that the restructuring is aimed at becoming "more nimble and have a sharper focus on growth and profitability".

The development comes at a time when Ola, which is locked in a battle for market leadership in the Indian market against American rival Uber, narrowed its standalone losses in FY19 to Rs 1,160.27 crore from Rs 2,676.70 crore in the last financial year.

ANI Technologies (which runs Ola) saw its total income rising close to 16 per cent to Rs 2,155.21 crore in FY19 from Rs 1,860.61 crore in the previous fiscal, as per regulatory documentrs filed with the Corporate Affairs Ministry.

Its employee benefits expense has been lowered to Rs 413.83 crore in FY19 from Rs 495.69 crore in FY18.

These are standalone numbers of ANI Technologies and do not include financials of other group entities like OLA Fleet Technologies, Ola Financial Services (Ola Money), Ola Electric Mobility, and international operations.

Sources said Ola is looking at listing on Indian bourses in the next 18-24 months, and profitability would be an important criteria for the process.

Ola can get listed on the BSE and NSE either directly or via Securities and Exchange Board of India-regulated Innovator's Growth Platform (IGP) for SMEs and startups.

An IPO will help Ola investors like SoftBank, Tiger Global and Steadview Capital to exit or partially sell their stake in the company to return funds to their shareholders.

Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola offers services in more than 110 cities and claims to have over 10 lakh driver-partners across cabs, auto-rickshaws, and taxis on its platform. In 2018, Ola forayed into international markets like Australia, the UK and New Zealand. It competes with Uber in these markets as well.

Ola begins onboarding drivers in London as rival Uber loses licence

At a time when Uber has lost the licence to operate in London, its rival Ola has begun registering licenced drivers in London as it prepares to launch its ride-hailing service in the UK capital in the coming weeks. With this, the company said on Tuesday over 50,000 licenced drivers will now be assured that they can continue to provide mobility services in London. Drivers can initiate their registration on the Ola app.

The Bengaluru-based company launched its operations in the UK starting with Cardiff in August 2018. SoftBank-backed Ola has been steadily expanding across the country to now serving millions of users across Birmingham, Liverpool, Exeter, Reading, Bristol, Bath, Coventry, and Warwick.

“Today, we are inviting the tens of thousands of PHV (private hire vehicle) drivers across London to register themselves on the Ola platform, as we prepare to launch in the city in the coming weeks. We have built a robust mobility platform for London, which is fully compliant with TfL’s (Transport for London) high standards,” said Simon Smith, Head of International, Ola. “We have had constructive conversations with the authorities, drivers, and local communities in London over the past months, and look forward to contributing towards solving mobility issues in innovative and meaningful ways.”

Ola received an operating licence from Transport for London (TfL) earlier this year. Its platform is already available to serve over seven million users across 27 boroughs in the UK. In Australia and New Zealand, Ola said it has passed all regulatory audits so far, adhering to safety standards that are similar to those of TfL. Ola’s service is now available in more than 250 cities around the world, in India, Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

This week US-based Uber lost its licence to operate in London. Transport for London, the UK Capital’s transport regulator had said that Uber will not be given a new licence in London after repeated safety failures. A key issue identified was that a change to Uber's systems allowed unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts. This allowed them to pick up passengers as though they were the booked driver, which occurred in at least 14,000 trips - putting passenger safety and security at risk.

Ola said it is providing 24/7 helplines for customers and drivers to contact Ola’s support team. It is providing an in-app emergency button that allows users to alert Ola’s Safety Response Team in the event of any problems with a ride. This feature can also be used to contact emergency services or to instantly share ride information, including real-time car tracking with friends and family. An industry-first driver facial recognition technology would be used for continuous authentication. Ola is also doing driver image verification against driving licence photographs to eliminate misrepresentation and re-entry of blocked drivers.

Ola said it places drivers at the heart of its operating philosophy, charging favourable commissions to allow drivers to keep more of their earnings. Giving drivers a fair deal is central to the Ola approach, said the company.

