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Uber Launches First Electric Car Fleet in Madrid

22Dec By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Uber Launches First Electric Car Fleet in Madrid

Ride-hailing service Uber Technologies launched in Madrid on Thursday its first fleet of electric cars. In Spain's capital city, as elsewhere, Uber's service of matching private car owners with passengers has prompted anger among the heavily-regulated taxi sector. The company hopes the introduction of cleaner cars will help improve its image in a city governed by left-wing, environmentally mayor Manuela Carmena, said Carles Lloret, managing director of Uber for southern Europe. Madrid's city administration in November unveiled new measures at combating pollution, from limiting private traffic in the centre to tightening speed limits on access roads. "We want to do things that are in line with what the town hall wants," Lloret said. Regulation and hostility from local taxi firms...

Ola, Uber Welcomed Indian Government Decision on Regulating The Taxi Industry

22Dec By NitishNo Comments

News

Ola, Uber Welcomed Indian Government Decision on Regulating The Taxi Industry

Leading ride-hailing firms have praised an Indian policy blueprint on regulating the taxi industry, saying it would offer their app-based services a chance to flourish despite their concerns about price caps. A committee set up by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently published its findings, stating that India needed one regulatory framework for the taxi industry to promote mobility and discourage car ownership. It also said that aggregators, such as Uber, Ola and Meru, should be included under a "fair, uniform and transparent" regulatory framework, along with radio taxis and traditional city taxis. The report's recommendations came against a backdrop of battles with city authorities on issues such as dynamic, or "surge", pricing that the ride hailing firms say they ne...

Innovation Helped us Hold Over 3/4th Market Share: Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka

19Dec By PriyankaNo Comments

Entrepreneurs Talk

Innovation Helped us Hold Over 3/4th Market Share: Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka

Transport aggregator Ola today said its India-focussed innovations like offline booking and local language apps have helped the homegrown company "effectively hold onto over three-fourth market share". The SoftBank-backed firm, which is locked in an intense battle with US-based Uber, also claimed that every bit of technology it has built has been "made from the ground up without any premise to use as a base". "When they (Uber) launched in India in 2013, Ola hardly had a first mover advantage as we were doing just about 2,000 bookings a day. In spite of this, we have continued to build on our innovations effectively holding onto over three-fourth of the market-share," Ola COO Pranay Jivrajka told Pixr8. He added that the focus needs to be on localisation for building customised products f...

Now You Can Dispense 2000 Rs Cash From Ola Cab

27Nov By PriyankaNo Comments

News

Now You Can Dispense 2000 Rs Cash From Ola Cab

After petrol pumps, cash can now be withdrawn by swiping debit cards at select Ola cabs as India's largest ride-hailing service partners with lenders like State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank to ease cash crunch. With banks and ATMs not being able to cope with the rush for access to lower denomination or new currency after old Rs 500 and 1,000 notes were banned, cash dispensing through swipe of debit cards at POS machines was introduced at around 3,700 petrol pumps. The same is being replicated by Ola on a test basis in its cabs in Kolkata and Hyderabad where taxis with a bank officer and POS machine are parked at different locations and dispense cash of Rs 2,000 per card. Ola Chief Operating Officer Pranay Jivrajka told PIXR8 that the initial response has been trem...

Ola Launches Ola Play, Connected Car Platform For Ride Sharing

22Nov By AnkitaNo Comments

News

Ola Launches Ola Play, Connected Car Platform For Ride Sharing

Claiming it to be a global first, cab aggregator Ola today launched Ola Play, a connected car platform for ride sharing that it said will transform the in-car experience for users on the go like never before. "Ola Play is a world first, built in India by an Indian team, which showcases that we can do better than the best in the world and be global leaders in technology and innovation," Co-founder and CEO of Ola, Bhavish Aggarwal, told reporters here. Ola Play will be made available on Ola Prime in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi for select customers and will be rolled out across other cities and to over 50,000 vehicles by March 2017, he added. Ola Play is powered by proprietary in-car and cloud technologies from Ola, by bringing advance car controls, choice of personalised content and...

Uber Enter Into Billion Dollar Market “Indian Weddings”, Launched UberWEDDINGS in 12 Cities

22Nov By NitishNo Comments

News

Uber Enter Into Billion Dollar Market “Indian Weddings”, Launched UberWEDDINGS in 12 Cities

Taxi-hailing app Uber has partnered WedMeGood, a wedding planning website, to offer mobility solutions for wedding-related travel called UberWEDDINGS in 12 Indian cities. UberWEDDINGS will be live till February 2017 and will provide convenient, hassle-free and cashless mobility solution to users in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Pune, Udaipur and Lucknow, Uber India said in a statement. Apart from India, Uber offers UberWEDDINGS in Washington DC, San Francisco, New York, Boston and LA as well. "Weddings in India are typically an elaborate affair, often spanning month-long planning and week-long celebrations involving family and friends. While we all enjoy the fun and celebration, they also bring in the logistical challen...

