Ola makes international foray, sets up operations in Australia

It has started on-boarding drivers, but commencing commercial operations is subject to necessary regulatory approvals.
Ola makes international foray, sets up operations in Australia
Ola makes international foray, sets up operations in Australia
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Bengaluru-based cab aggregator Ola has forayed into Australia as part of its international expansion. Starting Tuesday, it has started on-boarding private hire vehicles (PHVs) and driver-partners in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

Founded in 2011, Ola has over 125 million users in India, through its network of over 1 million driver-partners across 110+ cities. On an aggregate basis, Ola serves as many as a billion rides annually, through its platform as per a statement from the company.

Ola says that it will offer the same kind of incentives to driver partners in Australia.

“Ola is also recognized for its collaboration with governments and communities to solve local transport issues in innovative and meaningful ways. Ola will build on these values as it launches in Australia in early 2018,” the company said in a statement.

However, commencement of commercial operations are subject to necessary regulatory approvals.

“We are very excited about launching Ola in Australia and see immense potential for the ride-sharing ecosystem which embraces new technology and innovation. With a strong focus on driver-partners and the community at large, we aim to create a high-quality and affordable travel experience for citizens and look forward to contributing to a healthy mobility ecosystem in Australia,” said Bhavish Aggarwal, Co-Founder and CEO, Ola.

Ola’s rival Uber already has an established business in Australia. Ola might also compete with local players such as GoCatch.

As per reports, Ola has already made its moves in neighboring Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by setting up teams in Colombo and Dhaka respectively.

There were reports earlier this month of Ola looking at an international expansion into countries such as New Zealand and Australia. As per these reports, Ola will soon target countries in Asia and North Africa and is also considered establishing a presence in London, but dropped the idea due to high expenses involved.

Ola has been competing with Uber aggressively to retain the top position in the Indian cab aggregator market. It has so fair raised over $2.5 billion from investors, which include big names such as Didi Chuxing and SoftBank.

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