How Ola bike is gaining rider confidence in small towns

Ride-hailing major Ola, which is one of the earliest players to launch bike taxi service, is seeing huge demand in smaller cities and towns across several states. Ola Bike is quietly tapping India’s hinterland where users see bike taxis as the most convenient and cheapest mode of commute in the absence of proper taxi service.

For example, Ola Bike is operating in towns such as Gaya, Bikaner, Mughalsarai, Tirupati, Ambala, Pathankot, Ajmer, etc.

In tier II cities and beyond, bike taxi services are popular because of the lack of public transport infrastructure. Arun Srinivas, chief sales and marketing officer of Ola, says, “Ola Bike has seen large-scale adoption among people living in India’s hinterlands which have not had access to convenient, affordable and reliable on-demand transportation so far, unlike the larger cities.”

Ola Bike, which was first launched in 2016, is now accessed by over 150 million users. The firm now claims Ola Bike has expanded to over 200 cities and towns across the country, with a network of over 300,000 bike-partners.

The company is aiming to grow threefold of its current scale to over one million and grow deeper into India’s hinterland in the next 12 months. Most of this new growth is expected to come from the smallest towns and even villages, where the only mode of transport is state-run buses.

Interestingly, around four out of every 10 Ola Bike trips are taken in small towns. Ola, which competes with US rival Uber, said the growth for its bike category had increased steadily from 20 per cent to 40 per cent in the past six months.

Arun Srinivas said, Ola Bike is creating opportunities like never before for the youth of the nation. Because bike taxis are more affordable than cabs, and can zip through congested roads, they are popular among millennials.

According to the company, Ola Bike on an average, is 30 per cent faster and 50 per cent more cost-effective than four-wheelers for distances between 6 and 8 kilometres.

Ola in talks with Microsoft to raise $200 million in funding: Report

Ride-hailing major Ola is in advanced talks with tech giant Microsoft to raise about $150-200 million (about Rs 1,050-1,400 crore) in funding, according to sources.

The discussions are at an advanced stage and likely to be closed in the next 10-15 days, the sources privy to the development said.

Emails sent to Ola did not elicit any response, while Microsoft declined to comment.

In 2017, Ola and Microsoft had joined hands to build a new connected vehicle platform for car makers globally.

One of the sources said the two companies will continue to their deep technology partnership in areas like cloud, and will also collaborate on emerging mobility technology, especially connected vehicles.

Ola - which has about 200 million riders on its platform across India, the UK, Australia and New Zealand - had recently announced setting up of a research unit in the Bay Area of the US to focus on new areas like e-vehicles and connected cars.

The ride-hailing major, which is locked in a battle for market leadership with US-based Uber in India, has raised about $3 billion in funding.

Its investors include Ratan Tata, SoftBank, Tencent Holdings, Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, Sachin Bansal and others.

The company, in September this year, had received Rs 35.8 crore in Series J round from ARK Ola Pre IPO Fund. It had allotted 16,885 shares of Rs 10 each to the entity at a premium of Rs 21,240 apiece.

Bengaluru-based Ola has been working on turning profitable as it plans to launch an IPO in the next few years.

The company more than halved its losses to Rs 2,842.2 crore, while growing its revenue by 61 per cent to Rs 2,222.6 crore in 2017-18 over the previous fiscal, as per regulatory documents.

Ola bets big on food biz, to launch portfolio of in-house food brands

Ride-hailing firm Ola is betting big on the food business and is planning to launch a portfolio of in-house food brands and take them across the country. These brands would not only be available on external platforms like food delivery apps Swiggy and Zomato, but also offline stores including restaurants, cloud kitchens, food trucks and pop-up kiosks that Ola is also planning to set up.

Ola’s food business will focus on becoming a food-first company with a massive kitchen infrastructure and a slew of brands. These include brands related to desserts, rice bowls and biryanis which would be unveiled within this year. These initiatives will also help the company reach new customers by penetrating deeper into the existing markets and expanding to tier-2 and tier-3 cities and towns.

