India's Ola continues its global expansion plans, taking the fight to Uber on the world stage with the launch of its operations in the UK. This is the second country that Ola has expanded to, after launching operations in Australia earlier this year.
Ola has obtained licences to operate in South Wales and Greater Manchester, and will launch operations in South Wales within the next month. The company is working with local authorities across the UK to expand nationwide by end of 2018.
According to a release from Ola, the company will offer both private hire vehicles, and metered taxis through its application, and it will be adding other transportation options in the future. It uses the same app as in India, so a user from here can travel to the UK and use the same app on their phone to book a taxi. In the UK, the app will accept payments through cards only.
"Ola is excited to announce its plans for the UK, one of the world's most evolved transportation markets. The UK is a fantastic place to do business and we look forward to providing a responsible, compelling, new service that can help the country meet its ever demanding mobility needs," said Bhavish Aggarwal, co-founder and CEO Ola. "We look forward to our continued engagement with policymakers and regulators as we expand across the country and build a company embedded in the UK."
Ola says it has over 40,000 drivers in Australia ever since it launched in February, where it's active in seven cities by now. In India, it's active in over 100 cities, with over 1 million drivers. Uber is also active in the UK and Australia, and is Ola's main rival in India as well.