Uber vs Ola: Battle For App-Cab Supremacy on Indian Roads

The Jon Snowfall versus Ramsay Bolton saga in the HBO smash hitting 'Game of Thrones' might take reached a predictably brutal and gruesome stop, just much like the ongoing tussle betwixt Flipkart and Amazon in the Indian e-commerce market, the boxing betwixt Ola and Uber for supremacy in the land'due south taxi marketplace is becoming a prolonged and stretched-out saga with no apparent end in sight. Not that consumers should complain, though. Until not and then long agone, the idea of an on-demand cab service was almost unheard of, and 1 had to rely on the notoriously unreliable auto-rickshaws or traditional cabs to get from point A to point B. With the advent of Ola, Uber and other services like Meru and the now-defunct Taxi For Certain, hailing a ride in a relatively clean, air-conditioned vehicle became as easy as apple pie. Although pricing started off a flake on the higher side, fierce competition has ensured that these services today are a lot more affordable than they were 4 to 5 years agone.

However, concerns about customer safety and complaints nearly billing, driver behavior and poor routes have often plagued these cab aggregators, forcing regime agencies in various cities to step in from time to time to regulate these companies that accept, for the most part, avoided any serious regulatory restrictions up until at present. While no app-cab operator is perfect, many of us accept gotten then used to these services that it would get well-nigh incommunicable for usa to imagine going back to chasing regular cabs or flagging down auto-rickshaws and haggling with them over fare. And so, with app-cabs like Ola and Uber providing the path of least resistance, are there whatever significant advantages of using 1 over the other? Or are they two sides of the aforementioned coin? In order to ameliorate understand these services and see if we're missing out on something by preferring one over the other, permit's take a detailed await at some of the advantages and disadvantages of using Ola and Uber in India:

User interface and Ease of Use

Both Ola and Uber are available on multiple platforms, and then whether you utilize an Android device, an iPhone or fifty-fifty a Windows-based handset, you will be able to download and use both apps on your device. In one case you lot install them on your phone, though, the offset affair you lot'll need to think is that you'll admittedly need to switch on 'Location Services / GPS' on your device for the Ola app to piece of work. While Uber also in one case needed the GPS to be turned on, the large update rolled out to the app final year now means you can actually hail a cab without giving away your current location, which is certainly a expert thing from the privacy point of view, provided, you're game enough to manually type in your pick-up accost every time.

• Uber

On opening up the Uber app, you'll land on a folio cogent your location on the map of your city (provided y'all have the GPS turned on). The same update, which was rolled out in the U.S. late last year and in Republic of india earlier this year, has made the booking process really like shooting fish in a barrel, insofar equally yous don't even take to blazon-in your pick-up address anymore. The GPS will pin-signal your current location, and you'll simply demand to fill up in your destination in the large white box at the top of the page that only says "Where to?" Equally you start typing in, y'all'll be presented with diverse options to choose from, and in one case y'all see the pick y'all're actually looking for, merely tap on that, and the app will show you the fares for cabs in each category after a quick calculation.

At the most affordable stop of the spectrum, yous've got the UberPool service that needs yous to share your cab with strangers in substitution for a pocket-friendly fare, while on the other, at that place's the most exorbitantly-priced UberBlack service that comes with many of the bells and whistles that you may non necessarily need, at least non on a daily basis. Currently, the other categories on offer in Delhi include UberGO, UberX, UberXL and UberHire. It'south worth remembering, though, that the categories vary quite a bit depending on region and even the time of 24-hour interval, and then what's offered as an option in one city may not necessarily be available in some other. Also, Uber lets you schedule cabs for afterward.

As far equally the UI is concerned, you get a 'hamburger menu' (3 little lines) at the top-left corner of the app's landing page, tapping on which brings out an overlay that shows yous your rating and, lets y'all contact back up, claim refunds, annals complaint and, access your account settings. Overall, it'due south a pretty intuitive user interface that has just gotten ameliorate with the recent revamp. Every bit for the white-on-grey pattern, it looks classy and sophisticated, if a tad boring. The company also rolled out "location-sharing" and a few other novel features with the aforementioned update a few months back, all of which we covered just concluding calendar month.