“It is a very big opportunity and there are very few food brands with a national footprint. Eating out was an indulgence four years back and now it is part of the daily routine. And the food and supply has to modify with that behaviour,” said Pranay Jivrajka, chief executive of Ola’s food business. “We aim to have a national presence for our (food) portfolio and our goal is to have 80 per cent penetration in the top markets,” he added.

To begin with, the SoftBank-backed company has launched its flagship brand ‘Khichdi Experiment’ which has gone live in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai. It is offering more than 16 varieties of ‘khichdi’ and the flavours will keep expanding depending upon the feedback from the customers. ‘Khichdi’ is a comfort food which is liked by people across ages and demographics. Ola said the idea was to answer to the hunger pangs, reconnect with the nostalgia and comfort that one attaches with an item like ‘khichdi’ and at the same time surprise customers with different flavours of the dish.

According to sources, Ola was facing challenges for its food delivery business Foodpanda and is pivoting towards focussing on its own in-house food brands through its cloud kitchens. It has a network of 50 kitchens in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi NCR and Chennai. The firm is looking to expand this network in more than 80 cities over the next year. Ola had acquired Foodpanda’s India business from Germany-based Delivery Hero Group in December 2017 and had committed an investment of $200 million into Foodpanda India. It was competing with large food delivery players in this space, while burning a lot of cash in the process, with rising competition, according to sources.

However, Ola said that through Foodpanda, it realised that there is a need to solve for the overall food experience rather than just focussing on the logistics part of the business. Foodpanda would be a distribution channel for Ola’s own food brands as well as some other partner brands.

The concept of cloud kitchen has recently caught the attention of food tech companies and investors who are pouring millions of dollars into such facilities.

Mumbai-based food-tech firm Rebel Foods, known for brands like Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, operates more than 205 delivery cloud kitchens and 1,600 online restaurants across 18 Indian cities. In the next two years, the company aims to have around 500 cloud kitchens. Rebel also runs brands such as Mandarin Oak that provides Chinese cuisine; Oven Story that is known for pizzas, and Sweet Truth that offers desserts.

Bengaluru-based Swiggy, a Naspers and Tencent Holdings backed food delivery firm, is expanding its cloud kitchen platform Swiggy Access to metros, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. The platform enables its restaurant partners to set up kitchen spaces in locations where they don’t operate but have a high demand for their product. Swiggy Access houses brands such as Truffles, Vasudev Adigas, and Leon Grill as well as the company’s private-label brands like The Bowl Company and Homely.

India's new mobility market expected to touch $90 bn by 2030: Data

India's new mobility market is expected to touch $90 billion by 2030. While revenue from the taxi cluster is expected to exceed $61 billion by the time, revenue from ride hailing is expected to hit $43.3 billion by 2025.

Data from Frost & Sullivan comes at a time when the global trend is gradually shifting towards public and shared transport and the lack of infrastructure and parking is pushing people away from vehicle ownership. These factors are also leading to growth of alternate new moblility.

According to data, new mobility will be driven by taxi services, expected to touch $61 billion from $1.5 billion in 2018. It will be followed by dynamic shuttle services, expected to touch $ 23.626 billion from $132 million, traditional carsharing from $69 million to $592 million and P2P carsharing from $7 million to $298 million.

The new segments like mobility as a service (MaaS) and corporate are expected to touch $3.36 billion and $172 million, respectively, from nil in 2018.

According to data, ride hailing in India is expected to reach $43.3 billion by 2025 from $15.3 billion in 2017 and number of vehicles in fleets is expected to touch 4.2 million from 1.4 million.

The latest data comes as good news for OEMs, which have been witnessing one of the worst downturns in the history. Wholesale dispatches of passenger vehicles slumped 23.7% year-on-year in September, the eleventh straight month of such decline, reflecting the slowdown in the wider economy and an overestimation of pre-festival sales by automakers.

