- Indian ride-hailing giant Ola said today it will start operations in London “in the coming weeks,” a day after Uber’s license to operate in one of the most lucrative cities in the world has been revoked by local authorities.
- The Indian firm, which entered parts of the UK last year, started signing up drivers in London ahead of the city launch, it said. The business, which has raised over $3.5 billion to date, is aiming for 50,000 drivers on board in London — larger than the current size of Uber’s city fleet.
Indian ride-hailing giant Ola said today it will start operations in London “in the coming weeks,” a day after Uber’s license to operate in one of the most lucrative cities in the world has been revoked by local authorities.
The Indian firm, which entered parts of the UK last year, started signing up drivers in London ahead of the city launch, it said. The business, which has raised over $3.5 billion to date, is aiming for 50,000 drivers on board in London — larger than the current size of Uber’s city fleet.
Ola, who like his competitor Uber counts SoftBank Group as a shareholder, obtained a Transport for London (TfL) operating license earlier this year.
The business said it was already able to serve 7 million consumers across 27 districts in the UK.
In order to win over drivers, Ola said it paid “favorable commissions” in a manner that would allow drivers to keep “more of their earnings.” The exact figures were not stated. In India, an Ola driver-partner is able to keep between 70-74 percent of the passenger fare and access some “incentives.” Simon Smith, who heads the international operations of Ola, said the mobility platform of the company is “fully compliant” with TfL standards.
In a statement, he said, “We have had constructive conversations with the government, drivers and local communities in London over the past few months and look forward to contributing to creative and practical approaches to mobility issues.” On Monday, Uber was stripped of his London license — for the second time— after authorities found more than 14,000 trips on his app.
On the other hand, the Indian company could not have made it clearer that it was doing all that Uber supposedly didn’t do.
In London, Ola said it would offer a range of safety features including an’ industry-first’ facial recognition system for’ continuous authentication,’ a’ driver identity test against driving license images,’ a’ robust security system to ensure that only licensed drivers who complain about TfL conditions can work on the platform,’ a 24/7 customer and driver helpline, and a
Expansion to London illustrates the growing international ambitions of Ola, particularly in markets where Uber, India’s chief rival, has a large presence. In India, Ola maintains a large lead over Uber.
The business, based in parts of New Zealand and Australia, has targeted tier 2 cities in the UK so far. Because the British capital is a major European market, heading to London would be an important step for Ola. Uber claims to have about 3.5 million users in the city and 45,000 drivers licensed.
TfL said yesterday that in Uber’s operations it had found “patterns of failures” that put “passenger safety and security at risk.” In addition to unauthorized drivers being on the platform, TfL said it had also identified another safety and security failure that allowed dismissed or suspended drivers to create an Uber account and carry passengers.
Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, expressed his disappointment with yesterday’s decision by TfL, adding that the company will appeal the decision by TfL. He said. He said. “this TfL decision is just wrong. Over the last two years, we have fundamentally changed how we work in London. “During the appeals process, the business will continue to operate in the region.