• Ola

It's pretty much the aforementioned story here as well in terms of seeing your ain location literally pinpointed on the map, but different Uber, y'all'll have all the bachelor cab categories displayed at the bottom of the landing page itself, and you'll need to choice one to become your estimate. Ola offers a mind-boggling array of options, which can, frankly, get a bit confusing if you're a new user. Even experienced users demand to navigate the app carefully and so as not to option wrong options. Available categories include Share, Micro and Mini, likewise as iii different flavors of its most expensive 'Prime number' tier, including Prime Sedan, Prime number Play and Prime number SUV. The company also offers an exorbitantly-priced 'Lux' category in Bangalore, only I oasis't had the privilege of checking that out having merely lived in Kolkata and Delhi since the onset of the app-cab era.Interestingly, with the Ola app, y'all can hail not simply cabs, merely likewise autos, e-rickshaws and until recently, even traditional taxis! Ola likewise offers an 'outstation' service, a 'shuttle' service (in Delhi) and a 'rental' service. With so many options jostling for your attending, you'll have to recollect to set the category manually every time because, 'Ola Prime', 1 of the more expensive offerings, is selected by default. So in case you're only looking to book Micro, Mini or Share, y'all'll end upward paying a whole lot more if you lot forget to cull your preferred option right at the get-go. Similar Uber, Ola as well lets y'all pre-book or schedule a cab for later using the "Ride Later" pick.

In terms of the user interface, Ola also has a 'hamburger menu' on the top-left corner of the app'south home screen, just like its San Francisco-based rival. You can tap on that push button to see your ride history and other information similar promotions, notifications and payments etc. Overall, its a well-designed app that'southward lightweight and definitely less of a resources-hog than Uber. Equally for the design, to each their own, only personally, I notice the white-on-yellow design sunny and cheerful without being garish or loud. There's nothing really to choose from between the two apps per se, but I practice promise that Ola will clear up the ataxia a trivial and make its interface a picayune less confusing for seniors and people who are new to smartphones.

Note: You lot can likewise book an Uber correct from your computer. To do that, yous need to go over to a defended sub-domain that Uber set up for the purpose. You'll but need to provide your mobile number and countersign for this method to work. While we did manage to book an Uber this way, it just didn't seem as intuitive as the standard method.

Ola also has an 'offline' booking style that allows people without net access to volume a cab, although, you'll yet need to use the smartphone app for this method to work. You'll become that choice automatically if you open the Ola app on your phone without either mobile information or Wi-Fi turned on. Unfortunately though, in our case, repeated attempts at booking an Ola using this method failed miserably.

Availability and Pickup

• Uber

From personal experience, Uber virtually never refuses a ride to a customer because of unavailability of vehicles, peculiarly, if you're looking to book one of their cheaper services similar Pool or Go. In several years of using the service in Kolkata and a few months in Delhi, I've very rarely failed to find a cab, although, the prices quoted at blitz hour are often non for the faint-hearted. Another problem with trying to accommodate everybody is seemingly unique to UberPool. The company often matches you with riders who're traveling in a completely different direction, which means UberPool rides often take extremely long and convoluted routes, typically leading to longer ride-times

• Ola

Dissimilar UberPool, Ola Share passengers are generally matched with fellow riders going in the same general management, so nobody has to take a long detour. That beingness the case, trying to book Share rides during rush hour can exist a bit of a pain, as the visitor often rejects ride requests (at least in Kolkata and Delhi) because other cabs on share duty in the region aren't traveling in the same direction. While this differentiation isn't applicable if y'all're looking to volume UberGO or Ola Micro (or higher), you lot're all the same more probable to go a 'cab unavailable' bulletin from Ola than Uber, irrespective of the category you're looking at.

There are another couple of crucial differences betwixt Ola and Uber when it comes to the pickup experience. Firstly, there'southward the ETA that's given to y'all at the time of booking. While Ola well-nigh e'er understates the time needed to wade through congested city traffic, Uber is a generally flake more realistic with its ETAs, although, as anyone who's used the services extensively volition tell you, you'll be lucky if your cab actually manages to arrive on time irrespective of which i you've booked.

Secondly, Ola issues an OTP to the rider every time a cab is booked, irrespective of the category. As a rider, you need to mention this to the driver, who enters it in their app to be verified by the Ola servers. While it is an extra step that could be a flake of pain sometimes, information technology'due south is really a great innovation as information technology significantly reduces chances of a botch and Uber would do well to innovate something similar, at to the lowest degree, in countries with chaotic traffic, like India.