In March, this year, ride hailing app Ola tied up with Korean carmakers Hyundai and Kia Motors. Under the arrangement, the three companies extensively collaborate on developing unique fleet and mobility solutions; building India-specific electric vehicles and infrastructure; as well as nurturing best in class opportunities and offerings for aspiring driver partners with customized vehicles, on the Ola platform. Hyundai and Kia will invest a total of $300 million in Ola.

Household spend on transportation in Indian cities is very high as a percentage of income despite being the lowest in real values. Less than 10% of income is spent on transportation. Indian cities spend around $35 per capita on transportation, which is very low compared to the global average of $650.

Annual transportation budget is between $26 billion to $70 billion in five major Indian cities, while in other countries it ranges from $394 billion to $2.113 trillion.

Ola enters two more UK cities as battle with archrival Uber deepens

Ride-hailing firm Ola on Tuesday launched its services in Coventry and Warwick, the eighth and ninth cities in the UK. The development would further deepen its battle with US rival Uber. For the past three weeks, drivers from across these communities have been busy in training, after local councils granted Ola with both taxi and private hire licenses – a first for these areas.

Ola said its ride-hailing app will redefine the transportation needs of over 600,000 locals in the area. The local community and visitors will benefit from a greater travel choice, with quicker and easier access to taxis. Customers will also enjoy competitive pricing – with new users receiving 50 per cent off, on all rides for the first two weeks, according to the company. The firm would also provide 24-hour safety support offered by Ola’s in-app customer care and emergency service.

“We are thrilled to expand our service to Coventry and Warwick, having launched in Birmingham earlier this year. We have learnt a great deal in the last twelve months since the launch, and feel immensely proud that our drivers have already provided over one million rides across the UK,” said Alok Pandya, Ola’s Regional Manager for the West Midlands, Coventry and Warwick.

Ola said it is the only app that can be used by both black cabs and Private Hire Vehicles (PHVs) in the area, giving both drivers and riders even more choice and better access. As part of their pledge to empower drivers, Ola said it offers the highest driver rates compared with competitors, while still ensuring that passengers enjoy industry-leading prices.

“Coventry is the home of the black cab, and as such we are delighted to be able to boost income opportunities for local drivers. We are leading the way with driver benefits, and are the only app in the area to include black cab drivers in our dynamic fleet,” said Pandya.

To encourage inclusivity for their drivers, Ola has committed to make black cab and PHV ride options equally attractive to app users, by ensuring that they are competitively priced. Black cabs do not ‘peak’, meaning that they can be cheaper when PHVs are in high demand, said Ola. Passengers have taken more than one million rides across the UK through Ola’s ride-hailing app, since the company launched in Cardiff in August 2018. Ola said it has been warmly welcomed in Bristol in October; Bath and Exeter in November; and Liverpool, Birmingham and Reading this March.

Ola to enable sustainable livelihoods for 500K women through its foundation

Ride-hailing firm Ola on Thursday unveiled an initiative to enable sustainable livelihoods for 500,000 women through its social welfare arm, Ola Foundation. The Foundation will focus on enabling economic empowerment for women through employment-linked skills training, financial literacy and social empowerment through life-skills education.

Set up in December 2016, Ola Foundation has been actively involved in projects related to women empowerment over the last two years. Observations, research and interactions with women, including spouses of Ola’s driver-partners in Bengaluru, have shown how active participation by women in the workforce can significantly improve quality of life for the whole family. The foundation’s training programmes so far include training in textile production and printing, financial and digital literacy programs, health awareness, and vocational skills.

“Women can play a transformative role in society. Ola Foundation’s vision is to provide them access to resources and opportunities to create and bring about sustainable change in their lives, their families and in turn the community at large,” said Srinivas Chunduru, mentor at Ola Foundation and group chief human resources officer. “Our pilot programs have demonstrated that financial and social independence for women can bring about a significant improvement in the well-being of their families. We are excited to work with various partners and patrons towards our mission to build sustainable livelihoods for 500,000 women by 2025,” added Chunduru.