Ola Ties Up With BMW, Expands On Demand Luxury Ride Service

25Oct By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Ola Ties Up With BMW, Expands On Demand Luxury Ride Service

Leading taxi-hailing app Ola on Monday partnered with luxury car maker BMW, which the two companies claimed will go a long way in redefining on-demand luxury mobility in India. Ola claims it has around half a million drivers on its platform and the service, Ola Lux, is available in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru to begin with, and will shortly commence in Hyderabad. Ola already has tie-ups with luxury car makers Mercedes and Jaguar and also with Mahindra and Tata Motors. Other OEMs like Maruti Suzuki, Toyota and Nissan also have such association with aggregators. BMW India acting president Frank Schloeder said the partnership is not exclusive, but will offer 100 per cent financing from BMW Finance, assured buyback and two-year free insurance maintenance. Pranay Jivrajka, chief ope...

Softbank Looking To Invest 2000 Crores in OLA

24Oct By NitishNo Comments

FUNDING

Softbank Looking To Invest 2000 Crores in OLA

As per Economic Times report, Japan's leading telecom giant Softbank looking to invest Rs 1,700-2,000 crore in India's leading Taxi aggregator Ola. This is the first funding investment from Softbank after Nikesh Arora Exit. According to the sources, " SoftBank is looking to commit more capital but Ola wants to control dilution". Ola was valued at about $5 billion when it closed $500 million funding from China’s Didi Chuxing and Scottish investment firm Baillie Gifford in November last year. The new investment will not increase the value. So far, Ola has raised about $1.2 billion and counts Soft-Bank, New Yorkbased investment firm Tiger Global Management, Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global and venture capital firm Matrix Partners India as its largest shareholders. Las...

Now Book Ola, Uber Through Google Search in India

19Oct By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

News

Now Book Ola, Uber Through Google Search in India

Consumers will now be able to book a ride on Ola and Uber directly from Google Search. Earlier this year, Google had introduced the feature on Google Maps, where a dedicated tab with information for cab services was made available to Indian users, in addition to the existing driving, public transport, or walking options. "Now with this integration, commuters across the country can ask Google for directions and book ride services directly from Google Search," Google said in a statement. They will get to see a tab for ride services, both Uber and Ola, with fare estimates and pick-up times if a car is available near their location, it added. When a user requests for specific information like Taxi to Delhi or Ola/Uber to airport, the Google Search app or browser will direct the use...

20Sep By reutersNo Comments

FUNDING

Ride-hailing App Grab Raises $750M in Funding Led By SoftBank

Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab said it raised $750 million in a funding round led by investor SoftBank Group, helping it build a warchest to solidify its leading position in the region and head off competition from Uber. Southeast Asia is fast becoming a key battleground for ride-hailing firms thanks to a burgeoning middle class as well as a youthful, Internet-savvy demographic. Grab's announcement comes a few weeks after Uber sold its China operations to bigger domestic rival Didi, an existing Grab investor, and analysts have said Uber may focus its efforts and money elsewhere, such as in Southeast Asia. The company is now valued at over $3 billion, a source familiar with the matter said. Its total capital position had increased to over $1 billion, the company said in a s...

Uber Tie-up With NSDC, Maruti to Skill 1 Million By 2018

15Sep By Press Trust of IndiaNo Comments

BUSINESS

Uber Tie-up With NSDC, Maruti to Skill 1 Million By 2018

Transportation app Uber has launched a new initiative in partnership with Maruti and NSDC, for creating livelihood opportunities for one million people by 2018. Under UberSHAAN, the company will provide access to skill development and driver training to the unskilled, Uber India President Amit Jain said. The initiative will also help trained drivers receive commercial licenses, vehicle financing and leasing solutions, he added. "With UberSHAAN, our plan is to rapidly scale Indias entrepreneurial base and generate one million livelihood opportunities on the Uber platform by 2018. Our partnership with the National Skill Development Corporation and Maruti Suzuki will be instrumental in realising our goal by 2018," he said. Uber has about 4 lakh drivers on its platform in India, which ...

9Sep By NitishNo Comments

FUNDING

Taiwan’s Foxconn Invests in Chinese Ride-Hailing Startup Didi Chuxing

Taiwan's Foxconn has invested $119.9 million in Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing via one of its subsidiaries, the world's largest electronics manufacturer said on Thursday, in a deal that could value the start-up at about $33.7 billion. With the addition of Foxconn, Didi's roster of investors is increasingly a who's who of global tech giants, including the likes of Apple Inc, Uber Technologies Inc and Chinese firms Tencent Holdings Ltd, Alibaba Group Ltd and Baidu Inc. The deal was made public in a stock exchange filing by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, the trading name of Foxconn. In the statement, Foxconn said its subsidiary Foxteq Holdings Inc would own 0.355 percent of Didi, one of China's highest-valued start-ups. The transaction gives Didi a valuation of $33.7 bill...