Professionalism of Drivers & Cleanliness of Cars

What's fifty-fifty more disconcerting than having to look longer-than-expected for your cab to arrive, is the fact that drivers, having accepted the trip request, will often call you upwardly to know your destination, and promptly cancel if they remember that the trip won't be profitable enough for them. Actually, they'd very often ask you to cancel so equally to avoid the penalties for cancelling rides. While Ola and Uber both charge riders a nominal 'cancellation fee' in these cases, y'all can get them back more often than not, just more on that later. While this problem affects both Ola and Uber, I have personally establish that Ola drivers are more likely to call you lot upward unnecessarily than Uber drivers, either to guide them with navigation or to know your destination.

Professional ethics aside, drivers on both platforms also lack proper grooming to navigate, although, the ones that accept been on the platform for long by and large do a amend job of it than the newbies. If you really desire to split hair, I'd say Uber drivers are only slightly better trained to use GPS navigation than their Ola counterparts going by my own personal experiences and those of my friends, relatives and colleagues.

While most drivers on Ola and Uber are relatively more courteous than traditional taxi and auto drivers, the two companies would still exercise well to educate them on how to converse in polite society. Having said that, going by personal experience and anecdotal evidence collected from various online forums, bulletin boards and social media, Uber seems to have a slightly higher standard than Ola when information technology comes to hiring drivers, although, your mileage may vary.

While I've found virtually Ola and Uber cabs to exist relatively clean, Ola vehicles, whether in Kolkata or Delhi, consistently look worse for the wear compared to their Uber counterparts. While you do expect the vehicles to endure a few scratches and dings on our unruly roads, Uber vehicles more often than not look better-maintained than the Ola ones. As for the vehicles themselves, I personally dread having to board the Indicas and the Indigos, as they are the worst of the lot in terms of their NVH (racket, vibration and harshness) levels, but the Dzires, Xcents and Carriage Rs hold their shape much ameliorate over longer periods of fourth dimension.

Fares and Payment Options

Allow's face up it. While all of the above are of import, the critical factor for many of the states is the fare. Personally, I open up both apps on my phone and compare the fares on the two platforms before actually going ahead with the booking. For penny-pinchers like myself, it'south nigh ever the service that's asking for the lower fare that wins out in the end. While Ola Share is mostly cheaper over shorter distances (at least in Delhi), the picture changes completely with the increment in altitude. Typically, UberPool and UberGO are significantly cheaper than Ola Share and Ola Micro respectively over distances longer than 6kms, but only equally long every bit you don't become the dreaded "Fares are higher due to increased need" message.

Fares

• Ola

As mentioned earlier, Ola offers Micro, Mini, Prime Sedan, Prime number Play and Prime SUV categories alongside Ola Share, which comes with flat, upfront fares based on the distance. For micro, the company charges Rs. half-dozen per Km till 15 Kms, after which, the fare increases to 12 per Km. Additionally, you also pay Rs. ane.5 per minute equally 'Ride Fourth dimension Fare'. For Mini, the charges increase to Rs. eight per Km and Rs. sixteen Per Km respectively, while ride time charges increase to Rs. three per minute. Prime Sedan and Prime Play both price Rs. 10 per Km for the showtime 15 Kms, and increases to Rs. 16 per Km after that. Prime SUVs start at Rs. 15 per Km. While Ola Share fares are typically lower than UberPool over shorter distances, they tend to exist significantly higher over longer distances.

• Uber

Uber doesn't advertise its fares officially anymore, very likely because of the controversial 'surge pricing' methodology that often leaves people scratching their heads about the exorbitant rates the company comes up with in times of loftier demand. Still, afterward the recent rate-hike implemented earlier this year, the company's fares have seen a steep increase. More often than not, fares are comparable with Ola for the most role, although, equally mentioned already, I've institute UberPool and UberGO to be consistently cheaper than Ola Share and Ola Micro respectively (at least, over longer distances). Until tardily last year, though, the company did announce its per Km rates publicly, and charged Rs. 7 per Km for UberGO, Rs. 9 per km for UberX, and Rs. 14 per Km for Uber Black and Uber SUV. Equally for UberPool, it as well charges a flat fare only like Ola Share.

Notation: If y'all're an Uber user, y'all'll take noticed that the company offers a lot of promos and coupons that reduce your fare by quite a flake. Oft, you lot'll go coupons that reduce your fare by as much as l-75%, although, the upside is capped at Rs. l-75. As I speak, I'thousand currently using a coupon code that'south cut my commute costs by "50% upwardly to Rs. 50", then I'm only paying near Rs. 35-40 instead of the Rs. lxx-eighty that information technology ordinarily costs. Ola, on the other hand, doesn't offer as many coupons, but regular users can purchase a 'SharePass' that reduces costs significantly. While Uber coupons are oft applicable to all its services, SharePasses are only applicable to Ola Share rides, so you'll however have to pay full fare if you need the whole cab.