Ola Foundation has partnered with various organisations to deliver programmes that will focus on economic and social empowerment of women. In partnership with 2Coms, an National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) certified vocational training partner, the Foundation will train women with skills that would qualify them for employment that will help them become financially independent. Additionally, in partnership with Buzz India, the foundation will also impart the fundamentals of financial literacy for women to help them increase savings and reduce dependence on debt. According to a report by the Clinton Global Initiative, children’s education was prioritised in families where women were earning members and up to 90 per cent of a woman’s income was spent on children and the family.

Ola Foundation has also partnered with Gram Tarang for social empowerment and life skills training with a 60-hour interactive programme. This programme enhances specific competencies such as communication, problem-solving, decision making, health, hygiene and sanitation. “This academically proven module helps improve self-worth and increases confidence among women leading to holistic development,” said Ola.

Ola sets up tech centre in San Francisco, home turf of rival Uber

Ride-hailing firm Ola is taking on Uber by setting up a first-of-its-kind ‘Advanced Technology Center’ at San Francisco, in the United States (US), where rival Uber is headquartered.

Bengaluru-based Ola plans to build a team of more than 150 engineers working out of the centre to develop next-generation technology in mobility.

“The Valley and the talent ecosystem here are very conducive to the development of next-generation mobility solutions,” said Ola co-founder and chief technology officer Ankit Bhati. “This is also a big step in our journey as a global mobility player, with a mission that talent from around the world are inspired to join us on,” he said.

The center would look to onboard world-class talent who will collaborate with global teams in the various geographies where Ola operates. It would build technology solutions that can accelerate Ola’s ambitions across electric mobility and connected vehicles, as well as lead futuristic experiments like autonomous vehicles. Ola is looking to hire experts across artificial intelligence, machine learning, data sciences, engineering and product development.

Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola now has a presence in 150 cities across India, UK, Australia and New Zealand. It currently serves more than 150 million users and is close to completing over a billion rides annually. In India, Ola’s core mobility offering is supplemented by its electric-vehicle arm, Ola Electric, a fleet management business, Ola Fleet Technologies, and a public transportation ticketing app, Ridlr.

Ola to focus more on own private label food brands through cloud kitchens

Ride-hailing firm Ola said that it is not suspending its food delivery business Foodpanda and is pivoting towards focussing on its own private label brands through its cloud kitchens. A 'cloud kitchen' is one that does not offer dine-in facility and accepts food orders only through an online ordering system.

The Mint newspaper on Wednesday, quoting sources, said that Ola had suspended the company’s food delivery business Foodpanda, laid off about 40 mid- to entry-level employees and terminated the contracts of most of its 1,500 food delivery executives.

“Ola is not suspending its food delivery services. This is more of a pivot towards focussing on its own private label food brands,” said a source at Ola, who did not wish to be quoted. “The firm has not fired its employees or terminated the contract with the delivery executives because of bad food delivery business. If there has been any such development, it is mainly part of the natural churn to focus on its own brands. At the same time, the company is hiring people with culinary experience and looking at opening offline stores or restaurants,” said a source.

The SoftBank-backed company is building its online food delivery platform through Foodpanda’s India business, which it acquired from Germany-based Delivery Hero Group in December 2017. Ola had committed an investment of $200 million into Foodpanda India, and is competing with Uber Eats, Swiggy and Zomato in this space, while burning a lot of cash in the process, with rising competition.

“One of Ola’s big investors has come down heavily on the company for investing so much money into Foodpanda business. They were trying to scale up quickly and giving heavy discounts,” a person familiar with the matter said. “Ola is now focusing more on in-house labels and cloud kitchens and they might absorb the Foodpanda employees into the company,” said the source.

Last October, Ola-owned Foodpanda said it had acquired Mumbai-based food-tech venture Holachef for an undisclosed amount. Through this collaboration, Foodpanda marked its strategic entry into cloud kitchens and had plans to launch its own brand of food products in different categories. Ola now runs private label food brands such as Khichdi Experiment, Flrt, Lovemade and Grandma’s kitchen. Currently, over 50 cloud kitchens of Ola make different varieties of ‘khichdis’, variations of rice bowls across cuisines, biryanis and a range of desserts and shakes. These kitchens are spread across Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Chennai.

A source at Ola said that in the future the company might not need its own delivery executives at all. “It may list its cloud kitchen food brands on food delivery firms such as Swiggy, Zomato, Uber Eats and Dunzo,” the source said.

An Ola spokesperson on Wednesday denied there had been any layoffs at Foodpanda but said as part of its “ongoing business repurposing initiatives” Ola was focused on building a portfolio of own food brands and curated food offerings through its fast expanding network of kitchens. Many of these offerings are already available in all major cities through the Ola and Foodpanda apps, according to the company

“We continue to invest in expanding our facilities and kitchens, as well as our portfolio of food offerings for customers. We remain committed to our mission of building a superior food experience for millions of our customers,” said the Ola spokesperson.

The concept of cloud kitchen has recently caught the attention of food tech companies and investors who are pouring millions of dollars into such facilities.

Mumbai-based food-tech firm Rebel Foods, known for brands like Faasos and Behrouz Biryani, operates more than 205 delivery cloud kitchens and 1,600 online restaurants across 18 Indian cities. In the next two years, the company aims to have around 500 cloud kitchens. Rebel also runs brands such as Mandarin Oak that provides Chinese cuisine; Oven Story that is known for pizzas, and Sweet Truth that offers desserts.

Bengaluru-based Swiggy, a Naspers and Tencent Holdings backed food delivery firm, is expanding its cloud kitchen platform Swiggy Access to metros, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. The platform enables its restaurant partners to set up kitchen spaces in locations where they don’t operate but have a high demand for their product. Swiggy Access houses brands such as Truffles, Vasudev Adigas, and Leon Grill as well as the company’s private label brands like The Bowl Company and Homely. It was also reported that Gurugram-based food delivery and restaurant discovery firm Zomato was also making strategic investments in Bengaluru-based Loyal Hospitality for its cloud kitchen project.

Ola in talks with Audi, Merc, BMW for self-drive subscription service

Ride-hailing platform Ola is in discussions with luxury carmakers, including Audi, Mercedes and BMW, to launch a subscription-based service under its self-drive offering, according to sources.

Ola has been running a small-scale pilot of the self-drive service in Bengaluru currently, and is expected to launch the offering in the next few weeks through Ola Fleet Technologies.

The company is also believed to have earmarked an investment of up to USD 500 million (including debt) for the self-drive service.

According to sources privy to the development, the company is in talks with carmakers like Audi, Mercedes and BMW to bring to India a model where users can get access to luxury cars by paying a subscription fee.

Email queries sent to Ola, Audi, Mercedes and BMW did not elicit any response.

One of the persons said the format is available in developed markets like the US, but given the high cost of luxury vehicles in India, a direct-to-customer model may not be not feasible in the country.

The person added that Ola sees a lot of potential in bringing this model to India given its scale of operations across multiple categories and cities.

Ola already allows customers to book rides in luxury cars through its 'Lux' offering. In October 2016, the Bengaluru-based company had partnered with BMW for expanding the category.

The company, which competes with the US-based Uber in India and international markets like Australia, has been aggressively ramping up its rides business as well as food delivery operations (through Foodpanda).

It had recently announced that Hyundai and Kia are investing USD 300 million in the company.

Ola, which counts names like SoftBank Group and China's Tencent Holdings among its investors, had received Rs 650 crore funding from Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal in February this year.

Ola's electric mobility arm Ola Electric Mobility has also raised Rs 400 crore from Tiger Global, Matrix India and others.