Payment Options

• Ola

Ola has three modes of payment: Ola Coin, credit or debit cards and of grade, cash. Unfortunately for many regular users, though, the company doesn't accept payment via any tertiary-party e-wallets, like PayTM or Mobikwik, although, individual drivers with PayTM accounts do sometimes accept PayTM payments, then y'all'll need to check with drivers individually nigh that. Personally, I am still sticking to skillful 'ol greenbacks, but I can run into the appeal of digital wallets, every bit it's a existent pain having to fiddle with cash day and dark.

• Uber

Uber accepts cash as one of the three modes of payment in Bharat different in many Western markets. The company also accepts credit and debit cards, also as PayTM, which is more versatile and accepted at many more merchant locations in the state than Ola Coin. It's also more than user-friendly, and lets you practise recharges in much lower denominations than Ola's own eastward-wallet, which is some other major positive for infrequent users. Uber has also recently started accepting UPI Payments, then you can check out our comprehensive guide on how to enable it.

Cancellation Fees and Refunds

Equally mentioned already, drivers on both platforms have the propensity to cancel afterward calling you up and asking you nearly your destination, even though, it seems to be a bigger outcome with Ola than with Uber. Equally a customer, you're often saddled with a cancellation fee that ranges from Rs. 25 on Ola Share to Rs. 100 (plus service revenue enhancement) on UberXL and UberHire. I've had the misfortune of being on the wrong-terminate of the stick on both Ola Share and UberGO, but got the charges waived on both platforms because, on each occasion, I was either asked past the driver to abolish, or, was cancelled on by the commuter without whatsoever input on my part.

Recently, though, Uber has developed a weird way returning your cancellation fee for cash-only users. The visitor returns the coin as Uber Credit, only charges the extra amount on your next trip nonetheless, before deducting information technology from the post-obit trip. Yes, it'due south as confusing as it sounds, and not one-half as intuitive as Ola's straightforward waiver, merely works. Kind of.

Customer Service

Having used both Ola and Uber extensively in Kolkata and Delhi and, having spoken to many who've used both services frequently, it seems that both companies accept a lot of room for improvement in terms of customer satisfaction, although, going strictly by anecdotal bear witness, Uber seems to exist slightly ahead of Ola in this department. While I oasis't personally had to deal with the Ola customer-care reps up until now, I did need to contact Uber last yr considering a promo code they kept texting me just wasn't being accepted by the app. After a couple of mails either way, I received an apology for my troubles, and the right code was texted to me, which worked just as advertised.

Run across ALSO: 12 Cool Uber Tricks You Should Try

Uber vs Ola: Practise We Have a Winner Here?

Depends on who yous ask. There are many who've had a terrible experience with one platform or some other, while others have sworn off all app-cabs after having bad experiences with both. Yet others vouch for one service over some other for reasons best known to them. Certain, frequent stories about drivers misbehaving with women passengers don't assist matters, but the fact nonetheless remains that even with the bare minimum background checks that these guys take to undergo, you're withal probably safer in an app-cab in the middle of the night than yous would be in an auto or a traditional taxi, whose drivers rarely go through any groundwork checks any.

In a marketplace that has finer become a duopoly for Ola and Uber, I personally don't really accept any neat preference for one service over some other, although, I did prefer Uber in Kolkata, every bit the cars were spiffier, the drivers more than courteous, and fares, nigh always lower. In Delhi, however, my experience with Uber has been soured by a couple incidents, while Ola has been steady and solid. Sure, there take been those ubiquitous cancellations and terrible navigation, but generally well-behaved drivers, decent cars and lower fares hateful Ola has been my preferred manner of send here but for a few stints here and there with Uber because of cheaper promotional fares.

So do you prefer Uber over Ola? Or is information technology the other way around? Or like me, do yous have different experiences with the two platforms in ii dissimilar cities? What exercise y'all call up needs to be done to make these services safer, more than reliable and more than affordable? Do let u.s.a. know virtually your experiences with Ola and Uber in the comment department below.

Source: https://beebom.com/uber-vs-ola/

Posted by: oberlinimar1985.blogspot.com

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