Ride-hailing platform Ola is in discussions with luxury carmakers, including Audi, Mercedes and BMW, to launch a subscription-based service under its self-drive offering, according to sources.

Ola has been running a small-scale pilot of the self-drive service in Bengaluru currently, and is expected to launch the offering in the next few weeks through Ola Fleet Technologies.

The company is also believed to have earmarked an investment of up to USD 500 million (including debt) for the self-drive service.

According to sources privy to the development, the company is in talks with carmakers like Audi, Mercedes and BMW to bring to India a model where users can get access to luxury cars by paying a subscription fee.

Email queries sent to Ola, Audi, Mercedes and BMW did not elicit any response.

One of the persons said the format is available in developed markets like the US, but given the high cost of luxury vehicles in India, a direct-to-customer model may not be not feasible in the country.

The person added that Ola sees a lot of potential in bringing this model to India given its scale of operations across multiple categories and cities.

Ola already allows customers to book rides in luxury cars through its 'Lux' offering. In October 2016, the Bengaluru-based company had partnered with BMW for expanding the category.

The company, which competes with the US-based Uber in India and international markets like Australia, has been aggressively ramping up its rides business as well as food delivery operations (through Foodpanda).

It had recently announced that Hyundai and Kia are investing USD 300 million in the company.

Ola, which counts names like SoftBank Group and China's Tencent Holdings among its investors, had received Rs 650 crore funding from Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal in February this year.

Ola's electric mobility arm Ola Electric Mobility has also raised Rs 400 crore from Tiger Global, Matrix India and others.

Ola in talks with Audi, Merc, BMW for self-drive subscription service

Ride-hailing platform Ola is in discussions with luxury carmakers, including Audi, Mercedes and BMW, to launch a subscription-based service under its self-drive offering, according to sources.

Ola has been running a small-scale pilot of the self-drive service in Bengaluru currently, and is expected to launch the offering in the next few weeks through Ola Fleet Technologies.

The company is also believed to have earmarked an investment of up to USD 500 million (including debt) for the self-drive service.

According to sources privy to the development, the company is in talks with carmakers like Audi, Mercedes and BMW to bring to India a model where users can get access to luxury cars by paying a subscription fee.

Email queries sent to Ola, Audi, Mercedes and BMW did not elicit any response.

One of the persons said the format is available in developed markets like the US, but given the high cost of luxury vehicles in India, a direct-to-customer model may not be not feasible in the country.

The person added that Ola sees a lot of potential in bringing this model to India given its scale of operations across multiple categories and cities.

Ola already allows customers to book rides in luxury cars through its 'Lux' offering. In October 2016, the Bengaluru-based company had partnered with BMW for expanding the category.

The company, which competes with the US-based Uber in India and international markets like Australia, has been aggressively ramping up its rides business as well as food delivery operations (through Foodpanda).

It had recently announced that Hyundai and Kia are investing USD 300 million in the company.

Ola, which counts names like SoftBank Group and China's Tencent Holdings among its investors, had received Rs 650 crore funding from Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal in February this year.

Ola's electric mobility arm Ola Electric Mobility has also raised Rs 400 crore from Tiger Global, Matrix India and others.

Karnataka open to talks with Ola; satisfactory response may help revoke ban

Karnataka kept the door open on Saturday to talks with local ride-hailing service Ola to avoid a ban that could help rival Uber build market share.

Karnataka earlier this week issued a notice to suspend Ola's licence for six months for violating government rules by running motorcycle taxis which are not allowed for safety reasons.

State capital and technology hub Bengaluru is among Ola's top three markets in India.

V P Ikkeri, state commissioner for transport and road safety, told reporters the department had seized and issued fines for about 258 bikes during a probe after complaints.

Ola's permit, obtained in 2017 and valid to 2021, allows it to run three and four-wheeler taxis in Karnataka. The company, backed by SoftBank Group Corp and Tencent Holdings Ltd, has until Monday to respond to the suspension notice.

"It's a temporary suspension and if they give us a satisfactory response, then we won't need to implement the ban," Ikkeri said, adding that Ola would face financial penalties.

Ola did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It could lose out badly to Uber if pushed out of the market for an extended period.

"If Uber comes up with a strategy to lock in some of the drivers or customers with more incentives, it will be difficult for Ola to make a comeback," said Neil Shah, partner and research director at Counterpoint Research.

"Assuming the top three (Indian) markets contribute to roughly 35-40 percent of Ola's revenues, if the ban is upheld, we could be looking at a 5-10 percent revenue hit to the company."

On Friday, the company said it was evaluating all options to find an "amicable solution" and was working closely with the authorities.

Ikkeri also said the department had sent a notice about penalties to the last known address of Rapido, another motorcycle taxi operator in Bengaluru. Rapido could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts by Reuters.

Ola's fight against Uber to get a $300-mn push from Hyundai and Kia

South Korean conglomerate Hyundai Motor Group and Indian ride-hailing company Ola have formed a strategic partnership under which the former's automobile brands — Hyundai and Kia Motors — will invest $300 million in Bengaluru-based Ola. This would be the biggest combined investment for Hyundai and Kia to date. The partnership is expected to help Ola intensify its battle with US rival Uber, which is rapidly gaining share of the Indian market.

The three companies would collaborate on developing fleet and mobility solutions, building India-specific electric vehicles and infrastructure. They would also innovate opportunities for aspiring driver partners with customised vehicles on the Ola platform.

“India is the centerpiece of Hyundai Motor Group’s strategy to gain leadership in the global mobility market and our partnership with Ola will certainly accelerate our efforts to transform into a smart mobility solutions provider,” said Euisun Chung, executive vice-chairman of Hyundai Motor Group.

The companies have agreed to co-create solutions to operate and manage fleet vehicles. This marks Hyundai Motor Group’s first foray into the industry, as it expands operations from automobile manufacturing and sales to total fleet solutions.

The partnership would offer Ola drivers various financial services such as lease and instalment payments.

“We’re very excited about our partnership with Hyundai, as Ola progresses to build innovative and cutting-edge mobility solutions for a billion people,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, CEO of Ola.

Ola has so far raised a total of $3.5 billion in funding over 20 rounds from global investors including SoftBank, Accel and Tiger Global Management, according to data platform Crunchbase.

Hyundai, Kia and Ola have also agreed to coordinate efforts to develop cars and specifications that reflect the needs of the ride-hailing market which includes both users and drivers. Data accumulated during service operation will allow the companies to make constant vehicle improvements to better meet local needs and specifications.

Hyundai Motor Group said the partnership’s initiatives will allow it to engage in all aspects across the entire mobility value chain ― including vehicle production, fleet operation and mobility services. Last November, Hyundai and Kia announced to invest an additional amount of $250 million in Singapore-based ride-hailing firm Grab.

Experts say that traditional automakers are making investments in new age companies because with autonomous driving, electrification and shared services, the car industry is going through a massive shift. Also firms like Tesla, Google and Apple are becoming the new competitors for traditional players such as Daimler and Hyundai. At this year’s CES, the world's largest tech convention, Hyundai showcased Elevate concept vehicle, which is a car and also a robot as it can walk across rough terrain instead of just rolling on the ground. The vehicle has four extendable legs with wheels and can step over obstacles along the way.

“Monumental shifts are taking place in the automotive sector. Autonomy, connectivity, electrification, and sharing (ACES) require a set of capabilities that traditional auto has never encountered before,” says research firm CB Insights. Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Apple’s (FAMGA) investments across auto and mobility encompass startups working on mobility services, autonomous driving, vehicle connectivity, electric vehicle technology, and auto commerce, according to CB Insights.

Ola which hosts over 1.3 million partners on its platform said that it aims to create over two million livelihood opportunities in the mobility ecosystem by 2022. It said this partnership will help accelerate micro-entrepreneurship in India’s growing pool of aspiring driver-partners.